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 ^5S^T*S piCTIONARY OF THE HOLY BIBLE 
 
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FRANK FOUEsTKirs 
 
 IIS II AND I'ISIIINC 
 
FRANK FORKSTKR'S 
 
 FISH AM) FISIIIXG 
 
 I \ni:i) ST A IKS, 
 
 BRITISH PKOVIXCES OF NORTH AMKRICA. 
 
 HENUV WILLIAM IIEiiBKRT, 
 
 At^yor at "n* FWtd Sport* of t^ I'nilrd Slain ami Briluh Nofih Anwrtca.'* " Frank Forr«lrr uul 
 bU Frinid*," »c. 
 
 l.nXI). »\ : 
 
 i; KM AIM* ^.i•:NTLl•:^■. 
 
 ^Jublislur m vJi>rlJinanj to J!Oj\ itla{fstn. 
 
LONDON : 
 BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. 
 
I ILVNCIS 8UKYKT, KSQ.. 
 
 nr NATfllKr. MIHMISAII-fl, 
 
 T\\]r< WOIJK, ON THK FISH AND FISIIINC <>F NnUTH AMERIfA, 
 Is Dfiiirairt). 
 
 iu>ril A-* TO AN AROKVT AM> ISTKLL10K.NT SPORTSMAN, A»i WKI.l. 
 AS ID A TUIKD rniFNO, 
 
 IIV Ills H11KM> AMI SKKVANT, 
 
 IKANK FORKSTKU 
 
 T>l* rCDAM*, 
 
 r7:3638'll 
 
ADVEirnsKMFA r. 
 
 ♦ 
 
 In ntVeriiii: this Work to i\w jxililic. I li;ivo little to sav. 
 as its character speaks for itself. l>ut to iiulicate the sources 
 of tin* information whicli it <-ontains. nml to M;ivc cre<lit to 
 thu>e who l)V their works, letters, or eonvei*sation have 
 ni<le<l u\r ill its e\e<'Ution. 
 
 Am«1 tirstlv. T must express my sincere gratitude to my 
 fiirii-l. Profes.sor At::assi/, who kindly afforded me every 
 assistance in his j)ower. with free access to his fine lihrary 
 and unrivalled collection of fishes, from which most of 
 mv drawiui^s are taken. To my friend Mi-. I'erley of 
 
 St. .lohii's, 1 am illdelited for ?iiueli \;i|ii;il.lr a)ld intere>«tiiiii 
 information in rel.^•^•d to the V']^]\ and Fisheries of New 
 ]^nm>wiek and N<»va Si-otia ; and i<< .Mr I)ehIois of Port- 
 land, for a conununication resjx'ctin^; tlu' Oreat Trout of 
 Selwi^o liakc in Maine, which was prol)ahIy a distinct 
 variety, tliou^h the fact cannot Ix' easilv now ascertained, 
 the nolile fisli iK'iiiij. ahis ! extinct. 
 
X ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 To Mr. Yarrell's fine work on " British Fishes," to 
 Hofland's "British Angler's Manual," to Richardson's 
 " Fauna Boreah- Americana," and to Deka3^'s " Fishes of 
 New York," I thankfully record my acknowledgments. 
 
 All the wood engravings were drawn by myself on the 
 wood, either from the fishes themselves or from original 
 drawings in the possession of Professor Agassiz, lent to 
 me for that purpose, with the exception of the true 
 Salmon, which is copied from his beautiftil work on the 
 " Fresh- Water Fishes of Europe ; " of the Arctic Charr or 
 Masamacush and the Arctic Grayling, (which are taken 
 from Richardson's " Fauna Boreali- Americana)" ; of the 
 Salmon Trout, taken from Yarrell ; and of the Lake Trout 
 and Pike Perch, taken from Dekay's " Fauna of the State 
 of New York." 
 
 With these brief remarks I submit the folloTsang pages, 
 to the courtesy and candour of the Gentle Craft, and of 
 the public in general, and once again subscribe myself, 
 
 Their friend and servant, 
 
 Frank Forester. 
 
 The Cedars, 
 
 Aurpist 14, 1H4!I. 
 
CONTKNT.S. 
 
 INTR«>nrrTORY RKMARKS . . 1 
 
 THK G.XMK FISH OF NORTH AMKRICA .... 9 
 
 SALMONID;*:, OR THK SALMON FAMILY 33 
 
 Tiir. S.vijiox fiO 
 
 The Khook Tboit . 105 
 
 Tins Orkatbst Lake Troi't 131 
 
 The SisKAWTTZ . . . .143 
 
 Thk Lake Tboit . . .149 
 
 The Saijios Troit .... . ir.4 
 
 The MA-SAMAcrsH .162 
 
 IVvt KS (jR.VVU>(i ... 169 
 
 The Amehu'ax Smei.t .175 
 
 The PArEMN 179 
 
 The White Fish 182 
 
 The (VwEiw Bvw . . .188 
 
 sir.i rid.t: . im 
 
 The <'vT Ft-tM .193 
 
 CYPRINID.K .196 
 
 The CnMUoN Cari- .196 
 
 The Amerii-ax Roach . 20-1 
 
 The New York Shi.nkr 206 
 
 Tit J .Vmerica?! Bream . 208 
 
 M N..w^ . , 210 
 
 < LI I'l n».1-: . 212 
 
 The Hmiiun . . 212 
 
 The SH,\n . . 214 
 
xii CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGK 
 
 ESOCIDtE . . . . . . . . . . 217 
 
 The Mascalonge ....... 220 
 
 The Great Northern Pickerel . . . . . . 224 
 
 The Common Pickerel ...... 227 
 
 The Long Island Pickerel . . . . . . 233 
 
 ANGUILLID^ ........ 237 
 
 The Eel . . . . ' . . . . 237 
 
 PERCIDiE ......... 239 
 
 The American Yellow Perch . . . , . . 239 
 
 The Striped Sea Bass ...... 242 
 
 The Yellow Pike Perch . . . . . . 246 
 
 The Black Bass of the St. Lawrence .... 249 
 
 The Growler . . . . . . . 253 
 
 The Rock Bass . . . . . . .255 
 
 The Common Pond Fish . . . . . . 257 
 
 The Lake Sheep's-Head ...... 259 
 
 The Malasheganat . . . . . . . 261 
 
 SHOAL- AVATER FISHES . . . . . . .263 
 
 PERCID.^ . . . . . . . 264 
 
 The Sea Bass . . . . . . .264 
 
 SCIENIDtE . . . . . . . . 266 
 
 The Lafayette ....... 266 
 
 The Weak Fish . . . . . . . . 268 
 
 The King Fish ....... 270 
 
 The Sllvert Cok\t:na . . . . . . . 272 
 
 The Branded Corvina . . . . . .273 
 
 The Big Drum, and the Banded Drum . . . . 275 
 
 SPARID^ ......... 277 
 
 The Sheep's-Head . . . . . . . 277 
 
 The Big Porgee ....... 280 
 
 SCOMBRIDj^ . . . . . . . . . 282 
 
 The Blue Fish ....... 282 
 
 LABRID^ . '. . . . , . . . 285 
 The Tautog . . . . . . . .285 
 
 DEEP-SEA FISHING . . . . . . . 287 
 
 GADID^ ......... 288 
 
 The Cod . . . . . . . 288 
 
 The American Haddock ...... 290 
 
 The American Whiting . . . . . . 291 
 
C'uNTKNTS. xiii 
 
 rAaa 
 
 SALMON ns||lN(; 293 
 
 IIIK I.MI'LK.MKNTS ol' s \l.\loN llvHiM,. 3i;{ 
 
 THol r |-lSlllN(i . . 332 
 LAKK TROUT FISIIINti ..... :{t51 
 
 s.\LMON TROUT FISHING .365 
 
 I'lCKKRHL FISIIINC; . . . 370 
 I'KKCII FISIIINC ........ 382 
 
 CAUI- IIS1IIN<; . . 387 
 
 STRIPKD U.\S8 FlSlllN(i .391 
 
 MLAIK UASS FISHl.NC IN I'lll-; ST. I.A W KKNCK . . 39fl 
 
 KF.L FISlIINc; AND TRI.M.MKUS .406 
 
 >HOAI,-\VATKR SKA FISHINC .409 
 
 IIIK \VK.\K ll>ll in 
 
 IIIK HARM, OR KINi; 1 ISII n3 
 
 rHK SKA MASS . 416 
 
 rHK TAUTOfi, OK llI.Al K I l>^ll . 418 
 
 I UK SUKKl'S-llKAD |-.!_' 
 
 TIIK DRUM ... IS6 
 
 MI.UK FISH 1I.S11IN(J .... 424 
 
 hKKP-SF.A FISHINO ..... I2<i 
 
 AI'PKNDI.X A. TuK A.MiLEii'-s AiiAicvTis . 429 
 
 AI'PKNUI.X B. -The Fly FisiiEBs AiiAU-u . 434 
 
 AI'IMINDIX C. How TO Cook Fihu .436 
 
LI8T OF ILLUsTKATiOiNS. 
 
 OUTUNM OF A YtilNG SALMON TKOfT . ?,' 
 
 OITUNE H»UD OK TIIK SILVKR TUOIT .is 
 
 lilLUCOVKILSOFTHE SALMON, BILL TKOLT, AM» MotTIl OF COMMON IKOIT 49 
 
 lLLtSTR.\TION .... iU 
 
 SALMON nNK8 IV TO SIX MONTHS OLl> W) 
 
 KRKSIMirN FhJJALK SALMON (^4 
 
 SALMON SMALT ONE YKAU OI.l' To 
 
 ILLIKTBATION ; 1 
 
 Vol NO FRY OF BROOK TRot i luj 
 
 rilK BROOK TR(»IT DM 
 
 ILLUSTIUTION I30 
 
 TUriTK I>E ORKVK . 131 
 
 xAI-Mfi AMhrrUV.xTl'S l,j 
 
 SAI-MO .-ISKAWnZ III 
 
 ILLlsTIUTIoN HH 
 
 IMF. L\KK TROl r U'l 
 
 TJIK >Fa TRoIT 11 
 
 THF. MASAMACISH ICi 
 
 rilK ARCTIC URAYLINt. lO'J 
 
 niK AMERICAN SMELT I'i 
 
 THE WHITE H»H |».' 
 
 THE (rrsEt.o HAS.-. Inn 
 
 THE CAT-FI-Hll 11, 
 
 rilK NEW VnKK -IllNKl. . .; 
 THB AMERICAN BRFIAM 
 
xvi 1-lST OF ILLUSTHATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 AMERICAN MINNOWS . . . . . . . . 210 
 
 THE HERRING . ....... 212 
 
 THE SHAD . . . . . . ... 214 
 
 HEAD OF ESOX ESTOR . . . . . . .217 
 
 ESOX ESTOR . . . . . . . . . 220 
 
 HEAD OF ESOX LUCIOIDES . . . . . . .224 
 
 ESOX LUCIOIDES . . . . . . . . . 226 
 
 THE LONG ISLAND PICKEREL . . . . . .233 
 
 THE EEL . . . . . . . . . 237 
 
 THE YELLOW PERCH . . . . . . . .239 
 
 THE BLACK BASS . . . . . . . . . 250 
 
 THE FRESH-WATER SUN FISH . . . . . .257 
 
 THE COD . . . . . . . . . . 288 
 
 THE AMERICAN HADDOCK . . . . . . .290 
 
 THE AMERICAN WHITING . . . . . . . 291 
 
 HOOK-LINKS ......... 316 
 
 ARTIFICIAL FLIES . . . . . . . . 328 
 
FRANK 1 oRKSTKirs 
 
 FISH AND KISin\(i 
 
 L\TK()i)rcT(»i:\ i:i:.mai;ks. 
 
 TO DKAi. witli .'I suliject so wide as the Fish .-ukI Fisiiixc 
 ot" an extent uf eouiitry u:reater than tlie wliole of Europe, 
 streteluij;^ almost from the Aretie eirele to tlie Tn>])ies, 
 from the waters of the Atlantic to those of the Pacific 
 Ocran. niav st-ein, an<l iinU'ril is, in S(»nie respects, a \»>\,\ 
 aii<l pnsuniptuous umhrtakin^. It were so alto^etlu-r. tli'l 
 I pn-trn'l to entrr into the natural lii>torv i.f ;ill. or i\rn 
 "f "iii'-liunilretlth part, of tin- li>h poniJi.ir t<> thi'^ continent 
 11 1' I its adjacent seas. 
 
 Such, liowever, is hv no nuans my aim or intrntion. I 
 write for tlie sportsman. an«l it is tiierefore wiih the 
 Sporting ?'isl» only that I pro|>ose to lUal ; as, in a rcciiit 
 work vu the Fiehl Sports of the same re;<ions, it was with 
 
 B 
 
2 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 the Game Animals only that I had to do. In the prefatory 
 observations of that work, I endeavoured to make myself 
 miderstood as to what constitutes Game, in my humble 
 opinion, as regards animals of fur and feather. I did not, 
 it is true, expect, or even hope, to suit the views and 
 notions of everybody, particularly when I looked to the 
 great variety of soils, regions, and chmates, for the inha- 
 bitants of which I was writing ; and to the extreme lati- 
 tude and laxity of ideas concerning sportsmanship which 
 prevail in this country. 
 
 One would sujDpose it was sufficiently evident, that a 
 work of the magnitude of the " Universal Encyclopaedia," 
 and nothing short of that, would suffice to give an elabo- 
 rate essay and disquisition on every separate sort of sport, 
 which every separate individual, of every separate State 
 in the Union, may think proper to practise for his own 
 pleasure or profit. 
 
 I therefore determined to confine myself, in the first 
 place, to those sports only which are truly Field Sports in 
 the highest acceptation of the term, and which are estab- 
 lished as such by the consent of genuine sportsmen. 
 
 In the second place, I restricted myself to those sports 
 which are purely and peculiarly American, and which, as 
 such, are not treated of at all, or, if at all, understand- 
 ingly, by European writers. 
 
 The natural history, the generic distinctions, the migra- 
 
INTKoDUCTnKY IMl.MAllKS. 3 
 
 tions, habits, lianiits. seasons, ami the iuimIc df jMirsuin^ 
 Mini takiiiu', ill the most artistical aixl sitort^iiiaii-liko 
 mainuT. of siidi animals as an- j)0(Miliar to this rontincnl, 
 which have ucwv hrcn a subject of investip^atioii to the 
 sj)ortiiig iiaiuialist, seemed to nic to atlonl a topic iiite- 
 restiiiir ainl ajxrceable to iho Avritcr, ami not ilcvoiil ol 
 >omc jTcteiision tnwanl ontortaininu-. and pcrliaps instnict- 
 iniX. the ^meral reader. 
 
 At the same timo, neither jtrctondinu; nor hopiiiL;- to 
 m.ikf my woik /ttr/rrf. I thoii^jiht ]>roper to exercise my 
 own judi::ment in decidiiiLT wiiat species of sports are to be 
 re«rnrded as Field Sports at all, what as American Firld 
 Sports, and what as ret|nirinir drserijition. ;in;dysi--. or 
 exjilanation. 
 
 Some men consider the shootin<r of migratory thrushes, 
 and golden-winged woodpeckers — which it pleases them to 
 call robins and high-holders, — as wrj] as small song-birds 
 in LTonrral. as a l''irld Sjtort ; 1 d" not. 
 
 Many men— I might say, of tlio rni-al parts of tin- 
 Kastorn and Middle State.s, >/io\f men — consider sipiirrels, 
 raccoons, opo.ssums, ground-hogs, and such like vermin, as 
 iKjing Game ; I do nut. Therefore, I dealt not with any 
 of these, nor apologise for not ilealifig with tiiem. 
 
 Again. Fox-hunting on hoi*scl>ark, in a well-fenced 
 arable, or pasture country, is the finest of all Fiehl Sports, 
 l>evond a question. But the facts, that one pack of fox- 
 
4 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 hounds is now kept at Montreal, that another was kept a 
 few years since by the members of the British legation 
 at Washington, and that a few planters, in two or three 
 Southern States, amuse themselves occasionally and irre- 
 gularly by fox-hunting, do not constitute fox-hunting an 
 American Field Sport ; which it is not ; as is demonstrated 
 by the undeniable fact, that there are not above three 
 States out of thirty, more or less, in which the fox is 
 pursued as anything but vermin. 
 
 There are, moreover, many reasons which render it 
 almost impossible that fox-hunting ever shall become an 
 American Field Sport. In the Northern and Eastern 
 States, where only, as a general rule, the country is suffi- 
 ciently cleared of timber to allow of this pursuit in per- 
 fection, the severity of the winter, and the jealousy of 
 farmers in regard to trespass on their lands, and the 
 breaking of their fences, combine to render it impracti- 
 cable. In the Southern States, the woodland character of 
 the country, and the frequency of swamps, bayous, and 
 similar obstacles, destroy all its peculiar excellences, and 
 detract infinitely from its excitement, and its scientific 
 character. 
 
 Yet once more. Had fox-hunting been, what it is not, 
 an American Field Sport, I should still have dismissed it in 
 a few pages. Because, being a sport thoroughly under- 
 stood, and carried to the utmost perfection in the Old 
 
INTKnlJlCToKV KK.MAKKS. 5 
 
 \\i'iM ; a sport, so far as it is diic licrc at all. |irif"i(tlv 
 itltiitical nil tlic l\V(» siilfs dt' tlic Allaiitic. ami a> siicli, 
 havintj no pt-culiaritios, ainl i-ccjuiriii^ iii> luw prttrpts 
 hcvc ; an<l, ahnvc .ill. ln^-inix <i ^J'<»rt <»ii wliicli iiinrc aMo 
 ami o.xct'lK'iit treatises liavr liccn wriiiin than on anv 
 otlicr in tlu' whole ran^::!' of sportinij: snhjects, and tliat l)y 
 sucli men a> Ucckford ami Niiiiroil- names as rainiliai" as 
 liousehokl words to all who ean sit a horse or halloo to a 
 hound —it would have hecn an act. it not of iin))c'rtinrnce, 
 at ksist of total sujii-n'ro^ation, t<» fill uji the pa^es of a 
 work <lrvotcd to a new class of subjects, with trite remarks 
 oil an (till one. or with (piotations from l)ooks within tlu' 
 reai-ji of every sportsman. 
 
 All this which I have here set (hnvn in relation to mv 
 work on Field Sports, and to some strictures wliicli have 
 iieen made uj>on it. is simply explanatory of my intentions 
 witii reirard to tliis work. 
 
 These are to furnish what infonnation I can in relation 
 totlie classes, nii<.(rations, habits, breeding seasons, and tTie 
 modes of takini;, of tliose which I call and consider Sjiort- 
 ing or Game Fishes ; to insist on the generic distinctions, 
 and the true names and defmitions of the various sj>eeies 
 md families ; to show briefly how the various Cimilies and 
 I l.'LSses may Im? distinguislied one from the other, tht reby 
 I iial>ling .<<portsmen to avoid the constant errors and 
 I'lunders into whicli they are now falling in the confusion 
 
6 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 of distinct varieties and orders ; and putting it in their 
 power, by the accurate observance, and correct recording, 
 of a few simple signs, to render invaluable service to the 
 cause of science, in one of the most important, and the 
 least understood, of its branches. 
 
 And, before I proceed farther, I shall beg gentlemen 
 from remote sections of the North, East, West, and South, 
 not to wax wrathful and patriotically indignant, nor to 
 reclaim fiercely against the author of this work, because 
 they fail to find therein described some singular local 
 mode of capturing some singular specimen of the piscine 
 race known in their own districts, and there regarded 
 as a Sporting Fish, but unknown as such to the world at 
 large. 
 
 Some gentlemen, doubtless, regard bobbing for eels, and 
 bait-fishing through holes cut in the ice ; others, hauling 
 up sharks with ox-chains and tenter-hooks ; and others, 
 yet, harpooning garpikes, as excellent sport, and as 
 scientific fishing ; as many more will probably deem of 
 hauhng the seine, or fishing with the set-Hne, or the deep- 
 sea line. None of these things come under my ideas of 
 fair or sporting fishing ; and the gentlemen who admire 
 these and similar practices, I beg leave to premonish that 
 they will be surely disappointed if they peruse the 
 pages of this work. By omitting to do so, therefore, they 
 will spare themselves a displeasure, and the author an 
 animadversion. 
 
INTUODLCTultY KKMAlJKS. 7 
 
 Kresli-wjitcr lisliiiig esjiofiallv is its subject. Laki-s. 
 estuaries, rivers, l)nK.»ks, its scene ; ainl tlir Saliiinii. in all 
 its varieties, the Pike, the liass, and tin- iV'irli. the lisii 
 with whirli it will principally deal. All (lame l-'ish will, 
 however, lind a place in its panes ; all those, 1 mean, which 
 can be, and usually arc. taken with the rod and i-ccl ; nor 
 ^ill a few jiagcs be denie<l to deep-sea lishing ; and to the 
 consideration of some of the tinny tribe which visit our 
 rivers and shores, and which, IVoni various cau.sc.s, such as 
 peculiarity of liabit, singularity of structure, excellence on 
 the table, ur the like, may appear worthy «»f a pa.ssing 
 notice, altliouirh not coming strictly within the sportsman's 
 category uf (Jame Ki.she.s. 
 
 All the moiles of rod-fishing will be treatt-tl ..f in thi-ir 
 places ; Imt fly-fishing, spinning with the live, and trolling 
 with the dead, bait, more especially will be di.scusscd ; as, 
 for inv own part. I regard these as the only true ami 
 >port.smanlike mo»les of operation. Bottom-tishing, ground- 
 baiting with the float and sinker, and the like, are doubt- 
 less all \erv well in their way ; and will i>eihap>. in many 
 instfinces, even with ^Sporting Fishes, be fuund the most 
 killing, «xs they are clearly the ea.siest metiiods ; while, 
 with other varieties, they are the ..nly modes that can be 
 a«lopte«r. still they are to tly-fi.shing. t-r spinning the 
 minnow, what .shooting sitting is to shmHing on the wing ; 
 and the fi>her who i.s proml of higging out nf their native 
 
8 INTRODUCTOKY REMARKS. 
 
 element twenty trout by main force, aided by a lob-worm 
 or roe-bait, stands in the same relation to him who baskets 
 his three or four brace with the artificial fly and single gut 
 artistically cast, as the gunner who pot-hunts his bagful of 
 birds, treeing his ruffed grouse, and butchering his quail in 
 their huddles on the ground, does to the crack shot, who 
 stops his cock in a blind brake, with the eye of faith and 
 the finger of instinct, or cuts down his wild- fowl, skating 
 before the wind at the rate of a mile a minute, deliberately 
 rapid and unerring. 
 
THK 
 
 (.Wll, M>ll 01 NORTH A.MIUK \ 
 
 \\\ CiAMK. Kisn. wc imdcr^tnnd all those which will take \\\c 
 imtunil or iirtiticial bjiit with -iilhcicnt l)()l(liicss uml avidity, 
 mid wliith. when hooked, arc endowed witli suflicicnt vifjour, 
 coura^r, and nipidity of motion, to ofler so much resistance, and 
 •,'ivc so much ditliculty to the captor, as to render the pursuit 
 excitiu}; and agreeable, apart from any consideration of the 
 intrinsic value of the fish. 
 
 By these (jnalities of the hooked Hsh, corrcsi)onding (pialitics 
 of the fisherman are called forth ; and the griatcr the wariness 
 and cunning of the fish before he takes the l)ait, conipcUing the 
 use of the finest and most delicate tackle, the greater his lury, 
 vehemence, and velocity after beiiiL; struck, rei|uiring the utmost 
 nicety of manipulation, coolness of temper, and promptitude of 
 judgment, the higher does he stand in the list of game, and the 
 more animating is his purMiit and capture. 
 
 The truth i.t, tluit in all fichl sjMjrts, the pleai»urc to be (leri\cd 
 from them, and the rank in which liiey stand one to the otlu>r, 
 arc all in exact proptirtion, not with the value or the numbers of 
 
10 THE GAME FISH OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 the victims, but with the difficulty of the capture, and the degree 
 of skill, science, courage, or endurance, called forth in the act 
 of taking. 
 
 Were this not so, shooting small birds baited with grain 
 about a barn-door during a snow-storm, or scooping mackerel 
 and herring out of their schulls by buckets-full at a time, would 
 be a higher pursuit and better sport than shooting quail and 
 woodcock on the wing over well-broke dogs, or killing a thirty 
 pound Salmon with the slender gut and artificial fly. 
 
 And so they are better sport to the schoolboys and snobs who 
 practise them, and who, lacking entirely the art, the energy, and 
 the perseverance necessary to success in the true Field Sports, 
 are perfectly content with arriving at the bad eminence of pot- 
 gunners and ground-fishers ; and then, presuming on their 
 paltry numerical success, affect to undervalue, as profitless, the 
 art which they cannot attain. 
 
 It is the wariness, the subtlety, and the caution of the Salmon, 
 rendering it necessary to use materials of the slenderest and 
 most delicate nature, and to apply them with the utmost nicety, 
 which makes the triumph over him so far more enthralling to 
 the real fisherman than that over the Pickerel or Mascalonge of 
 equal weight, whose greater voracity and inferior intellect per- 
 mits the use of a gimp foot-length, and a silken or flaxen line, 
 instead of the fine gut tinctured to the very colour of the water, 
 and the casting-line of almost invisible minuteness. 
 
 The same is the superiority of rod and reel fishing to the use 
 of the hand-line, whether in trolling or in deep-sea fishing; 
 because in both these the sport is at an end, so soon as the fish 
 is hooked; it being a mere question of brute strength Avlicther 
 
w II \T mm: (i wii: ii-ii. 11 
 
 tlie victim shall hi- roinnu nd or not, wlnii oner t'a><t at tlic tiul 
 of a liiu' capahk' of pulling iu a ycurliu}; bullofk. 
 
 On tlir rontniry, it is not the wariness anil cnnnin;;, hnt tin- 
 vi;;our, the sp<>('(l, tlif fieiTc coura'^i', and (Irti-rnuncd obstinacy 
 of the true Salmon, tlu' IJrook Trout, when of tine si/.c and well 
 fed, the various kiiuls of huijer I'ike or l*iekerel, the Bass, and 
 sonu" others, uhieli 'j^'wes such a zest to their capture, as com- 
 pared with the sinalKr aiul (lullcr fi>h, which may l)c pulled out 
 SIS fast as a hook can be bailed and thrown iu ; or tiie lar;rcr 
 and more torpid tish, such as the I^ake 'front, the Carp, and 
 the Perches, sonu' of which, after a sinjxle boriui: plini^'c, resij;ii 
 themselves iilmost without a stru;;j;lc, and are nuistered with no 
 resistance save that occasioiu>d by their own dead weight. 
 
 I have said, above, that it is upon these rpudities of boldness 
 and fierceness, combined with wariness in biting, and of vigour 
 and detcnnination in resistance, apart from any intrinsic value 
 of the fislj, or excellence of liis flesh, that his rank for ganieness 
 must depend. 
 
 It is renmrkable, however, that all those tish whicli are the 
 most game, the boldest, the strongest, the bravist, and the most 
 obstiiuite, are invariably the tiiust also for culinary purposes, 
 and the most highly appreciated l)y the gournut on the board, 
 as well as by the fisherman in the riv»r or the nu-n 
 
 With very few exceptions, the (jame Fish arc those which do 
 not confine themselves either to sidt or fresh water, throughout 
 the year, but visit the one or the other, as their habits and 
 tastes, hut principally the propagation of their species, direct 
 them. These migmtor)* fish are, without any exception, the 
 strongr^t, the Imlclc^t, nn<l, a-s such, alfoid the best sport of 
 
12 THE GAME FISH OF NORTH AMEBIC A. 
 
 their tribe; nor are they, for the most part, to be surpassed 
 by any in excellence, firmness, and flavour, when in tlieir best 
 condition. 
 
 Those fish which never visit the salt water at all, are unques- 
 tionably so much inferior to others of their own family which 
 run periodically to the sea, that they are with difficulty recog- 
 nised as belonging to the same order with their roving brethren ; 
 while of those, none of which are known to leave the fresh 
 water, but two or three kinds are worth taking at all ; and even 
 these are not to be compared with the migratory, or the pure 
 sea fish. 
 
 All excellence is, of course, in some degree comparative, and 
 I am well aware that in the interior of the country, where sea 
 fish are unknown, and where the culinary science is merely in a 
 rudimental state, many fish are deemed excellent ; and are 
 sought out as dainties, simply because they are better than the 
 ordinary tenants of the same waters ; while in any place, where 
 they could be considered in regard to the commonest sea fish, 
 they would be entirely disregarded, and sold, if at all, as among 
 the cheapest and most worthless articles of human food. 
 
 In the same way, many species of game, both of fur and 
 feather, are highly regarded in districts where markets are 
 rare, and well-fed and tender butchers' meat unknown; and in 
 such places you will find many tasteless and inferior birds and 
 animals highly valued, which in cities, where a variety of flesh 
 and fowl is daily to be procured, where poultry and butchers' 
 meat can always be had, both fat and tender, no person of ordi- 
 nary taste or judgment in the art of eating Mould allow to 
 come upon his table. 
 
TWO (;kkat I'l. asses. 18 
 
 These few ohscrvations I premise in tins pljioe, because I 
 foresee, ilistiuctly, tlmt my renuirks will be aiiiinmlverted upon, 
 more or less severely, by the inhabitants of those districts in 
 whieh the varieties of tish, whieh I rej^ard as almost worthless, 
 prevail; the same thing having; oeeuned with regard to my 
 work on Field Sports, concerning whieh gentlemen liave waxed 
 unwisely indignant as regards this or that bird, or this or that 
 way of cooking it, when they have plainly lacked the means of 
 drawing the requisite comparison. 
 
 Hut to proceed, the (ianie I'isli of this eountry may be 
 divided, lirst, into two general classes, of fresh and salt-water 
 fishes; and these may be again subdivided, each, into other 
 two, the fresh, jis migratory and non-migratory ; the salt, as 
 into deep-sea, and shoal-water ; although, perhaps, to speak 
 with perfect precision on the subject, no deep-sea tish should be 
 called a Game Fish. Very many persons, are, however, greatly 
 addicted to the sport of making excursions from our large cities 
 to the various sea-banks, for the purpose, it is true, of enjoying 
 the sea breeze, and the excitement of the sail, combined with 
 the attractions of the chowder or the elani-bake, the ihampagne 
 and the cotillion, whieh are wont to complete the day's amuse- 
 ment, but still with the object of fishing likewise; aiul these 
 persons, even if their sport be not of the loftiest or most sport- 
 ing character, will reasonably expect to find some account (»f a 
 favourite pursuit. 
 
 Nor, in very trulh^-though I esehew large congregations of 
 humanity for sporting purposes, deeming them rather social and 
 convivial in tlieir true cliaracter, and holding sociality and con- 
 viviality, though excellent things in their way, as utterly averse 
 
14 THE GAME FISH OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 to the spirit of sportsmanship — have I not found it good sport, 
 at times, to sally out from some sequestered fishing hamlet, in 
 the trim schooner or more humble yawl, and try my fortune 
 with the Cod, the Haddock, and the Halibut ; or if, perchance, 
 on the rocky shores of Eastern New England, with the delicate 
 and lively Whiting, too little known, as yet, to the epicures of 
 America, although surpassed in excellence by few, if any, of his 
 race. With deep-sea fishing I shall deal, therefore, although 
 briefly, as becomes its rank in proportion with the more exciting 
 and scientific branches of the piscatory art ; nor will the shoal- 
 water, or bay and estuary fishing, as they are practised along 
 our coasts, occupy so many pages, as will appear proportionate 
 to the numljer or excellence of the species taken in that sport. 
 Many of these are delicious fish on the table; but the sport 
 of taking them consists, principally, in the frequency of their 
 biting ; and the skill requisite for their capture lies mainly in 
 the knowing the most favourable bottom-grounds, the state of 
 the tides and eddies most propitious to success, and the most 
 killing baits at various seasons. 
 
 In throwing out and drawing in the bait, there is, compara- 
 tively speaking, small science; and taking the fish, when once 
 hooked, little skill and small judgment ; temper, and a moderate 
 degree of patience alone seem needful. 
 
 It is not, indeed, to be denied that in this, as in all other 
 ground-bait and bottom-fishing, an old experienced angler shall 
 take many times more fish than the tyro sitting alongside of 
 him in the same boat, and working Avith apparatus precisely 
 similar, and baits identical. 
 
 This is, however, to be attributed much to practice and habit ; 
 
SKA FISH. — FKESIl-WATKU FISH. 15 
 
 imicli to watclitui ohscrvntion of niinutiu*, such as tlic luiillni'; 
 ot the liiu', the CDrrrct depth of the plunuiu't or sinker, and 
 siu'h hke, and more to (h>lieacv of liand in feehng, appreeiatin-r, 
 and huinonrini; the victim, when C()(pii'ttin<; and nihhhn^ ahonl 
 the hait. It cannot he Ukencd tn thi- skill exeitid in castint: 
 and mana^ini; the fly, or the spinning niiiuniu ; nuich lt>s to 
 the phiyin;;, kiUinj;, and hasketini: the hea\iest kind of lish with 
 the hf^htest rnnnini; tackk'. 
 
 It mnst he accpiiri'd hy hahit and practice, if it he thon<,dit 
 worth the trouhh" of accpiisition, hnt it can scarcely he tanj^ht 
 at all hy instruction or example; ami written preci'jjts to this 
 end woidd he alto^'cthcr wortldess, as they would he dull and 
 unnniusim;. 
 
 I shall now proceed to the ennmcration of the (ianu" lishes 
 of the I'nited States and ISritish Provinces of North America, 
 according: to my nndcrstandiu'; of their •;ame (pialities — 
 rcj^ardint; them, first, under their j^rcat divisions of fresh and 
 snlt-water fish ; then as migratory or non-mij^ratory, and deep- 
 sea or shoal-water. 
 
 And here I shall ohserve that I adopt these <rrand divisions 
 as paramount to the natural distinctions of ;,'enera, familii's, 
 and the like, as I conceive thai such a treatment of my sidjject 
 will he most conducive to the pleasure and advantage of sports- 
 men, for whoso l)enefit I cspcrially write; while tlic naturalist 
 will find that, suhj<'ct t«) these divisions, he will rccop^iise all 
 his old nc(iuaintances, and iKMhaps encounter sonic new ones, 
 under tlic generic and specific dinsions and definitions to which 
 he has heen accustomed. .Ml the (Janu* Fish of this country 
 belong to a few well-nuirkcd families; and with the sole cxccp- 
 
|.f. Tnnp .s-jjtz - . 7:^ jlSHXICJL 
 
 Tked 
 
 .; Kav. 
 
 Tlie Ec 
 
 '. and if : 
 
 to doj nor is 
 
 ^- .-ratorr or TM>n- 
 
 g to each of these tiro 
 
OKVERA >'F r,\MF. FI>H. 17 
 
 It will be well to observe here, that I consider all those fish 
 which run up rivers and streams into the fresh water, for the 
 j)urjK)se of spawning, which pass a considerable portion of tlic 
 year, and arc principally, if not wholly, taken in such water, 
 as fresh-water fishes; although a resort to tlic salt water is 
 neccssarj' to the reinvngoration of their constitutions ; and it is 
 probable, to the excellence of their flesh, and the courage and 
 l)oldness of their tempers. 
 
 To this class belong several of the finest and most important 
 of all our fish, both as regards the table and the sport ; for to 
 this are directly referable the Salmon, that king of the piscine 
 world, the Sea Trout, the Striped Bass, the Shad, and the 
 Smelt ; l>oth of which, for reasons which I shall give when I 
 am to treat of them under their own proper heads, I admit as 
 (Jame Fishes. 
 
 Our fresh-water fishes, then, all belonging to the two classes 
 above named, Malacopterygii, soft-finned, and Acanthopterygii , 
 or spiny- finned, are divided into the following families : — 
 
 Of the first, Abdominal Malacopteryoii, we have 
 
 I. — The family of Salmoxid.e, of which the tnie sea Salmon is 
 the tyj>e, and of which there are many varieties and sub-genera, 
 both migrator}- and non-migratory ; the principal arc — 
 
 Grnus Salino. 
 
 The True Salmon (>'a/»/io Satar). 
 
 The Orcatcst I>ake Trout. — Mackinaw Salmon {Salino 
 
 Amethynluji I . 
 The Northern Lake Trout. — Siskawitz Salmu 
 
 c 
 
18 THE GAME FISH OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 The Lake Trout. — Salmon Trout {Salmo Confinis). 
 
 The Sebago Trout {Salmo Sebago). 
 
 The Arctic Charr {Salmo Hoodii). 
 
 The Sea Trout.— White Trout, or Silver Trout {Salmo 
 Trutta Marina). 
 
 The Brook Trout {Salmo Fontinalis). 
 Genus Osmerus. 
 
 The Smelt {Osmerus Viridescens) . 
 Genus Thymallus. 
 
 The Arctic Grayling {Thymallus Signifer). 
 Genus Coregonus. 
 
 The White Fish {Coregonus Aldus). 
 
 The Otsego Bass,* misnomer {Coregonus Otsego). 
 
 II. — Family Silurid^, 
 
 Containing many species, Cat-fish, Bull-heads, fee, 
 unworthy of notice, except 
 Genus Silurus. 
 
 The Great Cat-fish. 
 
 III. — Family Cyprinid^, 
 
 Containing many varieties. The Chub, Sucker, Shiner, 
 Boach, Dace, Bream, &c., of no account except for 
 bait, unless it be two imported species, 
 
 * This fish so closely resembles the White Fish {Coregonus Albiis), as to be con- 
 ceived by many persons to be merely a casual variety. This, however, does not 
 appear to be in truth the case. It is gi-eatly to be regretted, that trae and dis- 
 tinctive names should not be attached to fishes which, having been absurdly 
 misnamed by the ignorant early settlers, still go by those stupid misnomers — as in 
 the present instance ; where a fish having no possible analogy to a Bass, and, 
 indeed, belonging to a difierent class of fish, " soft-finned," is termed Bass. The 
 analogous fish in England are known as GwjTiiad, Vendace, and PoUan. I would 
 suggest " Otsego Lavaret" as a very suitable name for this unnamed species. 
 
(5ENKKA OF (JA.MK FISH. ID 
 
 The Common Carp {('i/jiriini.s Carj/iu). 
 Thr (loldeii Car[) {('i//trinu.s Aura(un). 
 1\ . — Family Clipkid i . 
 Cenus A I OS a. 
 
 The Shad* (Alosu PrtvstdhiUs). 
 Genus CI it pea. 
 
 Tlu' lli-rring I'luprit llarenyas). 
 V. — Family Esocid.k. 
 Genus Estor. 
 
 The Mascalougc {Esox Estor). 
 Tlie Nortlicrn Pickerel [Esox Ltisioides) . 
 The Common Pickerel [Esox Reticitlatus). 
 The Long Island Pickerel {Esox Fascial us). 
 The Gar-pike {Esox ()s.teus). 
 
 Beside two or three other 8i)ecies, found in the 
 P('nnsylv;ini;m and wcstcMMi waters. 
 
 This brings us to the end of our fresh-water, soft-finned fishes; 
 or of suth. at lea.st, as are in anywise worthy to be accounted 
 Game Fishes ; and we come to the second division, Acanthopte- 
 ryf/ii, or spiny-finned fishes, which, though it is Baron Cuvicr's 
 fin*t division, I have postponed to the Malaroptcri/f/ii, or soft- 
 finned fishes, on account of the greater estimation in which they 
 are held, especially the noble Salmon, Pike and Shad families, 
 by both epicure and sportsman. 
 
 Second, however, to those only are several of the families of 
 
 * I aotiMmhat doubt thin diminction. I have drawings, mitde from life, of two 
 v»nrtic« of .Sh*d lakra in Npw York LUjr, agrmng prociMly with A lota Finla and 
 Alotn Otmmumij of Yarrrl- the Twaitc mi<I Allicr .SIumI of England — to thf lattor 
 of which I would rrfrr thU Rtli. 
 
 . •> 
 
20 THE GAME FISH OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 the second class, and scarcely inferior even to these is the 
 splendid genus Labrax, unquestionably next to the Salmon, the 
 most sporting fish in all respects in the world, and in his 
 absence facile princeps. 
 
 Of the class Acanthopterygii, then, we have 
 
 The Family Percid^. 
 
 Genus Perca. 
 
 The Yellow Perch {Perca Flavescens) . 
 
 Of this there are three or four very closely allied 
 varieties. 
 The White Perch {Perca Pallida). 
 The Common Perch {Perca Fluviatilis). And others 
 of less note, very closely allied, and perhaps casual 
 varieties. 
 
 Genus Corvina. 
 
 The Malageshane {Corvina Rickardsoni) . 
 The Lake Sheep's-head {Corvina Oscula). 
 
 Genus Pomotis. 
 
 The Sun-fish {Pomotis vulgaris). 
 
 Genus Labrax. 
 
 The Striped Bass. — Rock Fish {Labrax Lineatus). 
 
 Genus L/ucioperca. 
 
 American Sandre — Ohio Salmon, &c. {Lucioperca 
 Americana) . 
 
 The Canadian Sandre {Lucioperca Canadensis). 
 Genus Ginstes. 
 
 The Black Bass. — OsAvego Bass {Grystes Nigricans). 
 
THE FAMILY rKUClD.K. -.'I 
 
 Genus Ctntrarchnn. 
 
 The Hotk Bass {Centrarchus jUlneus). 
 
 iitrnus Otolit/m.s. 
 
 Tin- Weak Fish {Otoiit/tiui Ref/alh). 
 
 The Southern Trout [OtoHthus Carolinensis). 
 
 And with these, unless the rcaiU'r ehoosc to atUl the l''el of 
 tlie chiss Apodal Malacopti;kv(;ii, family Anuuill)d.k, the 
 list of the fresh-water Sportinj^ Fishes of the I iiitcd States and 
 British Provinces may he said to close. 
 
 Of these fish, the True SiUmou [Sahno iiiiluj-), the Sea Trout 
 {Salmo Trutta Marina), the lirook Trout {Sahno Foniinalb), the 
 Arctic Charr [Salmo Iloodii), and perhaps the Sebago Lake Trout, 
 are migratory, as is also the Arctic (i ray ling [Thymalluit Siynifer) ; 
 all the other Lake Trout, and such of the Hiook Trout as are 
 found in snudl streams above impracticable fidls, or in spring 
 ponds, or lakes without outlets, arc stationary, or non-migratory ; 
 and the consequences of their habit may be very readily disco- 
 vered in the inferiority of their flesh, both in colour and firmness 
 of muscle, and in their comparatively lazy gait, and want of 
 game (jualities, vigour and endurance. 
 
 Of other soft-tinned fishes, the Smelt {Osmcru.s I'indescens), 
 the Shad [Alosa Prtestabilis), and the Herring {Clupea Harengas), 
 arc migrator)- from salt to fresh water, and so, perhaps, is the 
 Weak Fish, in the Southern waters, then' inisnameil Trout* 
 ( OtoUthu9 CaroUnensit) . 
 
 * Thin ftuli I h»rc norcr •ovn ; but I RTvatly doubt tluit tJic fwli cAllttl «• Trout," 
 in the South, b identical with the Nortlicm Weak Fiaii. From I'rofvMur AgiuBiz, 
 I undcnUnd it to bo a pcculiju* rarirty of the Wcalc Fiidi {(H>ilahut), b<>iii); ii|>otte<l, 
 rather tluu) «tripe<l, and thu* differing aomcwiuit from it, and friNiuvnting frvsli 
 strcaoM, which the oUien do not. 
 
22 THE GAME FISH OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 The White Fish [Coregonus Aldus) and the Otsego Bass [Core- 
 gonus Otsego) are partially raigratory from the deeper waters of 
 the lakes which they inhabit. All the Silurida, Cyprinidce, and 
 EsocidfS are stationary fish. 
 
 Three or four of the above species and varieties I have 
 admitted with no small doubt, and first of these, in the family 
 Salmonida, the Common Lake Trout* [Salmo Confinis), of Dekay; 
 because I can see no sufficient cause for distinguishing this fish 
 from the Greatest Lake Trout, or Mackinaw Salmon, with which 
 it appears to me to be identical, except in size; whereas, size 
 alone is a very insufficient cause of separation. Secondly, the 
 Sebago Lake Trout, which is to be found, as a distinct variety, in 
 no work on American Ichthyology ; and yet I have thought it 
 best to insert it on the authority of several distinguished 
 sportsmen, who have had frequent opportunities of comparing it 
 with the ordinary Lake Trout, and who pronounce it to be a 
 new and nondescript fish, unless it be the true Salmon degene- 
 rated. This last hypothesis I am unwilling to listen to, as I 
 disbelieve in the degeneration of animals, in peculiar localities, 
 unless confined under unnatural circumstances, as a sea-running 
 fish in fresh water, without means of egress. I understand that 
 this Sebago Trout has access to the sea; there is no reason, 
 therefore, why, if originally a true Salmon, it should have lost 
 its true characteristics in waters having their exit through the 
 Saco, more than in those which discharge via the Kennebec ; 
 or why it should continue to run up a small river, when it has 
 
 * With regard to the varieties of Lake Trout, of which there are certainly tlu-ee 
 entirely distinct, the Amethyst us, the Sislmvitz, and the Confinis, it is again much to be 
 regretted that no distinguishing names have been given, all passing indiscriminately 
 under the general term of Lake Trout. 
 
SEA TUUL'T. 2:J 
 
 deserted all the hirgcr rivers westward of the l^'iiobscot, with 
 the exception of a very few which arc, perhaps, still taken in the 
 Androscogf^in and the Kcnnchec, where, a few years ago, thiy 
 absolntely swarmed. 
 
 With regard to this tish, however, 1 hope, before couehuling 
 this work, to receive more decided information from some of my 
 obliging correspondents in tli:it (piarter; and perhaps even 
 a specimen to compare with the other varieties of this genus. 
 
 Again, of tlie Sea Trout or While Trout, 1 have my iloubts, 
 whether it be not a (Jrilse, or Salmon of the third year. It is 
 as yet, so fjir as I know, untigured and uudescribed ; but my 
 information concerning it from excellent tishermen on the 
 waters where it abounds — the rivers mainly, which fall into the 
 Bay of Gjispe and the CJulf of St. Lawrence — is so clear and 
 strong, that I prefer noting it as a (juestionable vjiriety, in the 
 hopes of calling to it the attention of older naturalists than 
 myself, and of those who have better opportunities of obtaining 
 and examining specimens. 
 
 Lastly, the Ued-bellied Trout {Salutu Enjthrofjusttr), of Dr. 
 Dekay, I decline to insert on ids authority, being entirely lui- 
 convinecd as to its being anything nu)re than a mere accidental 
 variety. The whole of that region of lakes and rivers, in the 
 north-eastern angle of New York, in which this variety is said 
 to exist, teems with accidental varieties of the Hi-ook Trout, of 
 almost ever}' size, as well as shade and colour, Imth of flesh and 
 external tints. The Trout of no two of these lakes or rivers are 
 precisely identical. The Hnme may be said of IJrook Trout from 
 various waters in Long Island. These differences, however, are 
 not deemed suflicient (consisting, mainly, in vjiriations ot luu , 
 
24 THE GAME FISH OF NORTH AMEEICA. 
 
 not of form, bony configuration, scales, or fins) whereon to 
 found generic distinctions. 
 
 The same remarks apply to a small fish, which Dr. Dekay 
 has described at length, and figm-ed under a new name, as the 
 Troutlet, in his Fauna of New York ; and which is unquestion- 
 ably nothing more than the young fiy of the common Brook 
 Trout, while it is so small as to retain the lateral transverse 
 bars, or clouded bands, which have lately been discovered to 
 belong to the fry of every known variety of the family of the 
 Salmon, and which have caused all the confusion, and given 
 rise to all the various theories, concerning the Parr of Great 
 Britain. 
 
 Into all these points I shall enter more fully under their 
 appropriate heads, when treating of the separate fish to which 
 they relate. 
 
 The Smelt {Osmerus Viridescens), I have mentioned, though 
 not properly a Game Fish — for it is probable that the state- 
 ments of its being taken with the hook refer to the Athering or 
 Sand Smelt — because there are some errors to be refuted, con- 
 nected with him and the young of the true Salmon, which would, 
 not so easily be dealt with otherwise; and the Shad [Alosa 
 Prcestabilis) I have elevated to the rank of a Game Fish, not 
 merely on account of the excellence of his flesh in a culinary 
 point of view, but because I am well satisfied by indisputable 
 proofs, that, although it is not iisual to attempt the capture of 
 this fish sportsmanlike, the fault rests not ynih. the Shad, but 
 with the angler. 
 
 He will not only take the fly, and on some occasions very 
 freely, but runs strongly away with the line, and fights hai'd 
 
SMKLT. — SHAI>. ^5 
 
 before lie is subduetl. I rcj;anl him :i \ery decided addition to 
 the list of Ainerieuu Sporting Fishes. 
 
 The CDnjinoii llcrriiii; can he taken very readily in the same 
 manner, and 1 have had very eonsideral)le amnsi'inciit in killing 
 them with a gandy peacoek-tail fly, in New York harbour, in 
 the vieinity of Tort DianuMul, at the Narrows. 
 
 With these exceptions, and tlie two \arieties of W'hiti; Fish, 
 one of which is absurdly misnamed Otscj^o Bass, haxiuir abont 
 as mnch relation to a Bass as it has to a Flouudir, all that I 
 have named are admitti-d t() bi' game by all tislurmen ; ami 
 these I have mentioned, becansc I have little or no doubt that 
 they also, like their F^uropcan congeners, the (Iwyniad of Wales 
 antl the Pollan of Ireland, may be occasionally taken with the 
 artificial fly. 
 
 All these fish are Coregoni, and are \ery nearly analogons to 
 one another, forming a sort of intermediate link between the 
 families of Salmonidie and Clnpeidte, or Salmon and Shad, al- 
 though they are included for many satisfactory reasons among 
 the former— the common people in Great Britain calling them 
 fresh-water Herring, while in the I'nited States they not unfre- 
 quently pass by the name of Shad-salmon. 
 
 The flesh of all the varieties is delicate and hi^'hly lla\omcd. 
 The desire of comparing these American Coreyoni with the 
 British varieties, and of bringing them somewhat more into 
 general notice, luis induced me to mention them, rather than 
 their game nature. 
 
 I now proceed to the sak-waicr tishes, both those taken in 
 deep, and those in shoal water, of the vnriouH families above 
 named ; and thereafter ^hall arrange them according to their 
 hannts and habits. 
 
26 THE GAME FISH OF XOETH AMEEICA. 
 
 Of those salt-water fish of the Atlantic coasts which afford 
 the most real sport to the angler^ and which are alone taken 
 with the rod and reel^ all the families belong to the class of the 
 Acanthopteryyii, or spiny-finned fishes, none of the soft-finned 
 fishes of the abdominal division being taken in the shoal waters 
 of the bays and estuaries ; while the deep-sea fish are all of the 
 Sub-brachial Malacopterygii, unless we may consider as such the 
 Sea Bass and Porgee, which are, however, as often or oftener 
 caught in shallow water. 
 
 Of salt-water fish, taken in shoal water, river mouths, and the 
 like, Acanthopteryyii, spiny-finned, we have the family 
 
 Percidje, whereof the Perch is the type. 
 Genus Lahrax. 
 
 The Striped Bass [Lahrax Lineatv^). 
 
 [Mentioned above as a fresh-water fish, being frequently 
 caught in rivers far above tide-water, as well as in the estuaries, 
 and even in the sui'fs on the ocean borders. 
 
 Genus Centropristes. 
 
 The Sea Bass {Centropristes Nigricans). 
 Scienidse. 
 
 Genus Leiostomus. 
 
 The Sea Chub. — Lafayette-fish [Leiostomus Obliquus). 
 
 Genus Otolithus. 
 
 The Weak Fish [Otolithus Regalis). 
 
 The Southern Trout [Otolithus CaroUnensis). 
 
 Genus Umbrina. 
 
 The King Fish [Umbrina Nebulosa). 
 
TIIK FAMILY IKIKIDT. 27 
 
 (Itntis i'uyijniiin. 
 
 The Drimi Kish (Po(/ointi.'< ('/iromis). 
 Spiiridii'. 
 
 (itiiiKi Sarf/u.t. 
 
 The Sheep's-liead {S(iri/iis Ori.s). 
 dtnuit P(i(jrus. 
 
 The I'orgee {Payru.s Ari/i/roj/.t). 
 
 Seoiubridu'. 
 
 (ttiiiiji Temuodon. 
 
 The Blue I'ish. — Skip-.Iuck {Tvinnodon Sallulor). 
 
 Labridie. 
 (iiiiiis Tautoyu. 
 
 The Tautopr. — Hhick Kish {Taittof/a Aineriratia). 
 
 These eomj)lete the list of those salt-water lUh wliieh are of 
 any repute as atlbrdiug sport to the an<ijler in shoal water; they 
 may all be taken with the rod and reel, in the bays, mouths of 
 rivers, and shallow inleLs along the greater portion of our coast, 
 especially in the vicinity of reefs, the piles of old docks, or the 
 hulls of sunken vessels, around which they are often found in 
 so large shoals, and bite so freely and rapidly, as to aflord a 
 verj' high degree of amusement. Many persons are extremely 
 fond of this kind of fishing, though it cannot sustain a 
 moment's comparison with Trouting, much less Salmon fishing, 
 or indeed with trolling or ••pinning for the; I'ike and the Black 
 Bass. 
 
 Several of the above-mentionetl fishes are of rare excellence ; 
 the Weak I'ish and Blue Fish, when quite fresh out of the 
 water, are not easdy surpassed ; but the King 1 ish and the 
 
28 THE GAME FISH OF NOETH AMERICA. 
 
 Sheep^s-liead^ the latter a migratory fish, visiting us during 
 the summer months only, are in far greater esteem, being 
 regarded by epicures as inferior to none which are taken in our 
 waters. 
 
 The most extraordinary day's sport I have seen recorded in 
 this line fell to the lot of a gentleman of New York, well known 
 as an enthusiastic amateur and a most skilful proficient in the 
 gentle art, and was thus recorded at the time in the Commercial 
 Advertiser of 1 827. I note the circumstance, and quote the fol- 
 lowing lines from a very useful, unpretending, and not therefore 
 less agreeable compendium, " The American Angler's Guide," 
 published, I believe, by Mr. Brown, well known as the proprie- 
 tor of the Angler's Depot, where he keeps an excellent assort- 
 ment of tackle of all kinds, in Fulton-street. I have often 
 derived both information and entertainment from this good little 
 manual, which is succinct and portable, and I strongly recom- 
 mend it to my readers. 
 
 The feat to which I have alluded is thus recorded in its 
 pages : — 
 
 " On Friday last, a gentleman of this city went out fishing 
 from Rockaway into Jamaica Bay, with his son, a lad of twelve 
 years of age. They commenced fishing at half-past seven in the 
 morning, spent half an hour in dining at noon, and quit fishing 
 at half-past one, having taken with their rods, in six hours, four 
 hundred and seventy-two King Fish. Their guide was Joseph 
 Bannister ; none of these fish were taken by him, as he was 
 diligently employed the whole time in preparing bait." 
 
 The writer adds that he admits this to have been " an extra- 
 ordinary performance ;" but he goes on to say " that he has 
 
SoFT-riNNKI) FISIIIS. 20 
 
 iiuujy times taken al)()vi> one lnimlrcd in a tide, tliuuj^li of late 
 years tliese fish have become searee in those waters, it being 
 supposeil that their enemy, the Hhie Fish, by j)reying on their 
 younjr, have cansed the seareity." 
 
 It is searcely necessary, I presnme, to remark that no sucli 
 teats are to he pi-rt'ormi-d ii(n\ -a-days ; and lie is a happN and an 
 envii'tl man, who succeeds at present in i-aptnring a lew In'acc 
 t)l" this (h'hcions (iamc I'ish. 
 
 I now come to the last section ot' my work, tlie deep-sea 
 tishes, very lew of whicli arc worthy of iTmark in conni'ction 
 with the angler's sport, althongh they all arc of superior excel- 
 lence as dainties. 
 
 These are all soft-finned fishes, but they form a separate class 
 of the Maluroptt-njifii, owing to a pectdiar arrangement of their 
 tins, the bones supporting the ventrals being attached to the 
 shoulders which support the pectorals, whence they have obtained 
 the tcnn snb-brachial. 
 
 To this class of snb-brachial Malacopltri/f/ii belong the two 
 families of (iadUlir and PUuronertida;, Cod and Flat-fish, to one 
 or other of which pcrtaui all the s|)ccits whirh arc taken by the 
 ilrop-line on our coast ; a sport which is almost too dirty, as 
 well as too laborious, to l)e in very truth a sport. 
 
 Of the family (i.vnin.K, of which the Cod is the type, we have 
 The Common Cod [Morr/iua Vulf/ariM). 
 The Haddock {Morr/iua yKf/hJinijtj. 
 The \Vhiting [Mcrlani/uji Ameriranus). 
 
 And althongh there arc several other species of more or less 
 estimation for the table, ju» the Torsk or Tusk {Brosinius I'lifr/arh) , 
 the Hake [Merhirius Vulgttris), and some others, none but 
 
30 THE GAISIE FISH OF XORTH AMEPtlCA. 
 
 these are such as to require enumeration in a work of this 
 description. 
 
 Of the second family, Pleuronectid^, I shall think it enough 
 to mention. 
 
 The Halibut {Hippoglossus Vulgaris), which is the largest 
 species of this family, as well as the best that is taken in 
 American waters ; for the species of Turbot, Rhombus, which is 
 found on the coasts of Massachusetts Bay, and that neighbour- 
 hood, is greatly inferior both in size and quality to the celebrated 
 European fish of the same name. 
 
 The Flounder of New York {Pleuronectes Dentatus), which 
 is also frequently taken, though more commonly by accident, 
 while in pursuit of finer fish, than as the angler's prime object, 
 is rather a delicate fish, and often bites freely. 
 
 With this brief enumeration of sea-fish I shall content myself, 
 as the description and habits of others, though curious and 
 full of interest to the icthyologist and student of nature, 
 belong rather to the department of science, than to the craft of 
 the angler. 
 
 I may, however, mention, not as objects but accessories of the 
 sport, the Atherine {AtherinaMenidia), avariety of the fish known 
 in England as the Sand Smelt, here commonly called the Spear- 
 ling, or Sparling, and much used as a bait, for which its bright 
 silvery colours particularly adapt it. 
 
 The British variety is frequently taken with the hook ; and 
 on the Southern coasts, where the true Smelt is unknown, it is 
 commonly known and sold as that fish, to which it bears some 
 degree of similarity in flavour, as well as in the cucumber smell 
 common to both when freshlv taken from the water. 
 
F.NI> OV n.ASSIFICATIOX. 31 
 
 1 iim not aware llmt the American fish is ever eaten, thon«^h 
 It is very abundant on the coasts ; in appearance, it so closely 
 resembles the Kuropean species, that on a slight inspection it 
 would be taken for it. 
 
 Tiie Sand Launcc {AmmoHytes Lnnau), is also held in high 
 estimation ais a bait for sea and h.iiui lines, owinj^ to its silvery 
 brijihtncss. It is for tlu^ former of these litth" lish th:it the 
 lUiu' l'i>h {Temnodun Saltator), and the Striped Bass {Lahra.i 
 lAueatus), strike at the jiolished hone, pearl, or metal sfji/id, as it 
 is termed, of the tisherman, when it is made to play with a rota- 
 tory motion, glancin«? thronj^h the water, in the wake of a swift- 
 sailing boat, or in the surf upon the outer beaches. 
 
 Having; now accomplished the dry work of enumerating and 
 classifying those of the fish of America, w hcther fresli or salt- 
 water, which I consider worthy of the sportsman's notice, I 
 shall proceed to describe them more or less briefly, according to 
 the degree of interest attacliing to their habits, migrations, 
 growth, and breeding; and thereafter to tlie best and most 
 improved niode of taking tluin ; hot, I mean, as regards art, 
 piscatorial science, and sport, not looking to the mere amount 
 of slaughter, but considering in this instance the siiavitir in 
 modo, long before the mere fori Her in re. 
 
 And here I will venture to recjuest my reader, who may havi- 
 proceeded thus far in this volume without finding very much to 
 interest or enlighten him, not to lay by its pages in disgust ; as 
 tliia portion, necessarily partaking much of the character of a 
 catalogue, can hardly l>e expected to be vcr}' amusing, while I 
 think I ran promise that he will find something to awaken his 
 interest, whether he be a scientific naturalist or a mere sports- 
 
32 THE GAME FISH OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 man, before he has advanced many pages farther ; inasmuch as, 
 thanks especially to the assistance of my good friend Professor 
 Agassiz, and other correspondents, I believe I shall have the 
 pleasure of laying before him something that is not only new, 
 but curious and highly interesting, concerning the growth, the 
 breeding, and the varieties, several of them hitherto undescribed, 
 of the family of Salmon {Salmonida) of North America, to the 
 consideration of which I come without farther delay. 
 
THK <JAMK FISH i»K NoUTH A.MHlMC.x. Mi 
 
 SALMONIDJ-:, Oh' TIIK sAI.MoN FAMILY. 
 
 - --♦■ - 
 
 It must not he supposi-d, althouf^h, for want of ivllcctioii on 
 tlic suhjort, many persons proliahly may expcet it, that the 
 closest ol)server and most accurate discriminator of the facts on 
 which the science of the natnraHst is founded, can hiy (h)\vn the 
 hiw with rejjard to the hal)its, the food, the haunts, the aj)petitcs, 
 or even the distinct species, of that portion of the animal crea- 
 tion which dwiU for the most part unseen in the hosom (jf the 
 waters, with the same certainty as lie can those of domestic 
 animals, or even of hirds and beasts, frrw nuturd. 
 
 Of the latter even, especially of wild hirds, which emigrate 
 tVom clime to clime with the chanj;e of seasons, there has been 
 much dillicnlty in ascertain inj,' the j^rowth, the a;^e, and the 
 chanj^es of plumaf;e, from the immature to the adult animal, or 
 from the winter to the summer dress — s(» nmeh so, that out 
 of individuals ditfering in aj^e, sex, or season, of the sainie 
 family, and l)el<m;;in}; to a sinjjlc species, in nuuiy instances 
 two, three, or more distinct varieties have been created by 
 natunilists. 
 
 Much has been cft'ected, indeed, of late in these particulars, 
 owing to the greater science and experience of modern natural- 
 
 o 
 
34 SALMONID^. 
 
 ists, — who now prefer the investigation of facts to the iDuilding 
 np of plausible theories, — to the greater diffusion of knowledge 
 and love of scientific inquiry among the masses, and, in no 
 slight degree, to the able and laborious system of experiments 
 which have been set on foot and carried out by country gentlemen 
 and sportsmen, to many of whom the world of letters is indebted 
 for very interesting and remarkable discoveries. 
 
 It is but a few years, comparatively speaking, since that accu- 
 rate observer and delightful writer, Gilbert White, of Selborne, 
 the most charming rural naturalist whom England — perhaps 
 the world — has produced, thought it not unworthy of his time 
 or talents to enter into a long train of investigation and argu- 
 ment, in order to prove that the Swallow — as then appears to 
 have been largely, if not generally, believed — did not pass the 
 winter months in a torpid state, either in the hollows of decayed 
 trees and caverns, or beneath the waters of stagnant pools and 
 morasses. 
 
 In like manner Mr. Audubon has been peculiarly minute in 
 describing the migrations of the Sora Rail, as witnessed by 
 himself, for the purpose of counteracting the notion, which I 
 myself still know to be prevalent among the vulgar and 
 ignorant where these birds abound, that they burrow in the 
 mud during the cold season, hybemating like the INIarmot or 
 the Bear, 
 
 If, then, errors so gross were commonly in vogue concerning 
 animals, the greater portion of whose life is spent before our 
 very eyes ; which make their nests, rear their young, and come 
 and go visibly, and in such manner that their presence and 
 absence, nay, the periods of their departure and return, must 
 
1)1* ()l).st'rvr(l fvi'ii hy tlit' carclt'ss iiiid iimttcntivo luokcr-oii ; 
 much more is it to be expected that the habits, imy, the sexes, 
 n^cs, niui distinct species of tish, which rarely j)resent them- 
 selves to the eyes even of thi- mo.st curious intpiirers, whicli 
 come and }:o unseen and unsuspected, whose mysteries of fjcne- 
 ration and ri'prodnction uri" all pi-rfornicd in a nicdiuiii the 
 least penetrabh* to thi' eyes of science, wIio>e chanj^es of size 
 and coh)ur, from infancy to maturity, pass uttcrh' bcvond our 
 ken, should have been inisconccivrd, misinterpreted, and 
 misdcseribcd. 
 
 ^Vitllin the last few years more has been done to elucidate 
 these mysteries, and to briu}; us to an accurate knowledge of 
 this iuterestin;; portion of the aninnd creation, tlian in nnmv 
 previous centuries; and althou},'h much yet remains, infinitelv 
 more, doubtless, thau has been done, still we have very reccntlv 
 attained much certain knowledj^c rcfjardinp; several of the most 
 interesting,' families ; we ha\e airived at results wliichj by simj)lc 
 deduction, show us how we may hope to arrive at more, haviu" 
 now obtained data wherefroni to advance and discover the 
 process by which to do so. 
 
 The means by which thus much has been accomplished, may 
 be described briefly, as the takin;,' nothing; for granted, 
 assuminj? nothiuf; on hearsay beyond facts, and on investipiting 
 everything: carefully and painfully, not followiu}: t(M> readily 
 preconceived opinions, nor being nusled by mere external and 
 superficial resemblances, but being guided by comparison and 
 experiment, as founded in a great degree on anatomy and 
 osteology. 
 
 In the examination and comjjarison of tishes, the clear 
 
 d2 
 
36 SALMONID^. 
 
 understanding of a few simple facts, which it is necessaiy to 
 observe and record, will enable any sportsman to describe 
 any supposed new variety or species, with such accuracy as 
 to render his description of the highest value for scientific 
 purposes; to make it, in short, such that a naturalist shall 
 be justified in pronouncing positively thereupon as to the 
 genus, species, sex, and perhaps age, of the variety described 
 or discovered. 
 
 The first point to be observed is the nature of the fins, as 
 hard-rayed and spiny^ as in the Perch, the Bass, and others 
 which it is needless here to enumerate ; or soft-rayed and 
 flexible, as in the Pike, the Salmon, the Carp, and many more. 
 The second, is the jjosition of the fins ; and to elucidate this 
 point to the unscientific reader, I here subjoin an outline with 
 references, to render this method of examination comprehen- 
 sible and easy of acquisition to anybody. 
 
 The subject of this outline is the young of the Lake Trout 
 {Salmo Trutta, Lin.), of the Eui'opean continent. This figure, 
 which is taken by permission from Mr. Agassiz's fine work, 
 Histoire Naturelle des Poissons d'Eau douce de U Europe Cen- 
 trale, represents a young Salmon Trout, taken in the Lake of 
 Neufchatel, at the end of summer, less than a year old. The 
 lower figure gives the outline of the same fish, as seen from 
 above. Other cuts of the same simple description will show 
 the formation of the head, the gill-covers, and the dental 
 system, from which after the fins, and the number of vertebrae, 
 the specific distinctions are most easily ascertained. 
 
 It will be seen clearly, at the slightest inspection of the 
 beautiful little fish which has been selected as the subject of 
 
KIN Ari'i:Ni»A(ii:s. 
 
 .37 
 
 tliis cut, iiiid \\lii(li IS a species of liiiko Trout froiu the 
 coutinrnt of lluropi", that it lias t-ii^lit liiis in all, iiicludiuL; tlic 
 
 tail, si \ I if U 1 1 nil ;ilr (1|nIi1;i\ id ni tin- l:it i l:il \ liw , t w II I II I II -r on 
 
 \\\c furtluT sitli' ; aud scvcmi in tho vu-w of the hack taken from 
 above ; the ciirhth, which is indicated l)y u dotted line, being 
 on the uiuUt part of the lisli. 
 
 Of these appcndaj;es, by \\liich the motion, position in the 
 water, and dirtction of the aninial, are rej^ulnted ; the two 
 nearest the head, one on either side, a a, are the pectorals; the 
 two somewhat farther back, one on eitliir side, ii n, arc the 
 ventrals ; the one on the under siih-, yet farther back, i, the 
 anal ; the tail, n, the caudal; and the two on the rid;ie of the 
 back, K K, the dorsal ; r is the lateral line. 
 
 These arc all the denominaitions of lins possessed by any 
 fish, although the number and size, as well a-s the structure, 
 var\' in tlie various s|)rcies, which are thus easily distiu- 
 ^uishid. 
 
 Of these fin?*, all the cla.s*«cs of fish conceruMii; which this 
 
38 SALMONID^. 
 
 book will treat (with one exception^ the Apodal Malocopterygii, 
 one species of which will be slightly mentioned) possess the 
 following : — 
 
 Two pectorals. One caudal. 
 
 Two veutrals. One dorsal. 
 
 One anal. 
 
 No fish has more than two pectorals, or two ventrals ; many 
 have several anals, and several dorsals ; none, unless deformed 
 or monstrous, have more than one caudal. 
 
 The Apodal Malacopterygii, of which I have spoken, lack the 
 ventrals entirely; wherefore their name apodal, footless; the 
 ventral being assumed as performing the function of feet in the 
 quadruped, although somewhat fancifully. 
 
 Now, on the texture of these fins is founded the distinction 
 between the first two orders of fishes, as instituted by Baron 
 Cuvier; the first order, Acanthopterygii, having the rays, by 
 which the filamentous part of the fins is supported and extended, 
 in part hard, spinous, and in some species, sharp and prickly ; 
 whence the designation — " acanthos," signifying a thorn ; while 
 the second order, Malacopterygii, have these rays invariably 
 soft and flexible, as the term, derived from " malacos," soft, 
 sufficiently indicates. 
 
 This distinction is so easily drawn, that when once mentioned 
 it cannot be missed or overlooked by the most superficial 
 observer ; and as to one or other of these orders belongs every 
 fish, without an exception, of which the sportsman takes cogni- 
 sance — I do not of course include shell-fish— its importance is 
 self-evident. 
 
 Of the spiny-finned fishes, though there are many families. 
 
FLKXIHLE-FINNKI) FlSllKS. 39 
 
 iiiul iimny spccii's of uarli rainily, then' nrv no gri-at subordiimtf 
 ili\isiuns. 
 
 Of tlie Hfxiljlr-liimrtl fishes, on the eoiitraiy, thtre are 
 three stroiij^ly-dctiucd divisiuus, of uhieh the hugcst is that 
 containing 
 
 'V\ic Abdominal Malncopli-nj^fit : in all of whieh the two ventral 
 tins, iu», arc situate on the belly, attacheil t<j the walls of the 
 stouinch, and deriving no support from the bones of the shoulder. 
 To tliis division belongs, among many others, the subject of the 
 outline cut on page .'iT, the European Lake Trout ; and, as a 
 consequence, all the family of the SalmonliLv. The fishes of 
 this division can be readily distinguished, on a mere external 
 examination, by the fact that the ventral fins, an, are situated 
 much farther back than in those of the next division, oceupving 
 a position nearly longitudinally posterior to the pectorals, aa; 
 while in those to which I next proceed, they an; nearlv vertically 
 below them. 
 
 The second grand division of the flcxible-finued fishes consists 
 of the Siid-brar/iiul Malacojjtmjf/ii ; in all of whieh the ventral 
 fins, H n, jirc placed very near to the pectorals, a \, the bones 
 supporting the former being attached to the bones of the 
 shoulder which support the latter. The term sub-brachial 
 briefly expresses this formation, signifying " having lower arms" 
 — to which human limb the reference is pointed by the 
 connection of the fin, in this division, to the shonldcr. 
 
 The third di\i>ion of the flexible-finned fishes, to whieh 1 
 allude mthcr to complete the subject, than that they fall reguhirlv 
 into the anglerS* way, cousints of those designated by Haron 
 Cuvier as the .Ipotial Malaroptfrygii ; in all of uhiili the 
 
40 SALMONID^. 
 
 ventrals are entirely wanting. To this division belong the 
 famihes of Murmiidce, and AnguilUdeB, Congers, Eels, and their 
 congeners. 
 
 First then, having noted whether the fish we desire to know 
 more minutely has hard or flexible fin-rays, and then, having 
 ascertained by the position of his ventral fins, if soft-fiuned, to 
 which division he belongs, by examining the number and posi- 
 tion, as well as the texture, of the dorsal and anal fins, we shall 
 speedily discover his family ; or if we have no book at hand to 
 which we can refer, we can easily so describe liim by letter to 
 some competent person, as Avill enable him readily to enlighten 
 us on the subject. 
 
 To show the importance of possessing even the small degree 
 of knowledge conveyed in these last few pages, I will merely 
 observe that if the settlers of the shores of the Otsego had been 
 even so far advanced in the science, they had not committed the 
 blunder of misnaming the excellent fish of their waters, the 
 Otsego Bass ; when it is in truth one of the Salmon family — 
 the former being a spiny, the latter a soft-finned family. 
 
 A few steps more would have prevented our Southern friends 
 from the commission of the absurdity of designating a variety 
 of Weak Fish as Trout — two fish which have not the most 
 remote connection ; and so on ad infinitum. 
 
 All the family of Salmonida, or Salmons, have two dorsal fins, 
 as will be obsen^ed in the outline figure on page 37 ; the hinder 
 one of which has no rays, but is merely a fleshy or fatty 
 appendage. Had the Otsegoites known this simple fact, they 
 would at once have perceived that their fish not only was not a 
 Bass, but was a Salmon. And this same degree of attainment 
 
DISTINCTION IJY FIN-KAVS. 41 
 
 would have invvtutrd the application of tlir misnoincr Tnnit to 
 tlie AVt'ak Fish. I Imvc ol)servc(l this very day, in the luluiims 
 of a distinjjuished weekly jounml, an oiler on the part of n 
 e(irre!<pondent to describe the habits, X'c., of tlit> Sn.ti/in-/i(i/i(t 
 Salmon! There heini,' notorionsly no Salmon in that or anv 
 Southern stream, althon^ii the Hrook Trout al)ound in its upper 
 waters, I \tiiture at once to predict that this Salmon w ill turn out 
 to he tlie fish describc<l by Dekay as Luciopcrca AnwricoiKi, an<l 
 variously called Ohio Salmon and Ohio Pickerel ; being neither, 
 but a species of the Pcrdi family, with one spiny dorsal (in. 
 
 I hope tlicsc brief facts w ill induce sportsmen to «;ivc a little 
 attention to this subject ; and that they will not be ahirmed by 
 the luirshness or apparent dilliculty of a few foreign terms nor 
 sutler themselves to be ditcrreil by a mere show of trouble from 
 acciuiring, in a few minutes, tliat which will surely gi\e them 
 years of gratification. 
 
 More direct instruction in regard to the mode (jf observation, 
 and the point to be observi-d, will be given under tlu> head of 
 each particular \\>\\, in the body of the work ; but 1 will here 
 point out that it is very well to note down the number of rays 
 sevendly contained in tlic pectoral, ventral, anal, caudal, and 
 dorsal fins of any fish which is suspected of being an undescribed 
 or distinct variety ; as on this, as well as on the sliape of tliesc 
 apiH-udages, mucli dc|RMuls in distinguishing individiuil species 
 of the same family. 
 
 I will here, in corroboration of the last remark, state in two 
 words, that, next to the arningcnient of the gill-covers, of which 
 more anon, the fact on which Varnl relies most strongly for 
 distinguishing the Hull Trout (Sa/mo Krioa) fnjui tin- true 
 
42 SALMONID^. 
 
 Salmon {Salmo Salar) is this, that the caudal fin of the former 
 is convex, while that of the latter is more or less concave, or 
 forked, in proportion to the age of the individual fish. 
 
 I shall now pass to the consideration of the gill-covers, the 
 apparatus by means of which the fish breathes ; in other words, 
 by which the oxygen is separated from the water, in which the 
 animal exists, as it enters by the mouth and passes out at the 
 aperture of the gills, conveying its influence to the blood in its 
 passage. 
 
 This apparatus being of course of the highest degree of 
 importance to the animal, varies in form and structure accord- 
 ing to the various exigencies of the diff'erent species to which it 
 is attached; and it is therefore of great value to the observer 
 in distinguishing one family, and even one species of the same 
 family, from another. 
 
 With regard to the family of which we are now treating (the 
 Salmonidce) , beyond all question the most important and most 
 interesting to the sportsman, as being the gamest, boldest, and 
 strongest of all the fish with which he has to do, and to the 
 epicure likewise, as affording the greatest varieties of the most 
 delicious food, the remarks I am about to make have especial 
 application. 
 
 Of no other family known to the sportsman, are the species 
 so numerous and so difiicult of definition ; and not only the 
 truly distinct species, but the subordinate varieties, produced in 
 the same species by difference of food, of water, of bottom- 
 ground in the lakes or rivers haunted by each, and even by the 
 degrees of light or shadow which affects the localities which 
 they haunt. These varieties, often diftering by many pounds' 
 
vn,(;Ai: dicta. |;{ 
 
 wi'ijjht, fuhturs in tin- bi-DJuicst sense of the \\()nl, not tints or 
 shades of line, (inality of flesh, smd slmpe, uiv liy no nie:ins to 
 be set down as distinct and penuauent species ; for it will he 
 foniul that a transposition of tlicsc I'roni one place to anothc-r, 
 and even the re-^nlar eonrsc of reprodnction, will Ijriii;^ them 
 l)ack to the oriirinal or normal t\ pi'. 
 
 W hat strikes ns, nioreovc-r, at fir>t sight, as in no small 
 (lej^ree singnlar, is the fact, that ditlerent varieties of one 
 species will \i'ry frecincntly ditlV r more widely from one another, 
 and from the original type, so far as those externals which 
 strike the mere superficial oljserver. than entirely distinct and 
 immntahle species. 
 
 This it is which so often leads eonnnon and vulgar-minded 
 persons, who are in the habit of boasting that they believe their 
 own eyes only, and resorting to other absurdities of that kind, 
 and who will not take the trt)idjle of connecting causes and 
 cfTccts, or considering logical consequences, to disregard, and 
 even to hold in contempt, the teachings of scientific men as 
 nure theoretical dreamers, useless coiners of hard terms, and 
 founders of distiuctions, founded upon no difference. 
 
 Such, I am sorr}* to say, is too often the habit of sportsmen ; 
 who will fre(|ucntly give ear to the superstitious and absurd 
 garrulity of some rustic ignoramus, who pronounces his abso- 
 lute yea or nay upon some fact about which he is utterly igno- 
 nint, and who has no earthly cpudification for judging on the 
 (|ualities of the bird, lna.st, or fish in (picstion, than that of 
 having seen it so often that he ought t(» know something about 
 it, which he docs not ; while they turn away contemptuonslv, or 
 listen coldly to the tenchingN of the nuin, whose arguments are 
 
44 SALMONID.E. 
 
 founded upon facts that cannot err, upon deductions drawn 
 from differences of anatomical structure, permanent from gene- 
 ration to generation, and liable to no modification by the 
 change of external circumstances. 
 
 This it is which renders the structure of the fins, the shape of 
 the gills, the system of the teeth, and other matters of the 
 same kind, which pass wholly unnoticed by the clod-hopping 
 hunter, of all importance in distinguishing one species from 
 another ; while the size, the weight, the colour and number of 
 the spots, things to which he will point as decisive with all the 
 pig-headed presumption of self-conceited ignorance, are of little, 
 if any weight, as varying in individuals, and not transmitted, 
 like to like, through generations. 
 
 Almost all the really distinct species of the Salmonida are 
 distinguished principally one from another by the form of the 
 head and the structure of the gills in the first degree, and by 
 the dental system in the second. Any permanent and unvarying 
 difference in these, coupled to other variations of colour, form, 
 habit, or the like, which might otherwise be deemed casual, 
 being held sufficient to constitute a distinct species. 
 
 Many discoveries have been made through these means of late 
 years ; many varieties, which were formerly supposed to be truly 
 distinct, having been proved to be identical; and many new 
 species discovered — the tendency of the Avhole having been to 
 simplify and to diminish the number of species, in the upshot, 
 and thereby to decrease the labours of the student, and to 
 facilitate the acquisitions of science. 
 
 Much, however, yet remains to be done, as will be rendered 
 evident by the consideration that, even in so circumscribed a 
 
DolliTPri. VAHIKTIKS. 45 
 
 territory as (Iirat Hritaiu, every water mI whicli has been 
 I'xploretl, aud. it may hi' proMuned, ahnost every lish siiljinitted 
 to the cxainiiiation of scientitic men, «;rcat (hmhts yet exist con- 
 cerning; many forms, especially of this family of Salmonitltp, 
 whether they ar»- al)>(ihitely distiiut, or merely casual varieties^ 
 incapable of reproduction. 
 
 In this country, with its boundless lakes and j,'i;_'antic rivers 
 — all those to the northward and enstward, and all those fcediu;; 
 the tril)utaries, or lyin^ in the vast basin, of the St. Lawrence, 
 as well as all those on the western or racitic coast, llowinj:; 
 down thn)M<;li the Sacramento and Columbia, or wasting' in the 
 arid sands or wet morasses of the (Jreat Central Hasin, all 
 teeming with varieties, perhaps distinct species of the Salmon — 
 what a vast, what an unexplored tield for the sportsman, the 
 naturalist ; and how doid)ly eharminj; for him who unites in 
 one individual both capacities! Hut two distinct varieties of the 
 .Vmcrican Lake Trout, or at the most three, arc as yet made, 
 out — for I think it doul)tfnl whether there be any positive 
 •grounds on which t«) establish a distinction between the Salmo 
 Confims of Dekay, known in the Kastern States and New 
 York as the common Lake Trout, and the Sa/ino Amef/n/stus of 
 Mitehil, known as the Mackinaw Salmon. The fialmo Sitka- 
 tritz of Afjassiz, discovered in the course of the past summer in 
 Lakes Superior and Huron, is clearly a marked and permanent 
 species. That there is yet one other distinct species, the Seha^^o 
 I^kc Trout, 1 fully believe, hut only having heard of it by oral 
 description, I dare not take up<jn myself, without examination 
 and comparison, to decide the question. 
 
 Apnin : another huge fish is con.stantly mentioned jus taken at 
 
46 SALMONID^. 
 
 times in the lakes of Hamilton County, in New York, which, 
 if it be not, as I believe it is, a gigantic casual variety of 
 the common Brook Trout {Salmo Fontinalis), is certainly a 
 distinct fish. 
 
 A slight examination of the gills, teeth, and fins, will at once 
 settle this point. 
 
 Of the Common Trout, but one species is as yet firmly ascer- 
 tained, unless the Red-bellied Trout {Salmo Erythrogaster), of 
 Dekay, prove to be a distinct form ; which I, for one, do not 
 at all believe. The Troutlet of that author is merely the young 
 of the Common Trout. 
 
 Whether there exists a Salmon Trout or Silver Trout {Salmo 
 Trutta Marina) at all in American waters, apart from the 
 Salmon Peel, Grilse, and Common Trout, having access to salt 
 water, likewise remains to be proved, by the aid of those easy 
 methods of examination, the use of which I so earnestly desire 
 to impress upon my friends and fellow-sportsmen, not merely 
 as an aid to science, but as an immense addition to their own 
 individual gratification, when in pursuit of their finny prey by 
 the wild margin of some far woodland lake, or on the rocky 
 borders of some lone torrent of the wilderness. 
 
 That many new species, entirely unsuspected and undescribed, 
 still remain to be found and recorded in our waters, I hold to 
 be undoubted ; when they will be discovered, or by whom, is 
 another question ; for I regret to say it, as yet the spirit of 
 science, and the desire to facilitate and assist the inquiries of 
 the man of letters, has scarcely penetrated the breast of the 
 American sportsman; and while, in England and on the 
 European continent, many the most distinguished correspondents 
 
VNIKIIICAN SI'ORTSMKN. 47 
 
 of the litcniry and sciriitifu* institutions of those lands are 
 sportsmen, who have eontrihuted most highly to the advance- 
 ment of knowledge by their investigations, experiments, and 
 contributions, we can, on this side, alas ! point to but two or 
 three of the sportin:^ fiaternity who lia\(' cared to ree()rd them- 
 selves as anytliin:^ more than killers of animals ; of the hal)its, 
 characteristics, ami even names of which they are but too often 
 grossly ignorant. 
 
 A t'ew there are, it is true, who aspire to hiirhcr things, and 
 who are actuated by something more than the mere love of 
 killing, the mere andjition of boasting of bag ; and among these 
 (may their nund)crs increase daily !) it will not, I hope, be 
 deemed impertinent to specify the author of " The Birds of 
 LoulT Island. ' who, from a sportsman of no secondarv skill or 
 energy, has successfidly aspired to the honours of a naturalist ; 
 and has most deservedly ac(piircd, as such, no small degree of 
 celebrity and favour. 
 
 From this sljort excursion, into which 1 have been naturally 
 led in the course of my subject, I return to the description of 
 the gill-covers of fish, and thereafter to the dental system, the 
 method of comparing which I shall lay down briefly for the use 
 of the learner, and then proceed at once to the history of 
 Sporting Fislies. 
 
 The subject, which I now present, is the head of the Silver 
 Trout of Europe {Sa/mo I^iriijitris), n 8i)ccic« found in the large 
 lakes of that continent. The figure is copied, by permission, 
 fn)m Professor Agnssin' great work <»n the " Fresh-water Fishes 
 of Centml Kunipo." 
 
 Tlie gill-covers of all the fishes of the three first divisions. 
 
48 
 
 SALMONIDiE. 
 
 with which alone we have to do, consist of four principal parts, 
 and their use is to close the aperture behind the gills, which in 
 all these three divisions is so formed, and so freely or loosely 
 
 suspended, that the water bathes in its passage every part of 
 their surface. 
 
 These parts are, the pre- operculum, or fore-gill-cover, No. 1 ; 
 the operculum, or gill-cover proper, No. 2 ; the sub-opercidum, 
 or under-gill-cover. No. 3 ; and the inter-operculum, or inter- 
 mediate gill-cover. No. 4. The branchiostegous rays, as they are 
 termed, are indicated by No. 5 ; and the fixed plates, forming 
 the posterior immoveable margin of the gill-covers, by No. 6. 
 No. 7 indicates the pectoral fin. 
 
 How widely these parts differ in form, in different species of 
 the Salmon tribe, will become at once apparent by a comparison 
 between the gill-covers in the figure above, and those of the 
 true Salmon {Salm.o Salar), and the Bull Trout {Salmo Eriox), 
 Nos. 2 and 3, in the following cut, which, Avith these, presents 
 a view of the interior of the mouth and the dental system of the 
 Common Trout {Salmo Fario), of Great Britain. 
 
rLAS.siFi(ATi<».\ UY (;ii.i,-((»vi:i:s. 49 
 
 In figure :2 oi this c\it, representing the {^ill-cover of tiie true 
 Sjilnion, it will strike :inv casual ()l)scr\cr that the lunder 
 
 :0^ 
 
 H. 
 
 \.>i 
 
 inarjjiu of tlu- \\lioli' coveiiuu' forms nearly a scmicirele, wliile 
 that (»f \o. ;}, tlu" Bull Trout, approaehes more nearly to a 
 rcctun<;ular fij^ure. lu the forniei-, the /iir-npcrrn/iiiii, the fore- 
 {?ill-cover, a, ditiers from the sanu' part, similarly n)arke(l, in 
 No. ."5, it heiuf^ nuire rectilinear ; while tlu> njicrruluin, the f^ili- 
 cover proper, », of the former slopes hiudward and backward ; 
 the same portion, a, in No. .*5, euttiu}? in a liori/.ontal line upon 
 the joints of the .tu/>-t,/H'rrii/inii and hitcr-opcrruhini. 
 
 And in all respects both differ entirely from the arranj^ement 
 of the same part.> in the head of the Silver Trout, exhibited in 
 the cut last preceding, page IH. 
 
 The most striking consequence of these (btrerenees is, that 
 a straight bne, drawn baekward from the front teeth of the 
 upper jaw, the nu)uth bc-ing closed, to the longest posterior 
 projection of the gill-cover, will, in the three fish, nin at a 
 totally different angle to the horizontal line of the body ; and 
 will occupy an entirely diff'erent situation in respect to the 
 eye; such a line in the head of the Salmon {Salmo Salar), and 
 in the Silver Trout {Salmo iMcuxtris), passing close below the 
 
50 SALHONIDiE. 
 
 orbit of the eye; while in that of the Bull Trout {Salmo Eriox), 
 it will run obliquely very far below it. 
 
 This distinction is very easy of observation^ and is extremely 
 important in the definition of species ; as indeed is everything 
 connected with the form and peculiarities of the head, not 
 forgetting its relative proportion to the entire length of the 
 body. 
 
 Of no less value is the arrangement of the teeth in the 
 different classes, families, and species of fish ; there being, on 
 this point, infinitely greater variety than can be imagined by 
 persons who have given their attention only to the structure of 
 quadrupeds. 
 
 " The teeth," says Mr. Yarrel, in the introduction of his 
 fine work on British Fishes — from which I have taken the 
 liberty of borrowing the last cut, descriptive of the gill -covers 
 and dental system of the Salmon, Bull Trout, and Common 
 Trout — " of fishes are so constant, as well as permanent in 
 their characters, as to be worthy of particular attention. In 
 the opinion of the best icthyologists, they are second only to the 
 fins, which in their number, situation, size and form, are 
 admitted to be of first-rate importance, 
 
 " Some fishes have teeth attached to all the bones that assist 
 in forming the cavity of the mouth and pharynx, to the inter- 
 maxillary, the maxillary, and palatine bones, the vomer, the 
 tongue, the branchial arches supporting the gills, and the 
 pharyngeal bones. Sometimes the teeth are uniform in shape 
 on the various bones, at others differing. One or more of 
 these bones are sometimes without teeth of any sort; and 
 there are fishes that have no teeth whatever on any of 
 
CLASSIFICATION' BV TKKTII. .".1 
 
 them. Till- teeth nre named aeeordin^ to tlic hones upon 
 whieh they are placed ; and are referred to, as niaxiUarx , 
 intermaxilhuN , pahitine, vomerine, i^'c. — depending; upon their 
 position." 
 
 A nreri-nee to paj^e !'.> wdl sh()\\ thi' situation of tlie teeth 
 in thi' Trout, with five rows on the U[)per surfaee of the mouth, 
 and finu* rows heh)W ; the partieuhw hones upon which these 
 rows are phieed, are also referred to. 
 
 Mr. > arrel then proceeds to descant, somewhat too hirjiely 
 for extraction in a work of this description, on the form, position, 
 and uses of tl»e various teeth in difterent families of fishes ; 
 hut the gist of his remarks I prefer comhininj; under the heads 
 of the various fishes to which thevbelonj;; and I shall only 
 add here, that in some species the teeth are arranjjed as in the 
 .*?fl/»/joHiV/<p, in duplicate or triplicate rows of single teeth ; in 
 others in dense patclies, occupying sometimes the greater part 
 of the palate, set like the bristles on a shoe-brush, as the 
 Esocida: or Pike family ; and again in others, as the species 
 /v«/>rfl.r, of the family PerrULo, to wjiieh belongs our own nohle 
 Striped Bass, they cover the wliole tongue, besides being thickly 
 set on the palate. 
 
 Tl»e position and shape of these teeth indicate as clearly the 
 habits, mode of feeding, and the food, of the various families 
 to which they belong, as do the teeth of the carnivorous, 
 mminnting, or gnawing (piadrupeds iid'orm the naturalist 
 whether the creature, of which the jaw-bone only lies before 
 liim, fed on animal sidjstances, on grass, on gniin, or on the 
 bark and hard-shellc<l nuts of trees; or as the beaks and 
 bills of birds tell the ex|)crienced l«M)kcr-ou whether thr 
 
 V <* 
 
 W, aw 
 
52 SALMONID.E. 
 
 owner was a bird of prey, an insect-eating warbler, or a grain- 
 cracker. 
 
 The distinction, therefore, which is founded upon the differ- 
 ence of the teeth in different fishes is by no means fanciful, or 
 resorted to merely to enable naturalists to display their inge- 
 nuity in making definitions, and multiplying species, as many 
 people stolidly imagine ; but is real and permanent, as repre- 
 senting the great subdivisions of the dwellers of the waters, as 
 those which feed on living, those which feed on dead animals 
 of their own species, as insect-eaters, or masticators of hard 
 shell-fish, and so forth, unto the end. Differences, which even 
 the most bigoted enemy of scientific distinctions must admit to 
 be as real, and true in nature, as those between the tiger and 
 the wolf, the ox that chews his cud, and the horse which 
 fattens at the manger. 
 
 I have known a sage coroner in England, who was wont to 
 indulge in sapient ridicule of the learned professions, and to 
 sneer at anatomical and physiological distinctions, who gravely 
 sat in inquest over some exhumed bones, and solemnly recorded 
 a verdict of wilful murder against some person or persons 
 unknown ; the skeleton, when examined, turning out to be that 
 of a defunct cow. 
 
 Such instances are becoming, I am happy to say, rare, as 
 regards men in general, and those sciences which regard the 
 human race and domestic animals. Why it should not be so 
 with the sportsman, I know not ; but too true it is, that most 
 of that fraternity obstinately adhere to ancient error, even 
 when it is clearly pointed out; and attempt to ridicule the 
 man of letters as a mere theorist, and unpractical, for attempt- 
 
ci.ASsiFirATi"N Hv Tii/rii. y.\ 
 
 iiij; to oorroct thciu in tliiir hlmidiTs ot noiiuMu-lature, uliiTchv 
 they confuse nil the trihrs ot" t\\v rartli. tin- air, and tlic water, 
 and nil the things tliat have life, whether aiiiiual or vcfzetahle, 
 therein. 
 
 Little are they aware how fantastic arc the tricks which 
 thiy play, " like an^ry apes hefore hif^h heaven," in the 
 eyes of all those, whether naturalists or sportsmen, who do 
 not confound conceit with knowledge, or wit with iinpcrtiueut 
 vulgarity. 
 
 I ^hall now jiroceed to a fi-w ohscrvations with regard to the 
 figure No. 1, in the last wood-cut, on page I'J, whieh represeuts 
 the interior of the mouth, opened to the utmost, of the Common 
 Trout of (ireut Britain and the European continent {Salmo 
 Fiirio) ; whieh is selected hy Mr. Varrel as "showing" — to 
 horrow his own words — " the most complete series of teeth 
 among the Salmonidfe ; and the value of the arrangement, as 
 instruments for seizure and prehension, arising from the inter- 
 position of the dillcrcnt rows, the four lines of teeth on the 
 lower surface alternating, when the mouth is closed, with the 
 five rows on the u|)pcr surface, those on the vomer shutting in 
 between the two rows on the tongue," &c. 
 
 In this cut, letter a represents the situation of the row of 
 teeth that is fixed on the central bone of the roof of the mouth, 
 called the vomer, from some fancied resemblance to the share 
 of a plough, for which the word used is the Latin term ; 
 nil, refer to the teeth on the right and left palatine bones; 
 c, to the row of hooked teetli on each side of the tongue ; 
 n D. to the row of teeth outside the |)alatinc bones, on the 
 upper jaw, which arc those of the superior maxillary bones; 
 
51 SALMONID.E. 
 
 and E E, to tlie outside row on the maxillary bones of the 
 lower jaw. 
 
 Now it will readily be understood what is the importance of 
 examining carefully this system of teeth, in the diflFerent 
 varieties of the Salmon family, whether called Salmon, Salmon 
 Trout, Lake Trout, Brook Trout, or any other local name 
 whatsoever ; when it is stated that the distinct species are very 
 strongly and permanently indicated by the number of teeth 
 found in each upon the vomer, or central bone of the roof of 
 the mouth. 
 
 In the true Salmon, the teeth on the vomer very rarely 
 exceed two; and sometimes there is but one. 
 
 In the Bull Trout, the teeth are longer and stronger than 
 those of the true Salmon ; but, like that fish, he has but two, 
 or at most three teeth on the vomer; he is distinguished, 
 according to the authorities, by the different formation of his 
 gill-covers, and the convex form of his caudal fin, whence he is 
 said to be termed the Round-tail in the River Annan, in 
 Scotland. This fish is unknown in America, and is merely 
 mentioned for the sake of example and illustration. 
 
 In the Salmon Trout of Great Britain (Salniu Trutta, Lin.), a 
 migratory fish, growing to a very large size, the teeth extend 
 nearly the whole length of the vomer, thereby establishing a 
 distinction between this and the two aforenamed species. 
 
 Of the Common Trout, we have already seen the dental 
 arrangement in the two distinct varieties of Lake Trout, recog- 
 nised by authorities in Great Britain, which are non-migratory, 
 and analogous to om- Lake Trout. 
 
 In the Great Grey Trout or Loch Awe Trout {Sahno Ferox), 
 
ITII.ITY UF MK.Mni; \M)\. 55 
 
 which is I'oiiunoii to most of the hirgc Scuiiish and Irish iuhuid 
 waters, and which is pronounced by Mr. Afijassiz to he distinct 
 iVoui any of the continental Lake Tront — these teeth extend 
 uluug tlie whoK" leufjth of the vonu'r. 
 
 And in the LochU'ven Tront [S<i/nio Lcrcnt'usis sivc Cffcifi'i', 
 Walker and Palmer), if it i)e a distinct species from the Coninion 
 Trout (.SV/////0 faWo), as appears to be eoneedetl — althoiiirh 1 must 
 say I doubt it, as 1 do the (Jillaroo, which, however, is more 
 doubtful — there arc thirteen teeth on the vomer, cxtendiu}; 
 throujrli its whole leni;th. 
 
 It would be well, indeed, if American anglers would take a 
 little pains about the examination of llicse points, and would 
 note them dow n in their tablets — in w Inch, doubtless, they insert 
 the weight of their captives — together with the relative propor- 
 tion of the length of the head to that of the entire body; the 
 form of the gill-covers; and relative position of the eye to a 
 line drawn from the front teeth to the lower posterior 
 angle of the upercuhnn or stili-upcrruliim, as it may be ; the 
 number of rays in each of the several tins ; and especially the 
 form of the caudal tin-tail — whether forki'd, concave, s(|uare, or 
 convex. 
 
 .V very few memorauda on such points as these, accurately 
 recorded, and assisted, where practicable, by the roughest 
 sketch, would be of greater utility tt) the cause of science, than 
 can be readily innigincd ; and we shonhl undoubtedly soon 
 arrive at facts of great importance, and perhaps discover some 
 new and intcn^tijig RjHicics of this most interesting family. 
 
 At all events, we should not ho tantalised by information so 
 vague and indefniitc a-s that conveyed in a note to the Appcntlix, 
 
56 SALMONID^. 
 
 contributed by tlie members of the Piseco Club to Dr. Bethune, 
 for the beautiful auti valuable edition of Walton's Angler, 
 recently given to the American world — with notes on American 
 fishing, the only fault of which is their brevity — by that accom- 
 plished fisherman and erudite scholar, who takes no shame to be 
 held a follower of the gentle art, and to possess the finest pisca- 
 torial library owned in the United States, whether by private 
 individual or collective body. 
 
 " In June of this year," says the note to which I have refer- 
 ence, "the president of this club killed a red-fieshed Lake Trout 
 of 24 lbs. weight ! " And no more ! 
 
 Information of the same kind has been given to me by 
 Mr. C. Webber, the author of some pleasant letters on 
 Hamilton County Fishing, published during the past year in the 
 columns of the New York Courier and Inquirer ; but, unfortu- 
 nately, none of the fortunate takers have noted any points 
 relative to this fish, on which any deliberate opinion can be 
 formed. 
 
 The flesh of the ordinary Lake Trouts of America {Confinis, 
 Amethystus, and Siskaivitz) are all pale, dingy, yellowish buff, 
 tasteless, coarse, mudd}^, and flaccid. 
 
 It seems to be admitted that the red-fleshed Lake Trout is of 
 more brilliant external colouring than the common variety. 
 
 This is the fish of which I have spoken as being unques- 
 tionably a distinct species, if not an overgrown and gigantic 
 variety of the Brook Trout {Sahno FontinaUs). This latter, 
 I believe to be the case ; though it is impossible to pronounce 
 positively, without seeing the fish, and instituting careful 
 comparison. 
 
Fl.i:sil .\M> WKKJilT (>V I'lJoHT. .-,7 
 
 Tilt' tislii-nncn of that ili.stiirt, on tin- lake, assert, 1 uiulc r- 
 staiul, positively that this is not the fast-; hut of course thtir 
 opiuiou is utti-rly \ahieh\ss, hein^ louiuh-d on sonic such aihiii- 
 rahh' reason as tliat the Hrook Trout ncMr ^'rows to he Jihove 
 fi\f or six pounds; meaniut^ only that they have never seen 
 what thi'V take to lie one over that aviia;4e. .lust in the same 
 numner, a person nsi-d to take a ti>h only in thi' small uiouiitain 
 brooks of Maini\ New llauipshire, or \ eriuont, iuii;iit tell you 
 (juitc as plausibly, (piitc as positively, and (|uife as truthlully — 
 so far as iiis miserable experience of truth goes — that tlu' Hrook 
 Trout never jxrows to be above half a pound — nor does it in his 
 waters. 
 
 The ('onwnon Trout of En;^'land [.'Sulmo Fariu), which is so 
 closely connected with our lirook Trout (Sulmo FonlinuUs), as 
 to be constantly mistaken for it by casual obs(>rvirs, is con- 
 tinually taken in the larger rivers, especially the Thames, ami 
 in some of the Irish waters, from ten to fifteen pounds in 
 weight. Mr. 'barrel, when prepariui; his " Hriti>h Fishes," had a 
 minute before him of six Trout taken in the Thames, a))o\(' 
 Oxford, by minnow-spinning, which weiLchcd togctlur liftv- 
 four pounds, the largest weighing thirteen pounds; and one is 
 recorded in the Transactions of the Linmean Society as having 
 been taken on the 1st of January, \^12, in a little stream 
 ten feet wide, branching from the Avon at the back of Castle- 
 strcct, Salisbury, which on being taken out of the water was 
 found to weigh twenty-five pounds. 
 
 These instances, which are beyond dispute, in relation to a 
 species so closely related to our li.«<h a.s the Sulmo Fariu, render 
 
58 SALMONIDiB. 
 
 it anj'thing but improbable that it too, in favourable situations, 
 should grow to an equal size ; nor is there any reason for 
 doubting it, since it is known to grow to the weight of five 
 or six pounds, within a few ounces of which latter weight 
 I have mj^self seen it; and there is no natural or physical 
 analogy by which we should set that weight as the limit to its 
 increase. 
 
 Should these remarks call the attention of sportsmen to a 
 matter of deep interest, and elicit from them occasional records 
 of examinations, which none can institute so well as they, their 
 end will be fully answered, and these pages will not have been 
 thrown away. 
 
 We now come at once to the history of this family, and first, 
 as best, to that of the true Salmon. 
 
 This, being the noblest and most game in its character of all 
 fishes, as I have observed before, once abounding in all waters 
 eastward of the Hudson, and though it has now ceased to 
 exist in numbers west of the Penobscot, and even there can be 
 rarely taken with the fly, is still the choicest pursuit of the 
 American angler, although he may be now compelled to seek it 
 iu the difficult and uncleared basins of the Nova Scotian rivers ; 
 in the northern tributaries of the huge St. Lawrence; or yet 
 farther to the westward, in the streams of the Columbia and 
 the cold torrents of Oregon, all of which contain the true 
 Salmon, with many other noble and distinct varieties, iu un- 
 equalled numbers. 
 
 Of this glorious fish, of its generation, migrations, growth, 
 and habits, so much has been discovered within, comparatively 
 
NKW FACTS. 
 
 ."jD 
 
 spcak.iii|j:, ii lew years, that 1 am eiialjlcil ti) present a eoiisitler- 
 al)le number ot' facts, wliich will he ilouhtless new to many of 
 my readers, and whieh may hi- received as juscertaiued and 
 authenticated heyuml thi- ]>usiiihility of douht. 
 
60 
 
 SALMONID^. 
 
 THE SALMON. 
 
 THE COMMON SALMON.— THE TRUE SALMON. 
 
 Pink, first yeax- ; Smalt, second yeai- ; Peel or Grilse, second autumn. Sulnio 
 Salar Auctorum, "British Fishes," vol. ii. p. 1. Dekay, vol. iv. 
 
 Salmon Pinks up to six montbs old. 
 
 Although this noble fish has never been made the subject, 
 so far as I know, of any of the strange and monstrous fables 
 which have obtained concerning many others of the inhabitants 
 of the waters — as for instance the Pike, of which old Izaak tells 
 us, " it is not to be doubted, but that they are bred, some by 
 generation, and some not ; as namely, of a weed called pickerel- 
 weed, unless learned Gessner be much mistaken ; for he says, 
 this weed and other glutinous matter, with the help of the 
 sun's heat, in some particular months, and some ponds adapted 
 for it by nature, do become Pikes" — still, until within the last 
 few years, very little has been known with certainty concerning 
 him in his infancy, and during the earlier stages of his growth. 
 
 " The Salmon,'' says Izaak Walton, " is accounted the king 
 of fresh-water fish, and is ever bred in rivers relating to the sea, 
 yet so high or far from it as to admit no tincture of salt or 
 
Tin: TIMK SAI.Mi'N. I'd 
 
 brackishiu». llr i>< >;ih1 to hivrd or cast liis spawn, in most 
 rivers, in the month of Au-^ust ; some say that then th(\ dii; a 
 liolc or ;:ravr in a siifc phicc in the {jjnivrl, and tlicrt' jjhicc their 
 e^^s or spawn, nl'ter the milter has done his natural olVire, and 
 then hide it most ennnint,'l\", and rover it over \\ith i,'ra\el and 
 stones ; and then' leavi> it to their Creator's protection, who, hv 
 n gentle heat \\hieh he inlnses in that cold element, makes it 
 brood and bc^et life in the spawn, and to become Samlets earlv 
 in the next sprinj; lollowinj;." 
 
 'I'his pa>saue I have tpiotcd l)ecause in several respects it 
 approaclies very nearly the trnth, as it has been proved l)v the 
 result of a series of well-conducted experiments, to which I shall 
 again allude. 
 
 The true Salmon is ean^dit in the i-stnaries of our large 
 northern and north-eastern rivers, on his way n[) to deposit his 
 spawn in the la»t months of spring and the early part of the 
 summer. It has bi'cn observed in llni(»[)e, that those ri\i'rs 
 which flow from large lakes afford tiie earliest Salmon, the 
 waters ha\ing l)een purified by deposition in the lakes, while 
 those which are swollen by melting snows are later in season. 
 
 It i.s also observed tliat the northern rivers are the earliest ; 
 and it is stated by Arteoli, that in Sweden, Salmon spawn in the 
 middle of the summer. The causes inllueneing these facts are 
 not yet decided, nor are they easy of solution, says Sir \N'illiam 
 Jardinc, cnpccially where the time varies much in the neigh- 
 bouring nvers of the sanu" district. 
 
 I am not aware that any ditVerenee of this kind has binn 
 remarked in thi.s country ; and the great lack of residents on 
 the remote Salmon rivers who will trouble themselves to observe 
 
62 SALMONID^. 
 
 and record such facts as daily occur under their eyes^ renders it 
 very difficult to obtain such information as might assist one in 
 coming to any conclusion. 
 
 So far as I can judge, however, this difference does not occur 
 on this part of the continent at least ; nor do I believe that the 
 Salmon are earlier in their appearance in the St. Lawrence, 
 which flows through the largest chain of fresh-water lakes in 
 the world, than the St. John's, or the Penobscot, which lie 
 farther to the south, and have no lakes of any magnitude on 
 their waters. It must be mentioned, however, here, that all 
 these rivers are equally swollen by melting snows; and that, 
 being frozen solidly till late in the spring, the period of their 
 opening naturally connects itself with the appearance of the 
 fish. 
 
 The Connecticut River, which has no large lake on its course, 
 and is the southernmost of all the rivers which have furnished 
 Salmon for many years past, has ceased to be a Salmon river ; 
 or some facts might have been ascertained thi-ough observation 
 of its waters. The Kennebec also, though formerly an unri- 
 valled Salmon river, is becoming yearly less productive of this 
 fine fish. I am inclined to think, however, that it is the earliest 
 Salmon river on this side of the American continent ; with the 
 Arctic rivers I have of course nothing to do ; and of the rivers 
 or natural productions of California, Oregon, and the Pacific 
 coast, we shall know nothing on which reliance can be placed, 
 until the gold-hunting hordes ai'e replaced by a stationary and 
 organised population. 
 
 The mouth of the Kennebec is about one degree to the south- 
 ward and westward of the Penobscot, and flows out of a large 
 
II \MITS OF Tlir. SALMON. {\:\ 
 
 sheet of water, Moosfliead Lake, which ahouiuls in the eoninion 
 Lake Trout, •jrowin*; to a very hir;;e size, tlie Salino Conjinis ot' 
 Dekay. I presume that the triu* Sahnon no lonj^er has the 
 power of making; his way u[) to the head-waters of this 
 beautiful and limpid stream, in eonscqucncc of the numerous 
 and lotty dams which bar its course ; hut of this 1 am not 
 certain. 
 
 The Sahnon enters our rivers, then, rarely before tlie middle 
 of May, ajul is taken in tlie estuaries so late as the end of .lulv ; 
 and durinj; the early i)art of tlic season, nearly, indeed, until 
 the latter date, does not ascend far above tide-water, generally 
 ^'oiufj up with the flood, and rctnrnin<; with the ebb. At this 
 time they are taken by thousands in stake-nets, on the Penobscot 
 and other eastern rivers, and sent thence, packed in ice, to the 
 markets of all the larger cities of the I nited States. 
 
 At the time of their first entering the fresh water, when they 
 are in the highest possible condition, in the greatest perfection 
 of flesh and flavoin*, and at the height of external beaiity, they 
 are of a rich transparent bluish-black, varied with greenish 
 reflections along the back, these colours gradually dying away 
 as they approach and pass the lateral line, below which the belly 
 is of the most beautiful glistening silvery whiteness. The dorsal, 
 camlal, and pectoral fins are dusky black, the small fatty second 
 dorsal tin bluish-black, the ventral fins white on the outer side, 
 but Honiewhat darker within, and the anal tin silvery white, like 
 the liclly. 
 
 There are generally a few dark sjwts dispersed along the 
 body about the lateral line; and in the female fish these are 
 more nimicrons and ronspieuous than m the nuiles. 
 
64 
 
 SALMONID.E. 
 
 The accompanying cut is of a female, fresh run from 
 the sea, and is copied, by permission, from the figure by 
 
 Sonrel, in jNIr. Agassiz's great 
 work alluded to above. The 
 individual from which the figure 
 is taken was caught in the 
 neighbourhood of Havre- de- 
 Grace, in France ; but the Sal- 
 mon of the two continents are 
 identical. 
 
 I will here observe, en passant, 
 that whenever it has been in my 
 poAver to obtain specimens, either 
 living or in spirits, I have myself 
 drawn the figures from nature on 
 the wood; but where, from the 
 season of the year, or other 
 causes, I have been unable to 
 obtain that advantage, I have 
 copied my illustrations from the 
 best authorities, where I could 
 find plates or drawings which 
 I deemed satisfactory. In the 
 absence of either, I have left the 
 fish unrepresented, in preference 
 to giving incorrect caricatures of 
 the animal — such as disgrace too 
 many works of natural history, 
 and, I am sorry to say, among 
 
CHANOKS or COF.Ol'R. 05 
 
 others, the j;;rcat naturul history hitcly puhHshed hy tlir State 
 of New York, the ilhistrations of which arc l)clow contcinpt 
 as works of art. and, in a seientifie view, utterly useless and 
 uneharacteristie. 
 
 After tliey havi- j^aiiied the upper and shallow parts ui' the 
 rivci-s, preparatory to the deposition of their spawn, the eolours 
 of the Salmon are niatirially altered ; the male hccomcs marked 
 on the eheek with oraiif^c-coloured stripes, the lower jaw 
 ncqiiircs a peeuliar projection and turns upward at the point in 
 a hard, hooked, eartilajjiuous excresceuce, whieh, when the 
 mouth is closed, oceujjies a hollow h(>tween the intermaxillary 
 boues. 
 
 The body of tlie fish becomes greenish above, with the sules 
 of nn orange hue, fading into yellowish green on the belly, and 
 the spots assume a sanguine hue, the dorsal and caudal fins 
 being more or less spotted. The females at this season are even 
 darker than on their arrival in fresh water. 
 
 The males are at this period termed Ked-fish in Great Britain, 
 and the females IJlack-fish ; and they are so designated in the 
 verj' salutary enactments which, in that country, hy protecting 
 the fish during their season of breeding, have preserved them 
 from extirpation ; enactments whieh, as cannot be too much 
 regretted or too strongly reprobated, the recalcitrative and 
 over-independent spirit of f>nr people will not tolerate, much 
 lew obey. 
 
 The time will come, «lun the population at large will deplore 
 this foolish and discreditable spirit ; when, like him who slew 
 the goose which laid the golden eggs, they tind th.it by their 
 own ultra-democratic spirit, they are deprived entirely and 
 
 r 
 
QQ SALMONlDiE. 
 
 for ever of a great source of national pleasure, as well as 
 national profit and wealth — for such are the fisheries of a 
 country. 
 
 During the winter the fish go through the process of spawn- 
 ing, which is thus described by Mr. Ellis, in his "Natural 
 History of the Salmon," as quoted by Yarrel in his " British 
 Fishes:" 
 
 " A pair of fish are seen to make a furrow, by working up the 
 gravel with their noses, rather against the stream, as a Salmon 
 cannot work with his head down stream, for the water then 
 going into Jiis gills the wrong way, drowns him. When the 
 furrow is made, the male and female retire to a little distance, 
 one to the one side, and the other to the other side of the 
 furrow ; they then throw themselves on their sides, again 
 come together, and rubbing against each other, both shed their 
 spaAvn into the furrow at the same time. This process is not 
 completed at once; it requires from eight to twelve days for 
 them to lay all their spawn, and when they have done they 
 betake them to the pools, and descend to the sea, to refresh 
 themselves." 
 
 At this time they are lean, out of condition, and unfit for 
 food. Meanwhile, the female has acquired a greyish colour on 
 the back, with bright yellow sides. She is covered above the 
 lateral line, including the dorsal and caudal fins, with alternate 
 dusky and ruddy spots. Her pectoral, ventral, and anal fins, 
 arc of a bluish-grey colour. She is now a long, lank, big- 
 headed, flat-sided fish, as unlike as possible to the beautifully- 
 formed glistening creature which ran up the stream in the 
 preceding autumn. 
 
Sl'AWNlNC. (\7 
 
 She is now tcrnicil properly a Baj^git, and the- male a Kipper; 
 and the two, generally, Kelts. 
 
 Before enteriii*; the salt water, they linijer awhile in the 
 brackish water of the tide-ways, as they did on ascending the 
 rivers, obtainin};, it is said, thereby a release from certain para- 
 sitical animals, generated, these by the fresh, these by the salt 
 water, at each eliange of waters. 
 
 In Great Britain, the period of the Salmon's spawning varies 
 from November to the i-nd of Jannary. They have been care- 
 fnlly watched during tlu> whole process, as have the eggs ai^cr 
 their deposition, so tliat the length of time which it takes them 
 to attain to maturity is accurately known. This time has been 
 ascertained by Mr. Shaw, in a series of experiments, of which I 
 shall have occasion to speak more fully hereafter, to be about 
 
 1 1 I days, when the temperature of the water is . 'M\° 
 
 mi .lays, l-'i" 
 
 '.•n days, l")'- 
 
 Tlicsc experiments were performed in the open air, and in 
 natural streams, liable to the ordinary influences of the atmo- 
 sphere and weather. 
 
 hr. Knox, however, as is reconhd in the Transactions of 
 the Royal Society of Edinburgh, observed a pair of Salmon 
 which completed their spawning, and covered up their ova with 
 gravel, in the usual way, <in the ^nd of November. This was in 
 one of the nortliern tributaries of the Tweed. 
 
 On the 2.')th of Febnmr)-, or at the end of one hundred and 
 sixteen days, the ova were dug up, and fouTul unchanged. On 
 being rcmove<l, however, at this stage, and placctl in bottles of 
 
G8 SALMONID^. 
 
 water in warm rooms, the eggs were matured almost imme- 
 diately, aud the young fry hatched. In this state they can 
 be preserved in the bottles, with the water unchanged, for 
 about ten days, as during that time they are supported on 
 the yolk of the egg which adheres to the under part of their 
 bodies, as exhibited in figure 1 on the cut at the head of 
 this article. 
 
 On the 23rd of March, according to Dr. Knox, the oya began 
 to change, and it was not until the 1st of April that the fry 
 were found to have quitted the beds. 
 
 Mr. Shaw's experiments were, however, so conducted as to 
 furnish data on which more reliance may be placed; and as 
 these are of the greatest interest, and as from experiments 
 similarly conducted, farther results of a diflFerent kind might be 
 attained, of surpassing importance, I shall state them somewhat 
 at length. 
 
 A full account will be found, by those who desire to investi- 
 gate the subject more thoroughly, in the Edinburgh New 
 Philosophical Journal for July, 1836, and January, 1838. 
 
 Mr. Shaw, it seems, caused three ponds to be made, of dif- 
 ferent size, at about fifty yards distance from a Salmon river, 
 the Erith, the ponds being supplied by a stream of spring- water, 
 well furnished with the larvae of insects. The average tempera- 
 tm'e of the water in the rivulet was rather higher and less 
 variable than of that in the river ; otherwise the circumstances 
 of the ova contained in the ponds, and of the young fry pro- 
 duced therefrom, were precisely similar to those of the spawn 
 and fry in the river. 
 
 These ponds were all two feet deep, with well-gravelled 
 
IIATCHINO SALMoX-FIJY. t'l'.) 
 
 bottoms; the highest pond eighteen feet by twenty-two, the 
 seeouil eighteen by twenty-live, the third thirty l)y fifty. 
 
 Observing two Siihnon, nude and female, in the river pre- 
 paring to deposit their spawn, .Mr. Sliaw prepared in the sldngle, 
 by the stream's edge, a small trench, through which he directed 
 a stream of water from the river, and at the lower extremity of 
 the trench, placed a large eartiieuwarc basin to receive the ova. 
 Tliis done, by means of a hoop-net he secured the two tish which 
 he had observed ; and placing the female, while alive, in the 
 trench, forced her, by gentle pressure of her body, to deposit 
 her ova iu the trench. The male fish was then placed in the 
 same position, and a (piantity of the milt being pressed from his 
 body, passed down the stream, and thoroughly impregnated the 
 ova, which were then transferred to the basin, and thence to the 
 small stream which fed the upper pond, where they were covered 
 np iu the gravel as usual. The temperature of the stream was 
 40°, that of the river litJ^. The skins of the Salmon were pre- 
 served, in order to prevent the possibility of doubt or cavilling 
 concerning the species. The male Hsh, when taken, weighed 
 sixteen, the female eight pounds. 
 
 The result was, that the young fish were hatched, as 1 have 
 stated in the scale above given. When first emerging from the 
 membrane in which it had been enclosed, with the yolk ad- 
 hering to the abdomen, the young fry is as it is shown in No. 1 
 of the cut referred to above. The yolk is absorbed iu twenty- 
 seven days, after which the young fish requires nourishment. At 
 the end of two months, the young fish has attained the length 
 of an inch and a (juarter, as represented at No. Z ; and at the 
 age of six months, he haa grown to the size of three inches 
 
70 SALMONID^. 
 
 and a quarter, and, except in dimensions, is exactly rendered 
 
 in No. 3. 
 
 From these facts we arrive at two consequences. First, that 
 the growth of the young Salmon has been greatly overrated ; 
 and, secondly, that at a certain period of its life the Salmon is 
 a Parr. The extent to which the growth of the Salmon has 
 been overrated will be perceived at once, when it is known that 
 Dr. Knox, in the paper from which I have akeady quoted, states 
 that the fry which emerged from their capsules on the 1st of 
 April were taken, on the 22nd of the same month in the same 
 year, as Smalts, with the fly, of the size of the little finger. 
 
 It was also generally believed that the fry of the year 
 descended to the sea t:liat very spring, and retui'ned in the 
 autumn, Grilse, varying from two to seven pounds' weight. 
 
 It is distinctly shown, however, by Mr. Shaw, that the young 
 Salmon, which is called a Pink while in the state represented 
 above, having perpendicular lateral bars or markings of a dusky 
 grey colour, which were once supposed to be peculiar to the 
 Parr, does not become a Smalt, or go down to the sea until the 
 second spring, tarrying a whole year in the fresh water. 
 
 Salmon Smalt one year old. 
 
 The fish here represented measured seven inches and a half 
 in length, and three inches and one-eighth in circumference. 
 
SMALTS. riNKS. 71 
 
 Its i^ill-rovers wore silvery, luarketl with a dark spot ; belly 
 ami sides, uj) to tlu- lateral line of the same, silvery colour ; 
 hack and sides, down to the lateral line, dusky, inelininj; to 
 ^recu; sides above the hitcral line marked uith dusky spots; 
 ailong the lateral line, and both a little above and a little l)elow 
 it, several dull obseure red spots. TIm' dors.il fin has twelve 
 rays, marki-d with several dusky spots; the peetoral fin has 
 twelve rays of a dusky olivi' colour; the ventral tin ei'j;ht rays 
 of a silvery whiti*; and the anal tin ten rays of the sanu* colour. 
 When the scales were carefully taken oil with a knife, the 
 obscure red spots became of a fine \ermilit)n, and wi-re nine- 
 teen in number ; and ten obscure oval bars of a dusky bluish 
 colour appeared, which crossed the lateral line. In a youufij 
 fry which has not ncciuircd the scales, these bars are very 
 ilistinet. 
 
 Till' aecompanyin;; cut and description are both borrowed 
 from Varrel's " British Fishes ;" the latter as (pioted from 
 l>r. lleysham's catalogue. 
 
 To render these facts yet more certain, in the autumn of 
 lH;i5, Thomas I'pton, l'>s(j.. of lui^mirc Hall, near Kendal, 
 began to enlarge a natural lake on his property, and in the 
 spring of l^.'it), some Pinks from the Lune, a Salmon ri\(r in 
 that vicinity, were put into it. 
 
 This lake, wliich is called Lilynu're, has no connnunication 
 with any other water, by which the fish once introduced can 
 get out, or any fry from other waters get in. The Pinks, when 
 put in, were certainly not above two or three ounces each in 
 weight. Sixteen months nftenvards, a friend of' Mi-. I |)ton's 
 being on a visit to bun, caught «ith a red |)almer-fly two 
 
72 SALMONID^. 
 
 Salmon Peel, in excellent condition, silvery bright in colour, 
 measuring fourteen inches in length, and weighing fourteen 
 ounces ; one was cooked and eaten, the flesh pink in colour, 
 but not so red as those of the river, well-flavoured, and like 
 that of a Peel. 
 
 In the month of July, 1838, eleven months after, another 
 small Salmon was caught, equal to the first in condition and 
 colour, about two inches longer, and three ounces heavier. No 
 doubt was entertained that these were two of the Pinks trans- 
 ferred to the lake in the spring of 1836, the first of which had 
 been retained sixteen months, and the latter twenty-seven 
 months, in fresh water. 
 
 Farther than this, it was found that, in the river Hodder, the 
 Pinks in April are rather more than three inches long, and that 
 at the same time Smalts of six and a half are also taken, with 
 the colours altered as above, and ready to migrate. In July, 
 the Pink measures five inches, and the Smalts have then left 
 the river. 
 
 Dr. Knox seems to have erred merely in supposing that the 
 Pinks, the size of the little finger, were from the ova hatched in 
 April, when they were probably from an earlier hatching of fish, 
 which spawned at a more remote date. 
 
 It seems, however, to be clearly and certainly established by 
 these experiments, that the Smalt, or Laspring, as they are 
 sometimes called, which descend the rivers every spring toward 
 the middle of May, are a whole year older than the Pinks, 
 which are taken in the same waters, at the same time, and by 
 the same fly. 
 
 With regard to the later growth of the Salmon, I am not of 
 
OKnWTll OF Till: SAl.MnN. 7.'i 
 
 opinion tliiit the lake experiments prove much, it' iinytliinj^, 
 either y/ro or con . since it is u known iuul establislicil tact, that 
 salt-water has a recuperative influence upon the mature fish 
 which run down the rivers exhausted by spawning', and also a 
 certain tendency to increase the j^rowth of the youn«; tish which 
 descend the streams, Snudts, as it now appears, in their second 
 year, of six or seven inches len^'th, and about as many ounces 
 weij^ht, and return I'eel or (irilse, varyinj; from two to eight 
 pounds. 
 
 It must be observed here, that Grilse is the correct name 
 of the tish on its return from the sea in its second season, and 
 that Petl is merely a tishmonjijer's term for a small Grilse not 
 exceeding two pounds' weight. 
 
 That the identical Smalt of six or seven ounces do return, 
 after two or three months' absence in the sea, as (xrilse of as 
 many pounds' weight, is proved beyond ;dl (lisj)uti>; Smalts 
 innumerable having been taken, nuirked with nundiered tickets 
 of zinc attached to the rays of their dorsal fins, set at liberty, 
 and ncaptured Grilse, varying from two to eight pounds, in the 
 autumn of the same year. The same experiment, with the 
 labels unremoved, shows that the same Grilse, descending the 
 stream of nnincrcased magnitmle in the spring of his third year, 
 returns in that third autumn a fish of sixteen, and upward to 
 twenty-five, pounds' weight. 
 
 I hold, thercf«)re, that the argimicnt is conclusive, so long as 
 it is founded on a comparison between fish in a state, which 
 whether they be confined or at large, never visits the sea. 
 Beyond that the analog}' ceases. It remains to be seen whether 
 the Salmon confine<l to fresh water will ever attain the size of 
 
74 SALMONID.E. 
 
 those which run to and frOj from the fresh to the salt; I greatly 
 doubt it; and, with Mr. Yarrel, I think it more than a dubious 
 point, whether the fish, so stopped from migration to the sea, 
 will ever acquire power to reproduce their own species. 
 
 It is a singular fact, that the Salmon propagates its kind 
 before it is adult — the Grilse, on its return from the sea in its 
 second year, having the roe and milt far advanced, and spawn- 
 ing that same autumn. The ova in the Grilse differ not in size, 
 but in number only, from those of the adult Salmon of a year's 
 later growth, and there is no known difference between the fry 
 of the young and full-grown fish. 
 
 It Avill prove to be the fact, I have no doubt, that in this 
 country these fish spawn earher in the season than in Great 
 Britain ; indeed, they must do so, for in the month of January 
 the head-waters of the rivers which they frequent are masses 
 of solid ice ; and I presume it will be found that the ova 
 are deposited and covered with gravel in the mouths of 
 September and October, and in all probability that the parent 
 fish return to the salt-water the same autumn, or early in the 
 winter, before the closing of the rivers. This is, however, little 
 important. 
 
 I now come to the second point, proved beyond all doubt by 
 these experiments, viz., that the Salmon, in the first stage of 
 his existence, is, to all intents and purposes, what is commonly 
 called a Parr. 
 
 Most, if not all of my readers, are probably aware that, in 
 particular streams of Great Britain, there has been found inva- 
 riably a small fish of the Salmon family, never attaining to any 
 considerable size or weight, and distinguishable from Trout only 
 
YUUNG SALMON, A I'AIM:. 75 
 
 In the presence of the l)lui.sli-};rey or olive transverse bands 
 alludeil to above, ami tij^ured in tlic cut of Pinks, at the head of 
 this article ; as also again in the plate at the head of that on the 
 Brook Trout {Satmo Fontinatijt), next followiu}^. 
 
 ConccrnJnj^ this little li>li, tiuiL' has been a eontiniial duuht, 
 and a dispute of uiany years' standing, some persons maintain- 
 ing that it was a distinct and ri productive species of the 
 SalmunliUc, wliii-h they tcrnu'd variously Parr, Samlet, IJrand- 
 ling, and so forth ; others, from its never being taken of any 
 size, Imve believed it to be an unproductive cross, or mule, 
 between the Salmon and the Common Trout, the Sea Trout and 
 Common Trout, &c., &c. ; and others yet again, that it was 
 neither more nor less than a young Salmon. 
 
 In proof of this, it was adduced that I'ai r had been niarkeil 
 ami retaken as Grilse. 
 
 Hut in reply, it was stated that Parr hatl also been marked 
 and retaken as Mull Trout [Saf/zio Eriox), and Salmon Trout 
 {Sulino Trntta) ; whence it was argued that the fish marked had 
 been marketl carelessly and injudiciously, and were not Parr 
 at all, but Snndts, or fry of some of the other Salmonulu'. Mr. 
 Yarrel admits that he has seen these vertical marks in tin- 
 young of the Salmon, Bull Trout, Parr, Conunon Trout, and 
 Welsh Charr; but still maintains the existence of the Parr as 
 distinct, principally on the ground that the Parrs are taken 
 abundantly even in autumn, not exceeding live inches in length, 
 long after the fry nf the larger migratory species have gone 
 down to the sea. 
 
 This is in the hotly of the \*<»rk, written pri\ious to the 
 experiments made by Mr. Shaw, and this Mr. ^;lrr^l tlure 
 
76 SALMONID^. 
 
 considers to be a sufficiently obAious proof that the Parr is not 
 the young of the Salmon, or indeed of any other of the larger 
 Salmonidce. 
 
 The reason is of course annihilated by the proved fact, that 
 the Pinks, which remain in fresh water all the first year, are 
 young Salmon, Parr-marked; whereas the young Salmon-fry, 
 Smalts, formerly supposed to be the young fish of that year, all 
 of which have gone down the river to the sea, are in truth the 
 fish of the preceding year. 
 
 Similarly is the question settled with regard to the existence 
 of Parrs in streams of the Western Isles which are never visited 
 by Salmon, these being, in all probability, the Brook Trout in 
 the Parr stage of its existence. 
 
 And so again the fact that there are lakes in the same islands 
 frequented by the Salmon and Sea Trout, in which Parrs are 
 never found — ^because the young fry, while in the Parr, or 
 transversely-banded form, keep in the swift cold streams, and 
 do not descend to the lakes. 
 
 It now appears to be certain, or as nearly certain as any- 
 thing can be, which is not positively proved, that every species 
 of the Salmonida is at one period a banded-fish or Parr. 
 
 This is known as an authenticated fact of the Salmon, Salmon 
 Trout, BuU Trout, and common English Trout, as well as of the 
 Welsh Charr, as admitted by Yarrel. 
 
 Mr. Agassiz has figured the Hucho [Salmo Hucho), and the 
 Continental Charr, which he esteems identical with the Northern 
 Charr of England {Salmo Umbla), in the same stage — the other 
 characteristics of the different fish being unmistakable and 
 evident — with the transverse bars. The same distinguished 
 
YorXc; SALMON, A I'MM!. 77 
 
 naturalist has taken the {jreat Lake Trout, or .Maekinaw Sahiion 
 {Salmo Ainetfiijstujt), and the Brook Trout {Salmo Fontinali:*), 
 which abounds in all small streams, wherein it is bred, in this 
 same form. 
 
 There only remain to he aeeounted for some two or three 
 species: the great Grey Trout of Britain, the Sea Trout {Sialtno 
 T^'iitta), :uul till- Silver Trout {Sti/iiu) Ldntsfris), of continental 
 Europe; and on this continent, the Siskawitz {Salmo Siskawit::) , 
 and the Lake Trout {Salmo Coujinis), of Dekay, if the latter he 
 a distinct fish from Anu't/njstiis. 
 
 No cs|)ccial search has been instituted for the fry of any of 
 these fish last named ; so tliat the non-discovery j;;ocs no way to 
 prove their non-existence ; ou the contrary, all analogy goes to 
 show that they will be discovered in tinu\ 
 
 As it now stands, of fourteen the most strongly-marked 
 Salnwuidfp, nine have been clearly traced to this form ; and the 
 five missing species are either analogous, as the three European 
 species, or closely congenerous, as the two American Lake 
 Trout, to one species Anu-tlnjstus, which is shown to be no 
 exception to the rule. 
 
 Every migratory species of Salmo is found in this stage ; and 
 one of the five or six non-migratory. All analogy, therefore, 
 goes to show that these species will be found, on nscareh, not 
 to denate from the rule of their ordei . 
 
 Mr. Shaw goes farther, and argues that no such perfect fish 
 as the Parr exists ; and that all the fish so named by diflerent 
 ohseners arc in truth the young of different species of the 
 Salmon family. 
 
 Against this fact, Mr. VamM reclaims; and justly remarks 
 
78 SALMONID^. 
 
 that " this is not conclusive evidence of the non-existence of a 
 distinct small fish, to which the name of Parr ought to be 
 exclusively applied ; it rather shows the want of power among 
 general observers to distinguish between the young of closely- 
 allied species, three or four of which are indiscriminately 
 called Parrs/' 
 
 This is certainly true logic. 
 
 The fact that all the young of all the Salmonidee are what 
 have been called Parrs, is no proof that all Parrs are young 
 and immature fish. 
 
 This matter, though, as it now stands, cleared of all the 
 absurd theories concerning cross-breeding between Salmon, Sea 
 Trout, Grayling, and Common Trout, being set aside, is of easy 
 proof. 
 
 It only rests to show the male and female Parrs full of ova, 
 ready for spawning, and the question is settled. 
 
 In connection with this, it is fair to state, that Dr. Heysham, 
 of Carlisle, in England, who is said to have devoted particular 
 attention to this fish, which is there called Brandhng or Samlet, 
 observes that " The old Samlets begin to deposit their spawn in 
 December, and continue spawning the whole of that month, and 
 perhaps some part of January. As this season of the year is not 
 favourable for angling, few or no observations are made during 
 these months. As soon as they have spawned they retire, like 
 the Salmon, to the sea, where they remain till the autumn, when 
 they again return to the rivers." 
 
 After a number of farther observations concerning the young 
 fry of the supposed Parr, their sizes, seasons, &c., he concludes 
 by these words— "In short, we see Samlets of various sizes — we 
 
CONFI.irTINO OPINION?;. 70 
 
 sec them with milt mid roc, in :ill the various stages, and wc sec 
 them perl'eetly empty ; all which circumstances clearly prove 
 that they ju-e a distinct species." 
 
 Clearly, indeed ; if it appear that these eireumstunces can hi- 
 authenticated; but this I, for the present, doubt — First, because 
 if there had been visible facts, the theory never {oiiUl have been 
 started of their beinj,' uupri)(lucf ive mules. Second, because 
 Sir Wiiiiaui .lardine, after examination of the I'arr of the Tweed, 
 speaks of it as still uneertain whether it may not be the young 
 of the Common Trout {Sa/ino Far'w); and for this reason, that 
 though lie has found males full of milt, he never has seen 
 females with the roe in an advanced state ; and, fiu-thcrmorc, 
 distinctly avers, that " they have not been discovered spawning 
 in any of the shallow streams or lesser rivulets, like the Trout." 
 
 Sir William, however, still leans to the opinion that there is 
 a distinct species, in which the transverse markings are perma- 
 nent, whieh reproduces its own kind, and never grows to a 
 greater size than eight or nine inches ; and this he would retain 
 under the title given to it by Uay, of Sal/no Salniu/u.'i. 
 
 Mr. Yarrel is of the same opinion; and has certainly shown 
 decidedly that it is not a hybrid, or a species of which there are 
 no females, as had been surmised ; since of three hundred and 
 ninety-tive Parrs, or Samlets, examined by Dr. lleysham, one 
 hundred and ninety-nine were males, and one hundred and 
 ninety-six females. 
 
 The great |)oint, however, is this, which is no\r, I think, j)er- 
 fcctly clear, and which at once dispels all the mystery of the 
 qucittioii, namely, that the young «)f all the Salmonidft — not 
 several only, aa Sir William Jardine and Mr. Yarrel state, but 
 
80 SALMONIDiE. 
 
 all — have, in their extreme youth, transverse bluish or ohve- 
 coloured markings ; that they have all been confounded with one 
 another, and — if there be such a fish — with the Parr proper ; 
 and that from this confusion, and the want of discrimination 
 on the part of the observers, have arisen all the contradictory 
 accounts of Salmon^ Salmon Trout, Bull Trout, and Common 
 Trout, raised from the veritable Parr. 
 
 Whether there do or do not exist a very small distinct species 
 of Salmo in Great Britain, which retain these marks to matu- 
 rity, is a matter of little comparative moment, though inter- 
 esting to the naturalist. The first question was of the greatest 
 importance, as invohdng the whole subject of reproduction of 
 species ; inasmuch as the facts, as asserted and formerly 
 believed, were directly analogous to this, that the eggs of a 
 barn-door fowl, of one laying, were hatched bantams, quail, 
 guinea-hens, pea-fowl, and any other gallinaceous fowl vou 
 please. 
 
 On this continent, assuredly, there is no distinct Parr, although 
 undoubtedly it Avill appear hereafter, that like the young of 
 every one of the family, like the true Salmon, and the greater 
 Lake Trout, and the Brook Trout, the other species without 
 exception have the Parr markings. 
 
 On this topic I have dwelt somewhat at length, yet I trust 
 not so long as to weary my readers, the great interest of the 
 point at issue, and the almost interminable discussion which has 
 been maintained on the subject, rendering me peculiarly anxious 
 to adduce something new and to the point ; which, thanks to 
 the kind assistance of my friend, Mr. Agassiz, I trust I have 
 succeeded in doinar. 
 
AHTIFIClAl, H.\T<||IN<;. 81 
 
 I may here venture to juld tliiit tUv tlistiiiguishetl geiillemun 
 I have just named, is incHucd to iiu-n-dulity as ro^jards the exist- 
 ence of a distinct species of I'arr. 
 
 I shall now recur to the cxjaTiincnts on the ov:i of ShIukju ; 
 first, for the purpose of showing; how tliey may he hrou;^ht into 
 direct practical utility, and rendered snhscrvicnt to the plcjujurc 
 of the anjjier, as a method of stoekin^' inland waters ; and, 
 secondly, of pointing out how easily experiments mi^ht In* 
 made in this mode, as to the h\ hiidisation of fishes, and the 
 rciu*ing new species of mules, or iiscertaining that they cannot 
 be reared, by the commixture of the milt and roe of various dis- 
 tinct species of the same family, in small tanks, fed hy rnnninj; 
 brooklets. 
 
 It has been shown above, that the impregnated spawn of any 
 two live brcedin}» fishes of the same family may be artificially 
 luitched and preserved in waters other than those in which the 
 parent species are wont to live ; as even tlie Salmon in fresh 
 water. 
 
 I slmll now proceed to show that the same result may be 
 obtained by the commixture of the milt and roe, in aerati-d 
 water, of dead fishes recently taken. 
 
 It is absolutely necessary that the w ater should be aerated, or 
 hijjhly supplied w ith oxyj;cn. For it is for the purpose of findin|^ 
 water in this condition, that the Salmon, the Shad, the Ihtss, 
 the Smelt, and all those fisli which resort to fresh waters for 
 the purpose of spawninp, run to the shallow, pure, aiul swiftly- 
 flowing briK>ks, to which their rapidity and frecjuent falls impart 
 purity and vitality, by mingling them with the atmospht re. In 
 the same manner, the fish of tlie sea resort for the deposit of 
 
U2, SALMOMD^. 
 
 dior o^^ to tbe weedy yh<wiH, vbeie flie TEgefables, in |soee» 
 <tf Hae . :iu imdEr l]ie inflnoice €£ tiie sun, diEtzibiite air 
 t: ": > aroond thflffi. 
 
 -1-7^ 'in WS. ^ ?!?* *. 2'^'" _Tj!.»»»Jk™_ 9 C t *-" ' " 
 
 r XTcmt i: ' . _ J " - ii Terr s.: 
 
 3eeeanbcr, wl : _ : 
 odledei 
 
 IXll4> 
 
ARTIFICIAL HATCMINO. <^8 
 
 number of young Trout, which had a small bay; attached to the 
 lower part of their body, containing; a part of the yolk of the 
 egg, which was still their nourishment. In this state they were 
 easily carried from place to phicc, in confined portions of fresh 
 water, for some days, requiring apparently no food ; but after 
 about a week, the nourishment in their bag being exhausted, 
 they began to seek their food in the water, and rapidly increased 
 in size. As I have said before, Mr. Jacobi assures us that the 
 experiment succeeded as well with mature fish that had been 
 killed for the purpose of procuring the roe and the milt, these 
 having been rai\etl together in cold water immediately after 
 they were taken out of the botlv. / have had this experiment 
 tried tirice" continues Sir Humphrey, speaking in his own 
 person, " and trith perfect success ; and it offers a ver\' good 
 mode of increasing to any extent the quantity of Trout in rivers 
 or lakes ; for the young ones arc preserved from the attacks of 
 fishes, and other voracious animals or insects, at the time when 
 they are most easily destroyed, and perfectly helpless. The 
 same plan, I have no doubt, would answer equally well with 
 Grayling, and other varieties of the Salmo genus. Rut in all 
 experiments of this kind, the great principle is to have a constant 
 current of fresh and aerated water running over the eggs." 
 
 Now it is manifest from this, that any person resident in the 
 near %-icinity of any lake or river, abounding in any species of 
 this family, the Common Trout, the True Salmon, the Lake 
 Trout, and probably the Otaego Bass {Coregonus Otsego), which 
 is one of the same family likewise, having aUo the command of 
 the smallest possible source of fresh running water, can raise, in 
 the space of a few weeks or months, an indefinite number of 
 
84 SALMONID^. 
 
 young fish, of any of these varieties, which, during the first 
 week or ten days, can be removed to any distance that can be 
 reached in that time — and, in these days of steam velocity, what 
 distance cannot be reached ? — in any cask, jar, or other vessel, 
 capable of containing a few gallons of water. 
 
 There would not in this manner be the smallest difficulty, 
 and very small trouble or expense, in translating the Mackinaw 
 Salmon and the Siskawitz Trout from Lakes Huron and Supe- 
 rior, to the inland waters of New York, New Jersey, and Penn- 
 sylvania, — not the smallest difficulty in introducing the true 
 Salmon from the Penobscot or the St. John, to any lake, river, 
 or stream in the Middle States ; and, it having been proved by 
 the experiments of Mr. Upton in Lilymere, as recorded above, 
 that the Salmon will live and preserve its excellence in fresh 
 water, entirely debarred from egress to the sea, would it not 
 be a highly interesting, and, if successful, valuable experi- 
 ment, to attempt its introduction into the hundreds of limpid 
 lakelets which gem the inlands and uplands of our Northern 
 States? 
 
 Again, as it is well known that all the migratory fish, like the 
 birds of passage, return, whenever it is possible, to the streams 
 wherein they were themselves bred, to breed, it seems to me 
 that it would be well worth the trying whether these streams of 
 ours here, to the southward of ISIaine, which, within a century 
 or two, teemed with Salmon, but in which one is now never 
 seen, might not be colonised and re-stocked with the delicious 
 fish. 
 
 There is no plausible reason why the Pinks which should be 
 transported to the Upper Hudson, and should there remain till 
 
KKSTOCKINCJ Kivi:i;>. 85 
 
 they become Sni;ilt>, .^liuiiUl not rfturii asdrilsr to the .sei'iics of 
 their ehiUlhoud. 
 
 Kor do I see any i^ooil reasuii w liy thry should not coulinue 
 to l)rieil, and to iVtiiumt any ri\er into whieh they .sliouUl be 
 ho intrmlucrd. 
 
 The eanse ot' thiir desertion ot" tliest' ii\irs is inexplicable. 
 It has been attributed to steandjoiUs, Ijut that is ideal ; for tin* 
 Tay, the Tweed, and tlu- Clyde, and half a dozen other Kn^'lish 
 ttud Scottish rivers, whieh still aljonntl in Salmon, are harassed 
 by more steand)oats, hourly, than are the Kcnnebcck and 
 Penobscot now, or than were the Hudson and Connecticut at 
 the time when the Sadmon forsook them, daily. 
 
 I think it, myself, far more probable that they were poisoned, 
 and driven fixjiu the headwaters and tributaries, in which they 
 Mere wont to spawn, by the sawdust, especially the hendock ; 
 and that the stock which were used to run up these estuaries 
 having become extinct, the traditional instinct is lost, and there 
 arc no fish left whicli know the way to our waters. 
 
 If this be a true reason — and, the known instinct of the 
 animal considered, it is as plausible a conjecture as any other — 
 it is certain that many rivers, whose waters a few years a-jo ran 
 turbid with sawdust, and whose every tributary resounded to 
 the clack of the saw -mill, now agaun run as limpid ns ever, and 
 are guiltless of saws, jis well as of the tindier to supply them. 
 
 I contciul, therefore, that there is no analogy against, but 
 much in favour of, the jMissibility of rc-stocking the southern 
 rivers of the Middle States with Siduuju, which should return, 
 and breed in thcui, year after year. 
 
 Nor, looki.ig to the \iu»l profit directly arising from such 
 
86 SALMONID^. 
 
 fisheries^ can I doubt, particularly when regarding the action 
 of the New York legislature in regard to a fish so compara- 
 tively worthless as the Carp, that, could such a thing be effected 
 as the recolonisation of our rivers with Salmon-fry, some action 
 of the legislatures would ensue for their protection, until such 
 time as they could be fairly naturalised. 
 
 "Whether this be feasible or not, it is certain, that to every 
 inland spring-lake, from the western line of Pennsylvania to 
 their easternmost and northernmost limits, every variety of 
 Brook Trout and Lake Trout can be introduced with ease, and 
 at a tri\-ial expense ; nor these only, but the true Salmon like- 
 wise. And I strongly believe that, when the extreme simplicity 
 of the method, and facility of the means, become generally 
 known, the true Salmon will be introduced, at least, into the 
 lakes of Hamilton County, as well as into many other inland 
 waters. In fact, running as he does now into Ontario, there is 
 no reason why he should not be safely lodged, beyond the 
 power of returning, above Niagara, and compelled to fill Erie, 
 Michigan, Hui'on, and Superior with his noble race. 
 
 A few years since, he found his way into Seneca and Cayuga 
 Lakes, and if modern improvements — heavens ! how I loathe 
 that word ! — have not excluded him, he finds his way there yet, 
 and thence might be propagated, ad infinitum, through the 
 whole region of the lesser lakes. 
 
 The next point of great value to be attained by the use of 
 experiments of this nature, is the ascertaining how far fish are 
 capable of hybridisation, and possibly the creation of new and 
 interesting varieties, besides the elucidation of sundry now 
 mooted questions concerning the manner in which various 
 
IIVIJUIDISATION. H7 
 
 species, now distinct, hiivc nrisiMi, and wlictlicr in trntli tlicy 
 arc distinct or no. 
 
 Now, it is of conrsi" just tis lasy to conuuiiigU', in tlu' manner 
 heretofore describril, tin- milt and roc of two distinct varieties, 
 as of the same sjwcics ; and thi- conscci'icnci's of snch an achiiix- 
 ture wonld cxcitf the attention of tin- \\hoh' scitMit ilic world. 
 
 Anywhere in the northnn and north-eastern part of the 
 State of New York, anywhere in the northern parts of New 
 Ilanipslnrc, \'ermont, or Maine, it wonhl be the easiest thinir 
 in tljc workl to procure the common Lake Trout {>:>atiuo Cu/i- 
 (iniji), if not alive, at least witian a few hours after his cai)ture, 
 and the connnon Brook Trout, dead or alive, in any desirable 
 quantities. 
 
 There is little if any difVerence in the spawning period of 
 these two Salinon'uUe, so that it would require very little pains 
 ur attention to procure the males and females under the eircinn- 
 stnuces proper for tlie making of such an experiment, whieh 
 might be performed precisely as I have described it above ; 
 trying, in ditlerent instances, the males and fenndes of the two 
 species alternately. 
 
 There are thousantls and tens of thousands of little ttnnliHng 
 transparent rills, throughout that country — scarcely a farm 
 without a dozen such — which have numerous natural basins in 
 their courses, each of which, with the aid of a few hours' work 
 employed in raising a timber dam, ami applying a grate at the 
 entrance and egress of the stream, would constitute as perfect a 
 i»torc-i>ond for the making of such experiments as could be 
 erected by the wealth of Crccsus ; with the atlvantage, too, of 
 having the fish rcqutititc for the tests existing, in a state of 
 
88 SALMONID^. 
 
 nature, within a few miles^ perhaps within a few hundred yards, 
 of the scene of action. 
 
 One place already made to hand, requiring no improvement 
 or alteration, strikes me on the instant; and one familiar, I 
 doubt not, to very many of my readers. I mean Barhydt's 
 Trout-ponds, near Saratoga Springs, where the Brook Trout 
 abound, in what perfection all epicures well know, and where 
 the Lake Trout could be obtained, with small trouble, alive, 
 from the waters of Lake George, and recently dead, without 
 any trouble at all. Whether the latter fish is found in Saratoga 
 Lake or not, I cannot say ; but I should rather suppose it is ; 
 if so, the matter would be yet further simplified. 
 
 The apparatus described above, Avhich could be made at the 
 cost of a few shillings, might be placed in the runway, between 
 the upper and lower ponds, so as to allow that beautifully clear 
 and sparkling source to bathe the ova constantly, until hatched ; 
 after which the fry should be kept in confined vessels until the 
 3'olks of the egg were absorbed, Avhen they should be transposed 
 to one or other of the tanks, fed by the streamlet. 
 
 In the same manner, in many places, especially in Maine, near 
 the west branch of the Penobscot, where it flows within a few 
 miles of Moosehead Lake, the former a favourite spawning 
 station of the true Salmon, the latter abounding in the large 
 Lake Trout, weighing sometimes up to thirty or forty pounds, 
 it might easily be ascertained whether a hybrid could be ob- 
 tained between these two fishes ; and so, perhaps, in a greater 
 degree upon the shores of the great lakes, where both these 
 species are taken, eastward at least of Niagara. 
 
 A similar trial might be made with the ova of the Salmon, 
 
MYBKlDISATIoN. JiO 
 
 luul of the Common Trout ; whirli could l)c done witli {^rciitcr 
 liicility tliiiii the other, iVom tlic fact that the two species arc 
 constantly found naturally co-existent in the same waters. 
 
 Shoulil any of these experiments rcNult in the production of 
 hybrids, another intcrcstiu}^ (piestion would arise, as to whether 
 the males thus produei-d should l)e aj^'ain eajtahle of ri-produeinj; 
 their own species. Should this bi-the case, it would ;;o verv far 
 toward the breaking up the whole theory of distinct species of 
 this family, and provinij them to be merely aeeidental \aricties, 
 casually produced at first, and having become, in process of 
 generations, capable of transmitting their own peculiar type to 
 their progeny — as is the case clearly with the various breeds of 
 dogs, horses, cattle, and other domestic aninuds, which, so long 
 as they are prescned unmixed, will produei- like of like, l)ut 
 which, if interbred \\i{\\ other close-kindred races, will produce 
 a mongrel, but not a hybrid — one, I nuaii, wlueh is capable of 
 reproduction. 
 
 Thus Shetland ponies breeding together will produce Slietland 
 ponies; and blood-liorses of the Arab stock, blood-horses. 
 
 Intermix tliese, and you shall have a cross-bred olfspring, 
 which is not, however, a hybrid, like the produce of a horse and 
 an ass; for it is capable of breeding again, with its own type, or 
 with either of the parent races, or with any other pure horse. 
 
 And so of liounds, setters, greyhounds, and all the varieties 
 of domestic dogs, so long as they are interbred among them- 
 selves ; but the moment they are associati-d with the wolf, fox, 
 jackal, dingo, or any of the congenerous though distinct races, 
 they will l)rccd with them, it i** true, but the progeny «ill be 
 trulv hvbrid and barn'u. 
 
90 salmonidj:. 
 
 If, therefore, it should be proved on experiment, that the 
 various distinct species of the Salmonida, as they are now held 
 to be, will, when interbred, produce young capable of reproduc- 
 tion, it would go very far to establish the fact that the distinc- 
 tions are not distinctions, but merely varieties. 
 
 I must not, however, be understood as saying that the success 
 of experiments, and the establishment of such a result as I have 
 supposed, would go at all to prove that such intermixture of 
 varieties occurred, or such cross-breeds were produced in a state 
 of nature ; far from it. 
 
 We know, that in vegetables, hybrids can be, and are, readily 
 produced by artificial means, which will not occur once in a 
 century, perhaps never would occur at all, were the plants left 
 to the operation of nature. 
 
 Nature abhors monstrosities ; and the proverb that the " cat 
 will follow kind" is of older wisdom than Will Shakspeare's. 
 Man's freaks have raised mongrels between the lion and the 
 tigress; Nature's, so far as we know, or can conjecture, never. 
 And always in a wild state a hundred circumstances, such as 
 different size, different habits, haunts, associations, and last, not 
 least, fear — one species of the same family being habitually the 
 devourer of his relatives — Avill prevent the occurrence of such 
 admixtures between animals. 
 
 It would require many and strong evidences to make me 
 believe that the Brook Trout of ordinary dimensions would trust 
 itself willingly within such distance of the Salmon, or Lake 
 Trout, as would permit their ova to commingle in a single 
 furrow. 
 
 Nor, indeed, do I believe, myself, that the result of such 
 
Monastic imsi'aimks. 'jl 
 
 experiments as these lust -luuucd uould be ^wrrc.v.v ,• althouj^h I 
 f;;utljer from ;i note of Dr. Hetliuue's, to liis beautiful edition of 
 WiUton, that he rather leans to the opinion that the various 
 species of this family were more eapal)le of intermixture, and 
 mort' aeeustomed to intirhrrcd, than 1 ;uu disposed to ercdit. 
 
 At all events, there woulil be j^reat interest and entertain- 
 ment in the instituting such a serii's of experiments ; and tlie 
 result, whatever it should be, eould not fail of imi)ortance. 
 
 That those whieh 1 first mentioned arc eminently practieable, 
 is not to be doubted ; and there is strong reason for believing 
 that this seienee was fully xuulerstood, and constantly practised, 
 like many other good things now forgotten, or, as we flatter 
 ourselves, recently discovered, by the monks of old. 
 
 That Caqj were introduced from the continent to England, 
 by the monks, is nejirly certain ; this, however, could be accom- 
 plished without recourse to any artilieial modes of produein;^' or 
 raising the young fry. There are, however, many and powerfid 
 reasons for believing that the Orayling [Thijmallus Vcxiilifcr), the 
 Charr {Salino Uinbla), the Gwyuiad {Corvgomis Fcra), and perhaps, 
 also, the \ endacc {Coregonus \"iUu<jhbii), the Pidlan {Corvyottua 
 Pollan), and the Powan {Corvt/onits Lacepedei), were also intro- 
 duced by the same agency from foreign countries. This belief 
 is supported by the fact, that these fish exist only in isolated, 
 and often distant waters ; sometimes in only one of two neigh- 
 bouring rivers, whereof that which contains them is apparently 
 the least adapted to their Iiabits ; but always in such waters as 
 had many or diHtinguished monastic institutions on their banks. 
 Wlnle England was Catholic, great attention was paid to the 
 raising and fattening the choicest varieties of fresh-water fish ; 
 
92 SALMONIDiE. 
 
 an art which has sunk into neglect, partly owing, doubtless, to 
 the abolition of fast-days, and partly to the great facility 
 Avith which the finest sea-fish are transported throughout the 
 country. 
 
 If the fish I have last mentioned were so introduced, it must 
 have been by some such process as that which I have here de- 
 scribed ; for they are all of so sensitive and delicate a nature, 
 that it is with the greatest difficulty they can be kept alive for 
 an hour or two after being captured, and that only by a con- 
 stant change of fresh spring water ; circumstances which would 
 have made it utterly impossible that they should have been 
 transported from the continent, after they had arrived at 
 maturity. 
 
 Even to this day, in Austria, Illyria, and parts of the Tyrol, 
 the greatest attention is paid to the nurture of the most delicate 
 fresh-water fishes in confined situations; and Sir Humphrey 
 Davy states in his " Salmonia," that, " at Admondt, in Styria, 
 attached to the magnificent monastery of that name, are abun- 
 dant ponds and reservoirs for every species of fresh-water fish ; 
 and the Charr, Grayling, and Trout are preserved in different 
 waters — covered, enclosed, and under lock and key." 
 
 And now having at length come to the end of this sort of 
 dissertation on the breeding, growth, and specific generation of 
 the Salmon, I shall briefly consider his characteristics, distin- 
 guishing marks and habits, before passing to his nearest relation, 
 in this country at least, the Brook Trout. 
 
 The Salmon {Salmo Salar), of Linneeus and all authors, is, I 
 have observed before, a soft-finned fish of the Abdominal division, 
 his ventral fins being attached to the parietes of the belly. His 
 
DKSCKlITloN tiK Till". S.\I-M«'N. {»3 
 
 lioad is smooth, liis Ixuly sraly. His dorsal tins arc two in 
 nmnl)cr, the first siiinjortcd by soft rays, the second adipose or 
 fatty, without rnys ; he lins teeth on the vomer, both pahitiiic 
 bones, and all the maxillary bones. His bninchioste<j;ous rays 
 \ arv in number, ^'enerally, from ten to twelve, but arc irrcfrulan 
 and do not al\\ays coincide on the two sides of tin* head. The 
 teeth on tlie vomer rarely exceed two in nuinbi r, and tlu-re is 
 fi-equcntiv l)nt one; a si^ni whieli is thought to di^tinJ;nish him 
 tVom the Salmon Trout, and other connected species. 
 
 The length of his head, to the whole length of his l)ody, is as 
 one to five; tlu- eye small and nearer to the point of the nose 
 than to the posterior cd«;c of the j;ill-cover. The pectoral fin is 
 two-thirds the Icnjjtli of the head, and has tw( Ive fin-rays. The 
 ventral fin lies in a vertical liiu; xmder the middle of the dorsal 
 tin, and has nine rays; the anal fin commences about half-way 
 between the origin of the ventral and caudal fins, and has nine 
 rays; the caudal tin, or tail, has nineteen rays ; when tin- WsU is 
 ver}' young, it is much forked, but as it advances in years, the 
 central caudal niys grow n[); and it becomes nearly s(|uare by 
 the end of the fourth year. The first dorsal fm h.is thirtccMi 
 rays, all of which, with the exception of the two fir.st, are 
 branched. The body is long, and about et|ua]ly couma al)o\e 
 and below; the lateral line dividing the body nearly ecpial, and, 
 to a certain degree, parting the dark hue of the back, and 
 silvery whiteness of the belly. 
 
 The form of the gill-covers, shapes of the fins, and relative 
 proportions of the whole fish, will be readily mnlerstood by 
 reference to the cut nt the head of this article, which will give 
 n more correct iclca than any written description. 
 
94 SALMONID^. 
 
 The Salmon is, to all intents, a fish of prey ; and to this end 
 every part of his frame is adapted, in the most perfect manner, 
 by the master-hand of nature. The elongated form of his body 
 tapering forward and aft with the most gradually curvated lines, 
 hke the entrance and the run of some swift-sailing barque, 
 enables him to glide through the swift water in which he loves 
 to dwell, displacing its particles with the least resistance; the 
 powerful muscles and strong branched rays of his broad and 
 vigorous caudal fin serve as a propeller, by which he can com- 
 mand an immense degree of momentum and velocity^ and ascend 
 the sharpest rapids. 
 
 No one who has once felt the arrowy rush of a fifteen-pound 
 Salmon, when struck with the barbed steel, will be inclined to 
 undervalue his strength, his speed, or his agility; and the 
 numerous and astonishing leaps which he is capable of making, 
 to the height of many feet above the surface, either in attempt- 
 ing to rid himself of the hook, or in surmounting obstacles to 
 his upward passage, in the shape of dams, flood-gates or 
 cataracts, prove the exceeding elasticity, vigour and strength of 
 his muscular system. 
 
 The prodigious power of sinew exhibited in the lithe and 
 springy limbs of the quadrupeds of prey of the feline order is 
 not superior in its degree to that possessed by this, the veritable 
 monarch of fresh-water fishes ; nor are the curved fangs and 
 retractile talons more eflScacious instruments to the lion and the 
 tiger for the seizure of their victims, than are the five rows of 
 sharp hooked teeth, with which the whole mouth of the Salmon 
 is bristled, for the prehension and detention of his slippery and 
 active prey. 
 
KINO OF THK IMVKlts. «).') 
 
 Nor is lie kss buKl, lirrcf, and persevering;, than he is well 
 provided with tlie menus of pursuit and the instruments of 
 destruetion. 
 
 As a proof of the strength and eoura^e of this family, it is 
 recordid \>\ Mr. \ ancl, that a I'ike ami a Trout, put tofjethcr 
 in a confined place, had several battles for a particular spot, hut 
 the Trout was eventually the master. The comparative size of 
 these tish is not mcntionctl, but of course there wjia something; 
 approachinj^ to an e(|uality, as the Pike constantly preys on 
 small Trout. 
 
 It is ver}' certain that, although f;reat havoc is made amonj; 
 Salmon by the seal aud the otter, there is no fresh-water fish 
 which would venture on attacking them, not even the Pike, 
 at his lar};ost size. 
 
 The Salmon grows to a very large bulk, though tlic average 
 run is probably from eight to sixteen pounds ; and as is the 
 case with many kinds of tish, the middle-sized, of twelve or 
 fourteen pounds, are generally considered the best in an epicurean 
 point of view, and aftord, commonly speaking, nearly as much 
 »|)ort when hooked, as the monsters of the species. 
 
 "The present London season, ls,35," says Mr. Yarrel, speaking 
 on this point, " luis been more than usually remarkable for 
 large Salmon. I have seen ten different fish, varying from 
 thirty-eight to forty pounds each." A notice appeared in the 
 public pa|>crs of one that weighed fifty-five pounds. Salmon, 
 however, of much larger size have been occasionally taken. M r. 
 Mudie has recorded one of sixty pounds. In a note to the 
 histor>' of the Salmon, in several editions of Walton, mention 
 i.<i made of one that weighetl seventy {)ounds ; Pennant has 
 
96 SALM0NIDJ3. 
 
 noticed one of seventy-four pounds : the largest known, as far 
 as I am aware, came into the possession of Mr. Groves, the fish- 
 monger in Bond Street, about the season of 1821. This Salmon, 
 a female, weighed eighty-three pounds; was a short fish for 
 the weight, but of very unusual thickness and breadth. When 
 cut up, the flesh was fine in colour, and proved of excellent 
 quality. 
 
 " The Salmon of the largest size killed by angling, of which 
 I have been able to collect particulars, are as follows : — In 
 the Thames, October 3, 1812, at Shepperton Deeps, Mr. 
 G. Marshall, of Brewer Street, London, caught and killed a 
 Salmon that weighed twenty-one pounds four ounces, with a 
 single gut, without a landing net." 
 
 Sir Humphrey Davy is recorded as having caught an 
 immense fish, weighing about forty-two pounds, immediately 
 above Yair-bridge, and captured him after a severe struggle. 
 
 Mr. Lascelles, in his "Letters on Sporting," says, "The largest 
 Salmon I ever knew taken with a fly was in Scotland ; it 
 weighed fifty-four pounds and a half." 
 
 In this country, except in Canada, where there are many 
 excellent and enthusiastic Salmon-fishers, this noble sport is 
 but little followed, and there are few records extant of the 
 number or size of fish taken. 
 
 It will be sufficient to observe, however, that in the St. Law- 
 rence and its tributaries, especially those great streams coming 
 in from the northward, the Saguenaw particularly, the number 
 and size of the Salmon are at least equal to those in the finest 
 English or Scottish rivers ; an intimate friend of my own having 
 killed within a few years, on the St. Lawrence, near the mouth 
 
AMHIUCAX SALMON'. 07 
 
 of the rivtr named abuvc, twenty lisli in a sinj^lc clay's lisliiiif^, 
 one of which weij^lied above forty ponnds, while the smallest, if 
 1 am not ji^rcntly mistaken, exceeded sixteen. This was all dune 
 with the My. 
 
 " It may he stated {generally," says Vanel, " that Salmon 
 pass the snmmer in the >ea, or near the month of the estuary ; 
 in autnmn tjicy pnsh np the rivers, divi-r^in;^ to thi-ir trihutary 
 strenms ; in winter they inliahit the pnre fresh water, and in 
 spring; a^ain descend to the sea." 
 
 These habits of the fish arc unqncstionably more or less 
 modihed by climate and other intlncnccs, and it is certain that 
 in America the Salmon enter the rivers, and beijin to rnn nj) 
 them in Jnnc ; by September they have arrived at the shallow 
 and g^ravelly head-waters of the streams, and are |)reparin{^ to 
 spawn ; aiul I presmnc? that as soon as that operation is hnished 
 tlicy retnrn to the salt water to reernit, and conseqnentlv that 
 here they do not [)ass the winter in frish water. 
 
 It has been snpposcd by many observers, that the Salmon do 
 not go very far ont to sea, but remain constantly within souiul- 
 nv^, and not very far distant from their native streams, to 
 which, whenever it is practicable, they retnrn ; this is, however, 
 very <picstionable. 
 
 Many are taken on the British coasts, «hile rnnnin^ alonj^ 
 the shore in the summer months, and scarchiuf; for the mouths 
 of the rixiTs whieh they desire to jiscend ; but wry few are 
 taken here until they have made their way np the estuaries, 
 when they arc captured in ^eat numbers by means of 
 stake-nets. 
 
 They do not, it is true, invariably return to the streams in 
 
 II 
 
98 SALMONID^E. 
 
 which they were bred^ although they do so, beyond doubt, in a 
 very great majority of instances; but it woukl appear from the 
 observations of Dr. Heysham and Sir WilUam Jardine, that if 
 they have roved to a very great distance from the estuary of 
 their own stream, they betake themselves to the mouth of the 
 first river they reach, if its temperature and the condition of its 
 waters suit them. 
 
 Many Tweed Salmon are occasionally taken in the Frith of 
 Forth, and it is even said that in seasons when the Forth 
 fisheries are unusually successful, those of the Tweed are as 
 much the reverse. Sir Humphrey Davy is of opinion that the 
 taste of the waters of different rivers, according as they are 
 impregnated with different substances, and the effect produced 
 by them on the bronchise of the fish in the act of breathing, are 
 the guides by which the Salmon are led back to the streams to 
 which they have been accustomed ; and he accounts for their 
 being occasionally mistaken, by the fact that such mistakes 
 frequently occur during great floods, connected with storms, or 
 violent motion in the waters near the shore; by which the 
 components of the waters are disturbed, and their flavour con- 
 sequently altered. In confirmation of this view, he relates 
 that he " remembers in this way, owing to a ti'emendous 
 flood, catching with the fly a large Salmon which had mistaken 
 his stream, having come into the Bush, near the Giant's Cause- 
 way, instead of the Bann. No fish can be more distinct," he 
 proceeds, " in the same species, than the fish of these two 
 rivers, their length to their girth being in a ratio of 20"9 and 
 20-13." 
 
 I am not, however, inclined to adopt this explanation. For 
 
1J:AI' f)F TlIK SAI.MnN. '.•!) 
 
 it seems to nic that in iuij;nitory aiiinmls of all kinds, and indeed, 
 in sonic instancrs, in (loincstic animals likcwisr, that tlicre is 
 sonu' sort of sixth siiisr, or at h-ast sonic entirely distinct 
 power, not ucijnired hy means of any of the senses of whieh 
 HI' are eo;;ni/ant. nor acfini; like ri-ason, hy nii-ans of didtictioii, 
 whit'h cnahk's thcni to stii-r their course throutrh conntlcss 
 leagnes of air or water, or over miles of nnenltivatcd hiiul, to 
 the [daees \\lure they were ined, or to which thiir instincts 
 compel them to resort for the purpose of \\interin:r, ohtaininj; 
 t'ood, or the like. 
 
 And I no more helii\i- that Salmon are {jnided hack to their 
 native rivers In* the tlavonr of the waters, than I do that the 
 swallow tinds his way from Africa to Knrope, or from Sonthern 
 to Northern America, by the scent of tlie tainted atmosphere. 
 
 I am disposed, therefore, to believe with Y arret, that this 
 occasional variation from their ordinary cnstom is caused hy 
 their having strayed to such a distance from their native 
 estuaries, that when the time comes for rettuniu'r, they pr(>fer 
 taking the first snitahh' river, to make loiij^er delay. 
 
 The female fish, it is observed, are the tir>t to enter the 
 rivers, and the Grilse, or young fish, wliicli have not yet spawned, 
 come in earlier than the fnll-^rown Salmon. They swim with 
 great rapidity, shoot up the most oblicpie and glancing rai)ids 
 with the vel(X*ity of an arrow, nn<l frerpirntly leap falls of ten 
 or twelve feet in perpendicular height. 
 
 It wa.s formerly believed that, in making their prodigious 
 springs, the fish tnke,H its tail in its mouth, and shoot.s itself like 
 n pliant stick, the ends of which are forcibly brought together 
 and then allowed to spring. This, however, is a table; although, 
 
 II 2 
 
100 SALMONID.E. 
 
 in making these leaps, the muscular efforts of the animal do 
 really impart to it a curvilinear form. 
 
 It is believed that the utmost limit of perpendicular height 
 which they can attain is fourteen feet ; but their perseverance 
 is as remarkable as their strength, and though they fail time 
 after time, and fall back into the stream below, they remain 
 but a few moments quiescent, to recruit their strength, before 
 they renew their efforts ; and they generally succeed in the end, 
 although they are said sometimes to kill themselves by the 
 A-iolence of their own efforts to ascend, and are frequently 
 captured in consequence of falling on the rocks. 
 
 I once watched a Salmon for above an hour endeavouring to 
 pass a mill-dam on the river Wharfe, a Salmon river in the 
 West Riding of Yorkshire. The dam was of great height, 
 thirteen or fourteen feet at least, and was formed with a sort of 
 step midway, on which the water fell, making a double cascade. 
 While I was watching him, the fish, which was, I suppose, of 
 some seven or eight pounds, made above twenty leaps, con- 
 stantly alighting from his spring about midway the upper shoot 
 of the water, and being constantly swept back into the eddy at 
 its foot. After a pause of about a couple of minutes, he would 
 try it again ; and such was his vigour and endurance, that he 
 at last succeeded in surmounting the formidable obstacle ; and 
 to my great pleasure — for I liad become really interested in his 
 success — went on his way rejoicing. 
 
 The ^K)racity of the Salmon is excessive ; and yet, from the 
 singular fact that their stomachs are invariably, or almost inva- 
 riably, found entirely empty, none of the numerous examiners 
 have been able to satisfy themselves what constitutes its prin- 
 
Foul) UF TlIK SALMON. I ((I 
 
 cipiil support. The >tomacli of the Sulmoii is, comparatively 
 spciikintr, small ; ami Sir Ilnmphri'V Davy asserts that, <Mit (•!' 
 many which he had openetl, he iie\er fuuml anything; in their 
 stomachs but the tape-worms hred there, ami some yellow Huiil- 
 This peculiarity iim-Nt, 1 think, be m a ;^reat mi-asnre attrihntcd 
 to their rapid dijjcstion. In this they ditler j^reatly from the 
 Salmon Tront, u liiih is constantly found stntl'i-d with fixjd of 
 all sorts, tin- ri-mains of small tish, heitles, inscets, and the 
 saud-hoppcr {Tulilris locusta), \\liieh would seem to be their 
 favourite food. 
 
 Dr. Knox stutes that the food of the Salmon, and that on 
 which all its estimable ipudities and, in his opinion, its \ery 
 existence depends, and which the ti>h can only obtain in the 
 ocean, he has tuund to In- the o\a, or eg^s of various kimls of 
 vchinodermata, and some of the crust itiva. I'rom the richness 
 of the food on \\iiieh the true Salmon solely subsi>ts arises, at 
 lejist to ft certain extent, the excellent (luality of the tish as an 
 article of food. Something, however, must be aserilicd to a 
 siMJcific distinction of the fish itself; for though he has a>eer- 
 taimil that the Salmon Trout lives in some localities on very 
 much till- same kind of food as the true Salmon, yit under no 
 circumstances docs this fish t cr attain the same exipiisite 
 tlavuur as the true Salmon. 
 
 Dr. I'leming states that their fa\ourite food is the sand-eel. 
 " I Inive myself," says Mr. Varrel, " taken the remains of the 
 sand-launce from their stomach." It i«t known, moreover, that 
 they are taken in Scotland by lines baited with thi> brilliant 
 and glitlcrin); little ti.Hh , as are the clean-nui tish, fre>h from 
 the sea, with the common earlh-Morm. Mr \ arrel mention"- 
 
J 0^ SALMONID^. 
 
 an instance of one being taken in the Wye with a minnow ; and 
 Sir Humphrey Davy states he has fished for them in the Tay 
 with great success, with the Parr, probably their own young fry, 
 on spinning tackle. 
 
 For what they mistake the large artificial fly, by which they 
 are so marvellously allured, taking it greedily, at a very short 
 distance from the sea, we cannot determine. It is like nothing 
 that has any existence in nature ; and some persons have ima- 
 gined that the Salmon is deceived by the gay colours and the 
 ripple of the water, and so takes them for small fish. This is 
 not credible, however; and the most plausible suggestion is 
 that of Sir Humphrey Davy, that the fish, on their return from 
 salt water, where, of course, they find nothing analogous to the 
 natural or artificial fly, are actuated " by a sort of imperfect 
 recollection of their early food and habits ; for flies form a great 
 part of the food of the Salmon-fry, which, for a month or two 
 after they are hatched, feed like young Troiits, — and in March 
 and April the spring flies are their principal nourishment. In 
 going back to fresh water, they may perhaps have their habits 
 of feeding recalled to them, and naturally search for their food 
 at the surface.'^ 
 
 While I am on this topic, it may not be uninteresting to 
 quote the relation of an experiment tried with regard to the 
 efi'ect of various kinds of food on the Trout, as it is probable 
 that, in fish so closely allied, the facts would not vary much in 
 relation to the Salmon. 
 
 Mr. Stoddart relates this, in his "Art of Angling as practised 
 in Scotland ;" but the experiment was made in the south of 
 England : " Fish were placed in three separate tanks ; one 
 
TACKI.K. — IJAIT. ]().} 
 
 wliirh >vas suppliril ilaily \>itli worms, aiiotlici- with live ininnow.s, 
 iind the third with those siimll ihirk-eohnirid water-lliis, whieh 
 lire to l)e fuuiul inuving about on the surfaee, imder banks and 
 sheltered i)hiees. The Trout fed \\ it h worms j;rew .slowlv, and 
 had a leiin appearanee. Those nourished on minnows, which, 
 it was t)bser\ed, tliey (hirted at with ^reat voracity, became 
 nuu'h hiri^er ; while such as were latteuid ui)on Hies onlv 
 attained in a small time prtxli^^ious dimensions, weigliint,' twice 
 as much as both the others together, although the (juautity of 
 food swallowed by them was in no wise so great." 
 
 I may here observe, that from the fact of the Salmon roe, 
 when preserved sfniiuiHiti artcm, proving a most deaiUy and 
 infallible bait for Salmon, — so much so, indeed, that the u^e of 
 it in England is regarded as unsportsmanlike, and as an act of 
 poaching, — tliere can be little doubt that the ova of fishes of all 
 kinds contribute to their food, ami ailil probably to the richness 
 of their Hesh. 
 
 I have now gone through, I believe, all that is nujst remark- 
 able and most interesting in relation to the natural history, the 
 form, habits, food, and seasons of this noble fish; but thoM- 
 who wish to study him tor themsehfs, ami read coneerniuLr him 
 more at large than the space wliieh can lie allotted to a singU- 
 specimen in this volume will admit, I refer to Yarn I's fine work 
 on Hritisli Kishes ; to that delightful work, '' Salmoniu," by Sir 
 Iliiniphrey Davy ; and to Scropc's Huperb work, entitled " Days 
 and Nights of Snlnion Fislung," which, though I ha\(' not 
 enjoyed an op|)ortunity of examining it, I understand to be 
 botli the finest and the most complete treatise on this topic. 
 
 In n future portion of the work I shall enter at large upon all 
 
104 
 
 SALMONID^. 
 
 the miuutiEe of rods^ tackle, bait, &c., necessary for the capture 
 of the king of the fresh waters ; as well as upon the science of 
 taking liim with the artificial fly, and all the appliances to that 
 end. Until then, adieu to Salmo Salar. 
 
UlSTlNOUISHINti CIIAICACTEKS. 
 
 1U5 
 
 TlIK hlvOOK TKorT. 
 
 THE CuM.MoN TROUT.— Til K TU(»ITI,KT.- 
 The Xctc Yvii: L'/iarr — lluiUHitsoM. .Sii/n«o /wh/iiki/m— Dhh \k 
 
 YouuK Krj- of Itrouk Trout. 
 
 LiKK tlic wild aniinals c)t' tins cniitiiit'iit, almost without 
 exception, the Trout ot' America is a distinct species from the 
 tisli of llurope ; althuu|^li, as in many other instances, the 
 general resemblance i-s so strong, and the characteristic diU'er- 
 euees so narrow, that in the eyes of a common observer, 
 judging from memory only, they appear to be identical. 
 
 Many sportsmen, who have been in tlic liabit of killing this 
 beautiful fish, both in this country and in luirope, are under 
 the impression that there is no material ditl'ercnce; but such is 
 not, in truth, the cjuse ; for a.s with the snipe, the teal, the 
 widgeon, and many other* of the l)irds of America, the chanie- 
 tcristic marks of di.stinetion, though easily overlooked at first, 
 by a person unarcpuiinted with them, when onec jwinted out, 
 
 • Tlii* nanir lo »|>|lii>i i \ l»r i». kn_\ i.i m. i.-ii \\]>i:> in tiu- M.it<- i> pn -. iit< l mi 
 lh« aboTc rill. 
 
106 
 
 SALMON ID^. 
 
 cannot be readily mistaken, and, being both permanent and 
 invariable, are quite sufficient to establish diversity of species. 
 
 It is not in formation, 
 moreover, or appearance 
 only, but in very many of 
 his habits, that the Brook 
 Trout {Sahno Fontinalis) , of 
 America, differs from his 
 congener, the Common Trout 
 {Salmo Fario), of Europe. 
 
 Still, in general, his man- 
 ners, his haunts, his prey, 
 and his mode of taking it, 
 o so closely resemble those of 
 s the European Trout, that, as 
 i a general rule, the instruc- 
 tions gisen for the taking 
 the one will be found suc- 
 cessful as regards the other ; 
 and the flies, baits, and ge- 
 neral style of tackle, as well 
 as the science of capturing, 
 with some few exceptions, 
 which will be noticed here- 
 after, are nearly identical, on 
 the two sides of the Atlantic. 
 As in Europe, so in Ame- 
 rica, although there are countless varieties of this most beau- 
 tiful of fishes, almost indeed a variety for every stream, still, 
 
HAUNTS AND IIAIMTS. KiT 
 
 accordinp^ to the opinions of what I (Khmm the hcst authorities, 
 there is but one distinct spcciis. 
 
 Kndless attempts have bi-en niatie in llii^hiiid to distinj^uish 
 and tU'tine fresh species ; hut these have, in uiy judj^ment, all 
 faiU'il. Accordiut; to Mr. Aj^assiz, wliosc opinion on this sub- 
 ject I consider piiraniouiit to all others, the (iillaroo, or (iiz/.ard- 
 trout, as it is sometimes erroneously called by the Irish, and 
 some of tlie Scottish writers, is merely a casual \arii'tv of the 
 Salmo Fariu. The distinction, which consists principally in the 
 thickness and induration of the stoniaeh, having' arisen from 
 feeding on shell-lish, in the first instance, in individuals, has 
 been gradually ingrafted on generations, until, in process of 
 time, it has become a permanent type. 
 
 Although this variety is not known to exist on this continent, 
 1 have a very strong suspicion, from many circumstances which 
 I have heard, on good authority, concerning the Trout of the 
 Marshpce river, in Massachusetts, that on examination, it will 
 i)e found to possess some of the leading peculiarities of this fish, 
 particularly the indurated stomach. I have never had an opi)or- 
 tunity of seeing tlie Trout of this river ; but I know that it has 
 many peculiarities of iiabit resend)ling those of the Ciillaroo, 
 especially that of feeding on shell-fish, a friend oi' mine having 
 actually succeeded in taking them with small white crabs, at a 
 time when they would look at no otlier bait. 
 
 I mention this, merely by way of suggestion, as offering an 
 interesting subject of investigation for naturalists. 
 
 Sir Humphrey Davy, in his " Salmonia," rather leans to the 
 idea that the (iillaroo is a distinct species, though he leav<',s 
 it uncrrtnin whether it ma_\ not be a permanent variitv ; his 
 
108 SALMONID^. 
 
 principal ai'gument being this, that he has caught small fish, 
 no longer than the finger, with a fly, " Avhich had as perfect a 
 hard stomach as the larger ones, with the coats as thick in 
 proportion, and the same shells within." 
 
 In external appearance, the Gillaroo is said to differ from the 
 Common Trout " very little, except that they have more red 
 spots, and a yellow or golden-coloured belh^ and fins, and are 
 generally a broader and thicker fish." Again, Sir Humphrey 
 admits that, " in a clear and cool river, fish that feed much on 
 lai'vse, and swallow the hard cases, become yellower, and the 
 red spots increase so as to outnumber the black ones ; and these 
 quaUties become fixed in the young fishes, and establish a 
 pai'ticular variety." 
 
 This would seem, in plain English, to describe the existence 
 of a fish in the dii'ect process of change, from the ordinary form 
 of the Trout to the Gillaroo, the feeding on the larvse of winged 
 insects, in then* hard stony cases, being, as it were, a first step 
 toward becoming shell-fish eaters, and the eff'ect being indicated 
 in the gradual change of colour, though the causes have not 
 been as yet sufficiently powerful to produce tlie induration of 
 the stomach. 
 
 In America, likewise, it has been attempted to draw a dis- 
 tinction ; and Dr. Dekay, a very accomplished and able icthy- 
 ologist, although perhaps — mth all deference be it spoken — 
 rather too much of an in-door natui'ahst, and too much inclined 
 to admit hearsay evidence, has designated a species as the Red- 
 bellied Trout {Salmo Erythi'ogaster) ; which I confess I do not 
 believe to be even a permanent variety, but merely a brilliant 
 specimen of the common Brook Trout, in its highest season, 
 
TIIKORY <>F CDI.ol'K. 109 
 
 taken, pinltahly, from some very l)ri;;lit and Minny wat»r. In 
 this view I am fully snstninod by I'rofessor Ajjassiz, who has 
 made sonic very rurious experiments with rej^ard to the colours 
 of fishes, of the Salmunidte esj)eeially ; and who has ascertained, 
 beyond a doubt, not only that tlie Trout of dilVcrent nei;;h- 
 IxMirini; waters arc atVecfed by the enluiu' and ([iiality (if the 
 watiT, but that the Trout of f/ir siiint' rirrr \ary in colour 
 nccordinjily as they haunt the shady or the sunny side of tln^ 
 stream. Tor it is a wi-ii-known tact, that the S(ilm(i)iiil<p, 
 nlthou}rh many of them arc mignitory at certain seasons, liavc 
 their own haunts and hnntin;;-irrounds to which they steadily 
 adhere, movins? but a short distance from one spot, in pursuit 
 of tlu'ir prey, and returning; to it when satisfied. 
 
 Thus, in a mountain-brook, you shall find, perhaps, that the 
 pool l)etwecn an upper and lower fall or rapid is occupied by 
 two fish ; one of these w ill lie at the head, the other at the tail, 
 of the pool, the more powerful fish selcetinf; the spot which he 
 chooses, ami neither exchan<;in<jj places, nor huutin;^ far from 
 his habitual haunts. 
 
 In still waters, in like manner, you will find that, day after 
 (lav, the sanu' lar^c^ Trout will be seen undi-r this bank, by that 
 lar«'e stone, or in tlie cavity fornu'd l)y the roots of yon ash or 
 alder; and that he will n<jt stray to any distance from it, but 
 will seek his prey lu-arly iu the same waters, and on the same 
 side of the river, the opposite bank Ix-in*; probably held ])y a 
 rival fish. 
 
 That this will at first be deemed far-fetclu'd and improbable, 
 I think likely enough ; but the more we consider it, the more 
 reasonable shall it np|>ear ; fur w hen we weigh the jp-cat influence 
 
110 SALMONID^. 
 
 of light in the production of colours, and then think how much 
 the transmission of light through different media, as, for instance, 
 waters of different degrees of density, purity, and colour, affects 
 the light itself, we shall find the theory far less extravagant than 
 it strikes us at a first glance. 
 
 And here, I shall quote an anecdote, related in " Salmonia," 
 for the purpose of elucidating an entirely different point, which 
 yet is so much to the purpose, in the present instance, that 
 it is even more valuable in illustration of this, than of that for 
 which it is quoted. 
 
 " A manufacturer of carmine,'' thus runs the story, " who 
 was aware of the superiority of the French colour, went to 
 Lyons for the purpose of improving his process, and bargained 
 with the most celebrated manufacturer in that capital for the 
 acquisition of his secret, for which he was to pay a thousand 
 pounds. He was shown all the processes, and saw a beautiful 
 colour produced, yet he found not the least difference in the 
 French mode of fabrication and that which he had constantly 
 adopted. He appealed to the manufacturer, and insisted that 
 he must have concealed something. The manufacturer assured 
 him that he had not, and invited him to see the process a second 
 time. He minutely examined the water, and the materials, 
 which were the same as his own, and, very much surprised, said, 
 ' I have lost my labour and my money, for the air of England 
 does not permit us to make good carmine.' ' Stay,' says the 
 Frenchman, ' do not deceive yourself; what kind of weather is 
 it now ? ' 'A bright sunny day,' said the Englishman. ' And 
 such are the days,' said the Frenchman, ' on which I make my 
 colour. Were I to attempt to manufacture it on a dark or 
 
COLorU DKPKND.S ON' CIJMATK. Ill 
 
 eloiuly ilay, my results would he the saiuc ns yours. Let me 
 advise you, u»y frieud, to miike your eanniue ou hrij^lit sunny 
 days.' ' I will,' says the En-^lishman, ' hut I fear 1 shall make 
 M-ry little in London.' " 
 
 Now this anecdote may he depended upon ; lor a person so 
 distinjjuislied as a eheiiiist and natural philosopher as Sir 
 Humphrey Davy would not have relati-d a story in regard to 
 the ettect of light, which was contrary to truth, or which he did 
 not directly know to he true. 
 
 And if the etfcct of sunshine is so great on colour, as that tlic 
 increase or decrease of its hrilliancy shoidd cause a totally 
 ditFerent result to follow from the comhination of precisely the 
 same chemical ingredients, it will readily follow that much more 
 cfVect will he produced hy its excess in one case, or almost total 
 exclusion in another, upon hues so changeful as those which 
 glitter on the scales of a fish. 
 
 That in a pun- limpid rajjid stream, rushing over a hright 
 gravelly bed, through open fields, where no envious houghs 
 intercept the sunlight, and in a dark turhid pond, the waters 
 of which are saturated with the draining of peat-bogs, or 
 «itli the juices of decomposed vegetable matter, and over- 
 shadowed by thick evergreen umbrage, the light even of the 
 most gorgeous noon will be transmitted in very different degrees, 
 and produce \cry different effects both of colotir, heat, and 
 radiance, any |)crson can judge, who will observe tlie sunbeams 
 as they fall through a sheet of pure plate-gla-ss, or a thick green 
 buH's-cye ; and that the consequences may ea*ily be as they are 
 stated above, he will, I think, be satisfied. 
 
 Now, in the first place, analogous to this, and in corroboration 
 
113 SALMONID^. 
 
 of this view of the subject, I will remark here, that one of the 
 principal external differences between the American and the 
 European Trout is precisely as might be expected under the 
 A-iews taken above. The climate here being far more sunny, 
 the atmosphere drier and more transparent, and the weather 
 more constant and lightsome, we find that the Trout of America 
 is a lighter-coloured, brighter, gayer, and more gorgeous creature 
 than his European kinsman. And, farther yet, we shall find 
 that in the purest and most limpid streams, in the lakes which 
 to the most transparent waters add the sunniest expanse, the 
 brightest and most beautiful Trout are taken ; while in the black 
 bossrv waters, or in foi'est-embowered rivers, the colours of the 
 fish are likewise dim and dusky. 
 
 This is not, however, merely a matter of theory and analogy, 
 for experiments have been actually tried on this point, and with 
 perfect success. Mr. Agassiz assures me that he has repeatedly 
 known very brilliant and gaily-coloured fish, taken in clear and 
 sunshiny waters, and transferred to neighbouring pools or 
 streams of totally different character, to begin to fade and lose 
 the intensity of their colours, sensibly, within a very few hours, 
 and after a few days or weeks, to be entirely undistinguishable 
 from the native fish of the place. 
 
 This accounts, at once, for the facts so often stated, and 
 seemingly so inexplicable, of two lakes communicating with each 
 other by a common channel, and containing two distinct varieties 
 of Trout, one beautiful, and excellent upon the table, the other 
 dark-coloured and ill-tasted, the two varieties never being known 
 to intermingle, or to exchange from one to the other water. 
 
 The explanation of this apparent phenomenon is, that the 
 
INFUKNCK op I.MIIIT. KooD. KTC. IIU 
 
 change prodiu'i'd l)y |m>.>iii|^ troin the (huk and injit-soilcd 
 waters of tlie one hike, to the Hinpid element ol' the otlier, in 
 the fish, is so rapid, that they assiniihite themselves almost 
 instantaneously, in outward appearance, to the fish into whose 
 society they have ennjrratcd. 
 
 riie lakelet, known n> Stump-pond, on the nortlit rn side ot 
 Long Island, uliieli, as its name iniiieates, is tilled witli the butts 
 of dead trees, and saturated with xe^ctahle matter, has been tor 
 manv vears tamous, or I should rather say infamous, for the 
 ugliness, want of hrilliancy, and indillercnt (piality in a culinary 
 point of view, of its Trout, as compared with those of the hright 
 and transparent mill-ponds and rivulets of the south side. Xo 
 one, however, has ever thought of erecting them into a species, 
 or of designating tliem as Salino StuinppondiciiK, seeing clearly 
 the cause and eflect ; and lo ! now of late years, as the cause is 
 passing away with the process of time, the etfect is also disap- 
 pearing; as the vegetable matter is decaying, being absorbed, 
 and swept away, and as the purifying influences of the springs 
 are gaining upon the corrupt and stagnant (jualitiesof the i)on(l, 
 the fishes arc likewise becoming brighter and better. In the 
 course of a tew more yi-ars, it is probabU; that they \\ill l)e 
 scarcely distinguishable from the finely-formed and tinely- 
 coloured fish of Snedeeor's or Carman's streams, at Isbp and 
 Fireplace. 
 
 Doubtless other causes besides the influence of light have 
 their clTcct both u|M)n tlie appearance and the flavour of the 
 Trotit ; we have seen that their colour is alleeted by the shell- 
 fish, or even the larva* of flies, on which they feed ; wchavc also 
 j»ecn that they inerens<> in weight, size, and fatness, aeeonling 
 
 I 
 
114 SALMONIDj;. 
 
 as they are nourished with worms, with small fry, or with 
 water flies ; and no one in his senses can doubt, I imagine, that 
 if these fish which have obtained scarlet spots, and become 
 golden-finned and golden- bellied by feeding on shell-fish, or 
 crustaceous-cased insects, were confined upon a regimen of dew- 
 worms or May-flies, they would gradually relapse into their 
 original colouring. 
 
 Nor can it be supposed, I think, judging from analogy, but 
 that the Gillaroo Trout, kept permanently in situations where 
 it could never find either shell-fish, or any hard edible substances, 
 would gradually lose the distinctive hardness of its stomach, as 
 well as its characteristic colouring. The probability is, that the 
 young fry of a finger's length, spoken of by Sir Humphrey, 
 would lose the distinction individually; and I do not at all 
 conceive it likely that the characteristic would survive through 
 two generations from the largest adult. 
 
 While I am writing on this point, I will cite a fact, though it 
 belongs with greater propriety to the history of another fish, 
 the Greatest Lake Trout {Salmo Amethystus), when describing 
 which, it will be noticed more fully. This is simply that in the 
 same lakes, Huron and Superior, this same fish exists in three 
 diff'erent states of colour, so totally dissimilar, that it is sup- 
 posed by the French inhabitants of the shores to be three 
 distinct fishes, and is known by three distinct names, according 
 to the situations in which it is found, and by which its colouring 
 is evidently aff'ected. 
 
 Drawings of the fish in two of these stages are now lying 
 before me, and will be presented to my readers under the proper 
 head ; here, it will be sufficient to state that, but for the shape 
 
\ MMKTIK.S <>F COI.oI'K. I I .') 
 
 of the head and <;ill-ct>vt'rs, the form of the fms and tlic niuidxM' 
 of the tin-rays, thinjrs not cxaniin(Ml l)y the supcrticial ol)scrv('r, 
 tlicy wonhl pass for different fisli. These three varieties arc 
 known as the Triiitf de Grerf, Triiite dfs Jialtures, and Truite 
 (In iMi'fif : or, Trout of tlie nuuhly hottom, Trout of the roeky 
 shores, and Trout of tlic open waters ; the tir>t hciui: a dull 
 niu<l-coIour('d tisji, the scroud bright niid liiindsonuly mottled, 
 and the last hluish and silvery, and reseiul)liuLr niore a elean-iuu 
 Salmon than a Lake Trout. 
 
 This is so faiily a ease in point, that I cannot resist qnotinfj 
 it here, as it is pcrfeetly evident that there is no real distinction 
 whatever; and if this be so of one variety or species, there is no 
 reason for douhtinj; that like causes will produce like eflfcets, in 
 the conjrcnerous species. A^rain, it is not only possible, but in 
 the hifi^hest deforce probable, that the difl'erent cheniical std)- 
 stances which are held in solution by the waters of various 
 streams and lakes may not be without their iidlucnce on the 
 the colouring of their inhabitants. I think 1 have myself 
 observed, both on this continent and in llnrope, that the 'front 
 in streams flowin;_' froui lime-stone formations are more lus- 
 trous, and more strongly spotted than those of duller an<l less 
 lively waters. 
 
 That the fish of streams ruslnng rapidly over pebl)ly beds 
 arc suiK'rior in all respects, Ixith of appearance and quality, to 
 those of ponds or semi-stagnant brooks, is confessedly noto- 
 rious ; but this may ari.Hc not so much from any particular 
 com|>oncnts of the wnters them.Hclves, as from the fact that 
 rapidlv moving an<l falling water is more highly aerated, the 
 atnuxsphcre lieing more freely intermingled with it, and there- 
 
 I 2 
 
1 1 6 SALMONID^. 
 
 fore more conducive to the health and condition of all that 
 inhabit it. 
 
 Independently of Dekay's Salmo Erythrog aster, I find 
 mention made in the " American Angler's Guide," of the 
 Silver Trout, the Common Trout, the Common Trout of Mas- 
 sachusetts, the Black Trout, the Sea Trout, and the Hucho Trout, 
 although to none of these^ except the last, is any scientific name 
 attached. 
 
 I beg, however, to assure my readers, that there are no such 
 distinctions existing in nature. The Silver Trout, which is stated 
 to be found in almost all of our clear, swift-running northern 
 streams, and to weigh from one to fifteen pounds, is in no respect 
 a different fish from the Common Trout of Long Island ; nor 
 does that fish differ in any, the smallest, particular from the 
 Trout of Massachusetts, or of any other place in the United 
 States, where the Trout exists at all. 
 
 I wish greatly, that the author of the " American Angler's 
 Guide " had given some authority for his statement, that this 
 fish is taken in this country up to fifteen pounds, or even up to 
 half that weight. I have myself some slight suspicion that such 
 is the case rarely, in the northern lakes — I do not mean the 
 great lakes — of New York and New England ; and that it is 
 there mistaken for some new species, or a variety of Lake Trout, 
 from which it differs far more, in aU respects, than it does from 
 the true Salmon. 
 
 I have, however, never been able to gain any authentic infor- 
 mation of any tme Brook Trout having ever been taken in 
 Canada, or in the United States, above the weight of six 
 pounds; and that size is of so rare occurrence, that when one 
 
WKKIHT «"F Ti;i>l T. 117 
 
 is taken, it is rtj^arili-ii as u monster, Jiiul is licnililed from one 
 end of tlu' country to the other, throu«;h the public press. 1 have 
 myself seen a Trout, taken in the winter throu;<h the ice, in 
 C)ranj,'C County, Xcw York, wliich lacked hut a few ounces of six 
 pounds. 1 know several instances, not evecedin;? half-a-dozen, 
 of tish varyin;; from tour to live pounds, taken, souu' on Lon^ 
 Islaml, s()me in tlie interior, within twelve or thirteen years, hut 
 1 have never heard it asserted that a lish of larger size has been 
 taken in Anu-riea. 
 
 'rhtre i>.. I am aware, a tale tliat many years since a Trout of 
 eleven pounds was taken at Fireplace ; ami a rough sketch of 
 the tish is still to be seen on the wall of the tavern bar-room. 
 I know, however, tl»at this tish was considered at the tiini-. by 
 all the true sportsmen who saw it, to be a Salmon, and the 
 sketch is said to bear out that opinion, though I do not myself 
 understand how a mere outline, not tilled up, can convey anv 
 \«ry distinct idea of the species intended. 
 
 Sutlice it, that it is not only not on record that any Tiout of 
 seven pounds or upward i»as l)een capturi'il on this continent, 
 hut that old tishernun will jisscrt positively, that they ncvei- 
 grow to be above five pounds in weight ; and \ciy coolly and 
 civilly imply to you that you are speaking falsely, when you tell 
 them that Trout from ten to twenty pounds are no great rarities 
 in Kngland, and that they are taken e\en of a much greater 
 weight. The faict, on this point, is, that Trout of ten or even 
 tiftccii pounds— I mean the common speckled Trout {Saimo 
 Fario), analogous to our Brook Trout — are more common in 
 some of the large riven* of ICngland, and large lakes of Ireland, 
 than fisli of four p<junds arc here. There probably rarely passe.s 
 
lis SALMONIDiE. 
 
 a season iu which teu or a dozen of these large fish, exceeding 
 ten pounds' weight, are not taken in the Thames. I do not think 
 that here, on an average, one four-pound fish is killed annually; 
 and their rarity is abundantly proved by the fact that their 
 capture is always recorded. 
 
 The Bashe's Kill, in Sullivan County, to which the Silver 
 Trout is assigned, is a pretty Trout stream, but in nowise 
 superior to a thousand others throughout the country ; and, 
 like all mountainous streams, is far more celebrated for the 
 number than for the size of its fish. 
 
 In both respects, it is surpassed by many of the Pennsylvanian 
 streams of the same neighbourhood, falling into the Delaware 
 from the westward ; and in the size and excellence of its Trout, 
 it cannot sustain a moment's comparison with the fish of Long 
 Island streams on the south side. Its fish, it is needless to 
 add, are in nowise distinct. 
 
 The Trout of Massachusetts are identical with the Common 
 Trout of New York; the figure at the head of this article 
 is from a specimen taken at Massachusetts. I have caught 
 Brook Trout myself from Maine to Pennsylvania, and can 
 safely pronounce on their identity. The Black Trout is merely 
 an accidental variety ; the colours, taste, and habits of w hich 
 are affected by the peaty waters, and stagnant flow of the lazy 
 streams in which it is found, and from which it obtains 
 a corresponding dinginess of hue, muddiness of flavour, and 
 laziness of character. 
 
 With regard to the &ea Trout, as it is here called, I shall 
 quote a few paragraphs from the pages of " Smith's Fishes of 
 Massachusetts," although I cannot say that I esteem it a work 
 
SEA TIJoIT. 1 in 
 
 on uliicli iimcli reliance can he phici-il, as the author appears, 
 tniiii >(>me lit" his statements, to he a writer of more rashness 
 than <liseriniination, and more ready than (pialilied to fjive his 
 opinion decidedly, and without appeal. 
 
 These cjualities are rendered sutliciently a|)parent liy his 
 indnliriu}; in a violent tiradi- a;zHinst Or. Mitehil, of New York, 
 whom he accuses of vanity and presnmi)tion, in atlixin^' his t)wn 
 name to the Striped Bass, which he, Smith, asserts to he " a 
 common tiihU' jish, kiimi'ii froin time inii/iciiioriiil nil orcr ICuro/K." 
 
 It is 1 presunu-, at this chiy, entirely unnecessary to state 
 that l>r. Mitehil was perfectly ri^ht as to tin' distinct character 
 of the American lish. and its bcin^ uttc-rly unknown, and non- 
 existent in Kuropc ; aiul Smith is wron^ in every pos>ihle 
 particular: the tish to which he refers it, the Sea Ihiss of 
 Europe {Ltihra.v Lujnut of C'uvicr, I'crcu Lu/jrau- of Liiuneus), 
 heing altoj^cthcr a ditVerent fish, thoufxh of the same family, 
 |K'rfectly distinct hoth in habits and ap[)earance. 
 
 Of the Sea Trout, Smith says :— 
 
 ■ 'rin'V are found, as may he iiderri-d tVom the nami-, in the 
 salt and brackish waters of tide rivers and inland l)ay>, in 
 various parts of this and tlu- adj<tinin.i,' States. Wlu-n taken 
 from the salt-water early in sprinj;, they are in hii,di perfection, 
 and nothing can exceed their piscatory symmetry. The gencnil 
 appearance of the skin is of silvery brightness, the back being 
 «»f a greenisli and maekerel complexion ; the spots of a vermilion 
 colour, mixed with others of faint yellow, and sometimes 
 slightly tinged wjtii purple, extend the whole length on cither 
 side of the lateral line; the fins are light in colour and linn in 
 texture, anil, together with the tad, are rather shorter and 
 
1 20 SALMONIDJ?:. 
 
 more rounded tliau the Common Trout. They have a tirm 
 compactness of form from head to tail, which accounts for the 
 superior sprightliness of their movement ; the head and mouth 
 are very small, and. the latter never black inside, like the 
 common or fresh-water Trout; the flesh is even redder, or 
 rather, we would say, more pink-coloured than the Salmon, to 
 which, by many, they are preferred as a delicacy, having, like 
 the Salmon, much of what is called curd, or fat between the 
 flakes. 
 
 " A fish of a pound weight measures about eleven inches in 
 length. Their average size is considerably larger than the 
 fresh-water, or Brook Trout — having been taken in the waters 
 to which we refer — Waquoit Bay, upon Cape Cod, and Fire- 
 place, Long Island — of nearly five pounds^ weight; such 
 instances, however, are rare, three pounds being considered 
 a very large fish. We do not remember ever seeing a poor 
 fish of this kind taken. They are invariably in good condition, 
 let the size be what it may," &c. &c. 
 
 1 have quoted this passage merely for the purpose of warn- 
 ing my readers, in a few words, that there is no such thing ; 
 and that the whole of the above refers merely to the Brook 
 Trout. 
 
 All the varieties and species of Salmonidee, with the exception 
 of some of the large lacustrine species, are migratory whenever 
 it is in their power to be so ; and run down to the sea, annually, 
 for the purpose of recruiting themselves after spawning, whence 
 they return, like the Salmon and Salmon Trout, in excellent 
 condition, perfect symmetry, and in the highest state of external 
 beaut V. 
 
HUOOK TKOIT. 1^1 
 
 The non-iiii'jiatory Imbil ol ihe lurgf lacusiiinr si)irios does 
 not depend, in any dejjree, on their position or sitnation above 
 inipa-ssahle eataraets, or in waters withont outlets, although 
 they are tVetpiently found under sueh eireiunstanees, tor they 
 do nut run ilown to the sea, even wliiii tiny ha\i' it in their 
 po\vi-r to cU) >o ; us, tor in>tam'e, in LaUc Ontario, whcrt- they 
 are tbund ahunihintly ; nor, on the other hand, do they proeeed 
 tar up the rivers, tor the pin[iose of spawning, heinj; eontent to 
 (h'posit their ova on the i^ravel heds of shoal watei', at the 
 margins of their lakes, or at the niotitlis of the brooks which 
 diseharge into them. 
 
 Of the migratory species the IJrook Trout is one ; and when 
 it is in his power, he invariai)ly descends to the sea, and returns 
 to perpetuate his species by depositing his spawn in the clearest, 
 coolest, and most limpid waters which he can find. There can 
 be, 1 think, little doubt that, like the Salmon, he returns to the 
 streams in which he has been bred. 
 
 There are, doubtless, hundreds of mountain brooks through- 
 out the country, di\ided l)y impracticable falls, natural or arti- 
 ficial, from the sea; and, although these teem with hordes of 
 Hroitk Tn)Ut, they never attain, in them, to any si/.e ; the 
 mature adidts being scarcely larger than the young fry, while 
 they are still marked with the transverse bandings of the Parr. 
 The tlesh of this little fish never attains the rich clurry-coloured 
 tint of the Trout, in full season, but is of a pale yellowish tlesh- 
 colour, nnd has neither the richncHS nor the Havour of the sen- 
 run variety. That these swarms do not visit the sea. is not 
 because they lack the will, but because they ha\e not the 
 |K»»er; nnd, it is possible that the habit of running seaward 
 
122 SALMONID^. 
 
 being precluded, generally after generation, the instinctive 
 desire for it passes away in the process of time. But that the 
 degeneracy, both in size and flavour^ is caused by the inability 
 to recruit theii' powers in the salt-water, is rendered e\ident by 
 the facts I have already quoted, concerning the falling off of 
 Salmon and Salmon Trout, both in size and appearance, when 
 intentionally confined in fresh- water lakes ; as well as by the 
 enormous rapidity of growth manifested in the Salmon Smalts, 
 which, having been a year and a'^half in fresh water, attaining a 
 length of seven or eight inches, and a weight of about so many 
 ounces, after a visit of a few months to the sea, return not only 
 re-invigorated iu condition, but increased in bulk to seven or 
 eight pounds' weight. 
 
 This accounts very readily for the superior size of what 
 Mr. Smith designates as a distinct species of Sea Trout, 
 which is, in reality, only the Brook Trout on his return 
 from the sea. The circumstances of its condition speak for 
 themselves. 
 
 Who ever saw a Salmon fresh-run from the sea, of whatever 
 size or age, otherwise than in excellent condition, and of rare 
 beauty? Who ever took a spent fish, of the same species, that 
 was not ugly, lean, discoloured, and uneatable ? 
 
 The silvery whiteness, and the bluish back of the Sea Trout, 
 as described abov€, is peculiar to all fresh-run fish of this family ; 
 and in Scotland a skilful Salmon-fisher will tell you, at a glance, 
 how many tides a fish has been in the river, merely from seeing 
 him leap at a fly or a minnow. 
 
 All the other marks, cited by Smith as characteristics, are 
 merely signs of condition, as the brilliancy of the colouring, the 
 
SKA TlJtilT. l~'i 
 
 hi-fiultli :iiul thickm-ss of the fisli, :iii(l tlir ('(Miipiinitivc small- 
 lu-s.s of the lieail, wliicli is proiluccd hy no altiratioii wliativcr 
 of tliat portion of tlir l)otly, hut hy the iiicirasc and tl»\ilo|)- 
 lucut of thi- \hh\\ itM'lf, which, at this sfa.sou and sta^'i' of 
 the animal, is ('i|nal, in its cirrninfcronce, to one-half its 
 len«;th. 
 
 It is wi'll known and nndisputi'd in Loni; Island, that the 
 Pouil-tish and Creek-tish, as tlu'v arc termed, j)ass to and fro 
 between the fresh and the salt water; and althonu'h the Cri-ek- 
 tish are oeeasionally tlure called Sea Trout, it is hy no means 
 us iuiplyinir that they are of a ditfereut speeies, hut merely 
 iudicatiug the water in which tlu-y are taken. 
 
 The fish to whicli 1 retVrred ahove in my introductory 
 remarks on the Salnio/iit/tp, as heinj; perhaps a distinct kind, 
 analogous to the .Sa/z/io Trutta of Linmeus, is hy no means this 
 Trout, but a very different animal, funntl only in the eastern 
 and nortli-castern rivers, «hieh empty their waters into the 
 Hay of Fnndy or the (iulf of iSt. Lawrence. This Trout is 
 found onl\ in these rivers, and so tar as I tan Icai ii. instead of 
 running n[) to the head waters of the streams in order to spawn, 
 comes up only to the foot (jf the first rai)ids with the flood, and 
 returns with the tide of eljh. l]\eii al)ont thi'o Trout I ha\e my 
 doubt.s, though Ijefore finishing this work, I hope to have more 
 definite information on the subject. 
 
 With regard to the fish mentioned aho\e, I have no douhts 
 whatever. It varies in nothing from the Cominon Trout 
 but in tho""' i>!.rf i. i!l:irs \\)ii.l« i.i.i\.- that if h;iH mil to the 
 salt water. 
 
 The last-named variety, Salmo lltuho, which is al.^o cited, on 
 
124 SALMON! D^. 
 
 the authority of Smithy as a fish of New England, stands in the 
 same category with the last-mentioned. 
 
 There is no such fish on the continent of America; and, 
 indeed, even on the European continent, where alone it is 
 found, its limits are narrower, and its geographical range 
 smaller, than that of any known fish. It is, in fact, found only 
 in tributaries of the Danube, more especially in the Traun, the 
 Saave, the Draave, and the Laybach rivers. Some writers have 
 supposed him to be purely a fresh-water fish ; but it is believed 
 by Davy that, in his largest state, he is an inhabitant of the 
 Black Sea. He is said to spawn in the Muir between March 
 and May, and in the Danube in June. 
 
 He is the fiercest and most predatory of all the Salmonida, 
 and it is useless to attempt the capture of large ones with the 
 fly. Spinning tackle, the bleak, the minnow, and small trout, 
 or parr, are the only modes, and the only bait which he cares to 
 take. 
 
 In shape, he resembles an ill-fed Trout, being the longest and 
 slenderest of all the Salmonidce, the ratio of his length to his 
 girth being as eighteen to eight, or in well-fed fish, twenty to 
 nine. He has a silvery belly, and dark spots only on the back 
 and sides, which, in itself, shows sufficiently that he is not the 
 fish described by Smith under this name. 
 
 Smith's fish' is described " as resembling much the Sea Trout ; 
 but being found, on a careful examination, to be more slender, 
 and to have a greater number of red spots. The back is dusky ; 
 the ventral fin has a yellowish tinge; all the others are of a 
 palish purple ; the tail is forked, and the fish measures some- 
 times four feet through — ordinarily they are only about two, 
 
s.\i.M<» iirciio. 125 
 
 and arc caui^lit l»y tlir luK)k. Tliis 'I'rout rcrtiiiiilv ovists in the 
 larj^r rivers and ponds in the interior, hnt deteriorate in size. 
 They arc hronj^ht from New Ham|is|iire in the wintei-, IVo/en, 
 for tlu' markets, and from the northern parts of Maine, whore 
 spoeimens linve been taken as hirj^i; as any proilueed in the 
 •rreat rivers of Knropo." 
 
 This passau'e I qnote from tlie " Ami'riean AnirU-r's (ini(U\" 
 and I do so, to (h-ehu'C that this fish is, in tlie tirst instance, not 
 thi' Ilneho: anil, seeoiidly, to ])oint ont that no sneh li^h has 
 ever been anthentieally pnxhieed at all. A Ilneho of the Lay- 
 baeli, of two feet in length, by eleven inehi's' ;rirth, and three 
 inches' thickness, was fonnd to woi-;!! fonr potmds two and a half 
 ounces. Now, fishes increase in weiirht in the ratio of their 
 brcadtli and depth, not of their leng:tli, a Trout of thirty-one 
 inches wei;;hinf; seventeen pouiuls. Whctlnr any Tront or 
 Salmon has ever been taken, of full four feet in lenjj:th, I -^'reatlv 
 doubt. If so, its wei«rht must be enormous: the larjjest Salmon 
 ever known, the oi-rhty-threc poinuler, which came into the 
 possession of Mr. droves, the London fishmonger, in 1^*21, is 
 described as ha\in;,^' l)een a short tish fur tlu* wcij^ht, and, 1 am 
 convinced, would not have mea»nre(l four feet. 
 
 Now, it remains to impiire what is this tish, which Mr. Smith 
 desiffuatcs n-s the Ilneho ; and is there any such fish in existence, 
 rlsowherc than in that pentlennin's imafjination ? 
 
 Now, I fear, the answers to these questions must be in the 
 negative, since, most asHurctily, then? is no scnrlet-s|»otted Trout 
 on reconi, at nil appronchin}; to the size described by Mr. Sniith, 
 which wc must reekon nt til. rate of from seventy to one Inindred 
 pounds' weight. 
 
126 SALMONIDJI. 
 
 The Mackinaw Salmon {Sahno Amethystvs), which does grow 
 to that prodigious size, and which answers to many of the par- 
 ticulars specified, is never scarlet-spotted, nor does the Salmo 
 Confinis of Dr. Dekay ever show a red spot. 
 
 One or both these fish do exist in the lakes of Maine and 
 New Hampshire, from Temiscouata to Winnepisiogee, and it 
 may be that this is a mis-description of one of these. If it be 
 not, it is either a new and nondescript fish, of the kind men- 
 tioned as killed by the President of the Piseco Club, " with red 
 flesh, weighing twenty -four pounds," or it is a very large speci- 
 men of the Brook Trout, and, moreover, wonderfully exaggerated 
 in dimensions. 
 
 It is a remarkable peculiarity of the American Trout, that it 
 is never foimd — except when, as a very rare exception, one is 
 taken in drawing the scan — in any large rivers. I have never 
 heard a solitary instance of a fish being taken either with 
 the bait or the fiy, or even with the spinning tackle, in any 
 large stream, unless quite at its head-waters, where it is not 
 large. All the Trout which are taken, are taken in what are 
 here called creeks, and what would, in Europe, be described as 
 large brooks, or small rivers of the sixth or seventh class. In 
 these the run of fish greatly exceeds the dimensions of the little 
 inhabitants of the mountain brooks. This, in addition to other 
 facts, at the knowledge of which we have arrived through 
 the experiments recorded heretofore, as made in England, 
 with regard to the growth of fishes, lead us irresistibly to the 
 conclusion that the use of large expanses of suitable water 
 .is necessary to the Trout, in order to their arriving at any 
 great magnitude. 
 
AMKRIfAN T1{«»IT. 1 ? 7 
 
 It is, tlu'irtorc. »|uitt' within the riinj^o of possihility, that in 
 tlu" hiri;*' purr inhiiul hikes, supplied by tlio limpid springs of 
 the mountains, the Brook Trout ot'Ameriea may attain a growth 
 analo{;ous to that of the well-fed and full-grown Trout f)f tlio 
 Thames, the Stour, and tlie Irish lakes; a growth which the 
 snndlncss of the streams which they do frocpiont, and their 
 iuexplicahle avoidance of the large and navigahh* rivers, prevt-ut 
 them from aecniiring elsewhere. 
 
 I cannot say that I shall he at all surprised should it tuiMi 
 out, on investigation, that the Brook Trout {Salino Fontinaii.s), is 
 indeed occasionally taken up to the weight of twenty or twenty- 
 five pounds, especially in tlie waters of Hamilton Countv ; and 
 is now confounded, on account of its si/e, w ith tlie great worth- 
 less Lake Trout — wortliless, wliether as a (ish of game or a table 
 fish — of the same waters. 
 
 The Brudk Tmut [troper of America is one ot' the most 
 beautiful creatures in form, colour, and motion, that can he 
 imagined. 
 
 He is slenderly and gracefully formed, though ratlier deeper 
 in proportion t() his length than the Salmon, and far more so 
 than the Lake Trout. 
 
 In a well-grown and well-fed fish; the length of the head to 
 the whole body is about as one to five ; and the length of tin* 
 whole body to the breadth, at the origin «»f the first dorsal tin, 
 as four and a half to one. A line drawn fronj the front teeth to 
 the jKistcrior etir\c of the gill-cover, which is nearly semicir- 
 cular, is nearly parallel to the lateral line, and will divide the 
 btxly into two nearly equal parts, the convexity of the back and 
 belly being also nearly e<iual. The centre of the <lorsal tin is as 
 
128 SALMONID^. 
 
 nearly as possible iu the centre of the length of the body ; and 
 the second dorsal fin is equidistant from the posterior extremity 
 of the dorsal and that of the caudal fin. The origin of the 
 ventral fin is vertically under the origin of the dorsal ; and the 
 origin of the anal equidistant from the termination of the 
 ventral and the origin of the caudal fin. The pectoral fin is 
 about two-thirds the length of the head. 
 
 The pectoral fin has eleven rays ; the first dorsal eleven ; the 
 ventral eight ; the anal fifteen ; the caudal nineteen. The 
 second dorsal, rayless and adipose. 
 
 The head is smooth ; the body covered with small and delicate 
 scales. Teeth on the vomer, the palatine bones, and all the 
 maxillary bones. The head and upper part of the back are 
 beautifully mottled, like tortoise-shell, with brownish green and 
 yellow spots; the gill-covers silvery, with yellowish and pink 
 glazings; the sides, about the lateral line, lustrous metallic 
 bluish-grey, with large yellow spots more brilliant than on the 
 back. A double row of vivid vermilion specks, irregular in 
 number, along the lateral line, above and below it. The sides 
 and upper portion of the belly glazed with bright carmine ; the 
 belly silvery white ; the pectoral fins reddish-yellow, with a 
 dusky anterior margin ; the ventral fins the same, with the 
 margin blacker and more definite ; the anal fin red, with a broad 
 white anterior margin, and a black lunated streak between the 
 white and red ; the caudal fin purplish-brown ; the first dorsal 
 golden-yellow, barred and spotted irregularly with jet-black ; 
 the second dorsal similar to the back. 
 
 Such, briefly, are the characteristics and general appearance 
 of this beautiful and interesting fish, which, in every part of the 
 
iM.r. Asri;i:s of an<ji.iN(;. \-29 
 
 world, ulitTO anj^'liii}; is resorted to as a s[)ort, and not merely 
 as a mode of ohtaininj; suhsistenee, is the frrcat object of the 
 scientitie tisliernmirH pursuit. 
 
 Tliere is no sportsman, who is actuated hy the true animus 
 i>f the pursuit, who would not prefer basketin;^ a few brace of 
 ^ood Trout, to takiuj; a eart-l<».id of the coarser and less pnme 
 denizens of the waters; nor, whether we consider his wariness, 
 his timiility, his e\ti\'ine ciinninu', the impossibility uf takinj^ 
 him in tine and mueh-tished waters, except with the slenderest 
 and most delicate tackle ; his boldness and vigour after beint; 
 hooked, or his excellence on the table, shall we wduder at the 
 judgment, much less dispute it, which, next to the Salmon 
 only, rates liim the first of fresh-water tishes. The pursuit of 
 him leads us into the loveliest scenery of the laml ; the season 
 at which we tish for him is the most delicious, those sweetest 
 months of spring — when they are not, as at present, the coldest 
 and most odious of the year — the very name and mention of 
 which is redolent of the breath of llowcrs, the xiolet, the cowslip, 
 and the eelandiiie, whieh plunge us into a paradise founded 
 upon the rural imaginings of the most ex(piisite of Mnglaml's 
 rural bards, unt'l we an- recalled from our elysium by a 
 piercing gale from the north-east, and perhaps a pelting 
 hailstorm, bidding us crush our wandering tancies, an<l 
 teaching us that spring-time is one of those pleasant things 
 which occurs twi«-e perhaps in a lifetime in the I'nited States 
 of America. 
 
 The hal)its of the Trout have been already di.scussed so fully 
 in the earlier |>art of this article, as well as the nature of his 
 food, that I shall defer further mention of these topics, until I 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 SALMONIDJE. 
 
 come, in the second part of this volume, to the taking of him 
 with the natural or artificial bait, which is most intimately con- 
 nected with the consideration of his prey and his haunts, so 
 that in that place these will be most suitably discussed. 
 
 
TKCI I.I Al; II AMITATS. 
 
 \-M 
 
 Tin; (.KI.ATI.ST l.\Ki: TIIOI'T. 
 
 MA( KINAW SALMON.-- NAMAYcTSH. SAI.MoN TUol T. 
 Silino AmrtAf/ftM- Mm ini., I)kk»v .*y»/f«o Xfiwai.rnf/, I'kvswt. Hti imki)s<i> 
 
 VarictT : Tniilc dp (ii^vr. 
 
 Tins noble iiiid ;xij;antic spccii's, wliicli ('(luals, (»r even 
 exceeds, in size, the true Sulniun [Salnto Salar), and is In- far the 
 largest of all the lacustrine or non-migratory S(i/iiif/nit/(p, is 
 found in all the great lakes to the northward and westward of 
 Lake Erie, to tlic fur countries and the arctic rcirion. It is 
 not found in any tidal rivers, and never visits the sea. The falls 
 of Niagara present an insuperable obstacle to its descent into 
 Lake Ontario ; but whether it exists in any of the smaller lakes 
 of New York, or tin- eastern waters nt* New ICii^land, does not 
 as yet appear to be fully ascertained. It has been taken l)y the 
 companions of Dr. Richardson and Sir .lolm I'ranklin, in Winter 
 Lake, lat. lUJ"^ N. ; but I cannot learn that it has been discovered 
 in any of the waters which discharge themselves southward by 
 the Mississippi or the Missouri. I doidit not at all that it 
 exists in the waters of the (tn>at Hausin and the Columbia, and 
 that it is one of the tish mentioned by Colonel Fremont, as taken 
 
 K :: 
 
] ^-Z SALMONID.E. 
 
 in them, during his explorations. The name of Mackinaw 
 Salmon, by which it is commonly known, is, therefore, a mis- 
 nomer, since it is no more peculiar to the Straits of Michili- 
 mackinac than to any other locality between the Falls of Niagara 
 and the Arctic Ocean. The term Namaycush, which Pennant 
 adopted, and Dr. Richardson has retained, both as its English 
 name and its scientific distinction, is no more than its denomi- 
 nation by the Cree Indians, who term it Nummecoos, and I 
 confess I think it in both respects preferable to any other ; for 
 Dr. Mitchil's scientific name Amethystus, which he gave it in 
 consequence of a faint purplish tinge perceptible on the teeth, 
 gums, and roof of the mouth, is founded on a peculiarity so 
 slight — I speak on the authority of Professor Agassiz — as in many 
 specimens to be scarcely distinguishable ; while it has no name 
 in the English language defining it from the Siskawitz, inhabit- 
 ing the same waters, or from the common Lake Trout [Salmo 
 Confinis), of the New York and New England lakes. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact, that at least one-half of our inland or 
 fresh-water fishes have no correct English names, no names at 
 all in fact, but such arbitrary and erroneous terms as were 
 applied to them ignorantly, by the first English settlers in the 
 districts in which they are found, and have been adhered to 
 since for the lack not of better, but of any real names. Thus 
 the peculiar fish of Lake Otsego, though fully ascertained to be, 
 and scientifically distinguished as, one of the family Salmonidee, 
 and defined as Coregonus Otsego, has, to this day, no other 
 appellation in the vernacular than the absurd misnomer of Otsego 
 Bass, to which species it has no relation whatsoever. The same 
 is the case with the fish called " Trout " bv the inhabitants of 
 
syviKM iH' NuMENCLATriCK. |:;."'. 
 
 Carolina and the nt'i«;libouring States, whirh is mentioned jis 
 the " White Sahnon," hy Smith, in his history of \'ir{^iniii; and 
 whieh is said to abonnd in the rivers of I'ennsylvania. This is, 
 1 donbt not, the lish alhuh-d to hy a recent writi'r in the " Spirit 
 of tlic Times," luj the Sns(jnehana Sahnon, nnhss j)erchanec 
 another nameh>ss fish, the Perm Lncinpcrca, is intended. The 
 sonthcrn Trout is of the Pen-h family — nothinj; more remote 
 from Trout — thou|^h in torm it has some resembhince to the 
 Salmonit/if. It is tlie (injstes Sa/nioidcs of Cuvier, the Ld/jfc 
 Salmo'ule of Laeepede, both terms indiiiitini; its family as of the 
 IV-rch or Hass, and its simihirity to the Sahnons ; l)ut it has 
 no ICn^Ush name at all, unless we adopt the vulgarism of ealliuj^ 
 it a Trout, which is no less absurd than it would be to call a 
 Pickerel, Salmon. 
 
 These prevalent misnomers, and this total absence of real and 
 rational names, are of «,'rcat disadvantage, creating e.vccssivc 
 confusion, and puzzling all, except the scientific naturalist. It 
 is much to be regretted, that the Indian terms have not always 
 been retained ; for, when interpri'ti'd, tlii-y are almost in\arial)ly 
 found to be truly distinctive; and it is greatly to be doircd tliat, 
 on the (liscovtTV of new genera, or \arietics, this system of 
 nomenclature may be adopted, as it has biin by Professor 
 Agassiz, with regard to the Siskawitz, a new lacustrine Trout, 
 discovered by him, during the past summer, in the great waters 
 of Huron and Superior. 
 
 With regard to tho.se misnamed U)ng ago, the misnomers of 
 which have become familiar, and as it were stereotyped by the 
 lapse of time, it is dilTicult U) say what is to he done, or how the 
 evil is to be rcmedietl; an<l it is to be feared that the Coreyonm 
 
134, SALMON 1D.E. 
 
 of Otsego will remain the Otsego Bass for ever; since, 
 although nothing is easier than to explain^ and even to prove, 
 that the fish is in no respect a Bass, when he who has been 
 accustomed so to call it, but who is open to conviction, inquires. 
 If I must not call him Bass, what is his name ? — there is no 
 answer to the foregoing, but that he is a Corego7ius of the 
 Salmon family. 
 
 To return, however, to the Greatest Lake Trout, Mackinaw 
 Salmon, or Namaycush — it is also called, in common with all 
 the other large Lake Trout, Salmon Trout ; but this is too 
 absurd even to be admitted as a pronncial synonym e, since the 
 Salmon Trout is a Sea Trout, and is, moreover, found on the 
 eastern shores of this continent. This is probably the largest 
 of the Salmon family in the known world ; hence, I have ven- 
 tured, on my own authority, to designate him as the Greatest 
 Lake Trout, in order to distinguish him, not only from the 
 Siskawitz, and the Salmo Cotifinis of Dekay, but also from the 
 Common Trout {Salmo Fontinalis), when taken of large size in 
 the small inland lakes. 
 
 The average weight of this monstrous fish in Lake Huron is 
 stated by the fishermen to be seventeen pounds, but they are 
 constantly taken of forty pounds weight, and not at all unfre- 
 quently of sixty or seventy. 
 
 It is stated by Dr. Mitchil, that at Michilimackinac they have 
 been known to attain the enormous weight of one hundred and 
 twenty pounds, with which the dimensions of the same fish as 
 described by La Hontan, in his Mem. de VAmerique, would seem 
 to agree — '' Les plus grosses Tndtes," says he, " des lacs ont cinq 
 pieds et demi de longim/r et unpied de diametre"— hut at the pre- 
 
•iKNKICAl, DKSl Kll T1(K\. I ;{') 
 
 sent (lay, spi i iintiis of this jjignntic ninnjnitiulc air never seen, 
 and seventy pounds may be taken as the limit of their ordinary 
 }^rowth. Kven this, however, is a size to whieh the Sea Sahuon 
 has searcely been known to attain. 
 
 It i> a boUl, powerlid, and tyraiiiiieal fi^h, with \\hiili iii» 
 other inhahitiii;; the same \\att is eaii eompete. The (Irey Suck- 
 ing' ("arp [Cdtd.'itoinits IItt(huniu.s)f tlic Methy, a species of fresh - 
 wattr Linj;^ {Lota Maculosa), and the llerrinjjj-sahiiun [Coreyonus 
 .Irtedi), form the favourite food of this voracious tish, tlie stomach 
 of whieh is constantly cranuncd with them ahiiost to repletion ; 
 but he will bite ravenously and ticrcely at almost anythiiifr, from 
 a small fish, or a piece of pork, to a red raj; or a bit of l)right 
 tin, made to play rapidly through the water. 
 
 In form, he considerably resembles the Common Salmon, 
 though he is perhaps rather deeper in proportion to liis length. 
 His head is neat, small, and well-formed, with rather a peculiar 
 depression above the eye, and the snout sharply (.-urved and 
 beak-like. The head forms nearly a fourth part of the whole 
 length of the tish ; the skull is more bony than that of the 
 Common Salmon, the snout not cartilaginous, but formed of 
 solid bone; the jaws are very strong, the upjier overlajjping, 
 by about half an inch, the lower, which is strongly articulated 
 to i\\c pre-ojH'rculnm and to \.\\c jtiyal bone. The eye is midway 
 between the snout and the nape, and twice as far from the 
 hiiuler edge of the gill-eo\er as t'rom the tip of the snout. 
 
 Of tlic gill-covers, the //rt-operrutum is curved or vertical, or 
 nearly so ; the gub'Opercttlum is deeper than in the other 'IVouts, 
 and i.H jointed at its inner angle to the operculum aiul prv-oper- 
 mluin, by a slender proccn?* concealed by these bones. Its edge 
 
136 SALMONID^. 
 
 forms fully one half of the border of the free gill-cover, and is 
 finely grooved. The gill rays are twelve in number. 
 
 The dental system of the Mackinaw Salmon is very complete, 
 and more formidable than in any other member of the family. 
 The intermaxillaries and labials, as well as the palatine bones, 
 lower jaws, and tougue, are armed with very sharp and strong 
 conical curved teeth ; those on the vomer consisting of a circu- 
 lar cluster on the knot of that bone, and of a double roAv extend- 
 ing at least half an inch backward. 
 
 The dorsal fin is situated in the middle of the fish, and con- 
 tains fourteen rays, the eighth ray being exactly central between 
 the snout and the tip of the central caudal fin-ray. The second, 
 adipose, dorsal fin, is small and obtusely formed. The caudal 
 fin has nineteen^ the ventrals, each nine, the anal eleven, and 
 the pectorals, each fourteen rays. The origin of the central fins 
 is slightly posterior to the centre of the fish. 
 
 Such are the principal structural distinctions of this noble fish, 
 and I have entered into these rather at length, since by them 
 only can he be distinguished from his lake congeners. I have 
 already observed the great differences existing in point of colour 
 and mai'kings between fish of the same species found in dif- 
 ferent waters, throughout this family, and endeavoured to show 
 the impropriety of founding specific distinctions, or even per- 
 manent varieties, by reference to these alone, without reference 
 to structure. In the Salmo Fontinalis, common Brook Trout, 
 this is easy to be noticed, but in none of the Salnionidce with 
 which I am acquainted, are the differences of colour and marking 
 so broad and distinct, as in different individuals of this species. 
 I have before me^ as I write, three coloured representations of 
 
(JKNKltAl, l>i:S('|{|l'TI(>N. 137 
 
 this saini' fish, two wnttT-niKmr ski'tclics, hy Mr. (iilxtt, ot' 
 Boston, mul oiil*, h colouirtl lilhoj^rai)h, in Hr. lin li.irdson's 
 "Fauna HorcaH-Aiiu'rioana ;" and thcsi* tint*-, 1 am certain 
 woulil hf pronounci'tl by nini* piTsons out ot'ti-u, not accustomed 
 to ol)scrvc -structural ditVcrcnces, three dilVerent fish. Indeed, 
 I am int'ornu'd hy I'rofissor At^assiz, that, hy the i"ri lu-h residents 
 on Lakes Huron ami Siiin'iim-, they arc actually hilii'vi'd to he 
 three distinct fish, and ari' known hy tiirci' dilh'rcnt names, from 
 the localities in which tlicy arc found, viz. : — Trout of the rocky 
 shallows [Truitc (Us Ihitturvs), Trout of the muddy shoals 
 [Tniitc df Greve), and Trout of the deej) open waters {Tntite 
 (In Laiyr). The fir>t of these tisli is rei)rescntcd in the 
 large phite, and the second in the cut, the third is tluis 
 described in IV. Richardson's work named above: — "The 
 head, back and >ides, have a dark jrreenish grey eohuir, 
 which, wlicn examined closely, is resoUed into snnill roundish 
 yellowish grey spots, on a bluish grey ground, w hich covers less 
 space than the spots ; the latter are most evident on the sides, 
 each of them including thri'c or fom* scales. The uncovered 
 portion of each scale is roundish, ami its convex centre, having 
 a greyisli hue and silvery lustre, is surrounded by a dark bt)rder 
 of minute spots, which are deficient or less nuuu-rous on tin- 
 yellowish grey spots, and also on the bluish white belly. The 
 dorsal and caudal fins have the greenish grey tint of the back, 
 and the ventrals and anals are muddy oningc ; this colour also 
 partially tinging the pcctond**. The irides arc bright honey 
 ycUow with blue clouds." 
 
 I will merely add to this, that in the coloured lithograph, 
 which is beautifully executed, the fish hit-s a bright, clean, 
 
138 SALMONID^. 
 
 silvery appearance, ^vitli a prevalence of bluish grey hue, and n 
 silvery belly, precisely in accordance with a description given 
 to me by Professor Agassiz, of the Truite du Large, for in this 
 condition I have never myself seen the fish. 
 
 In the drawings by Cabot, from which the wood-cuts to this 
 {)aper are taken, and the correctness of which I had an oppor- 
 tunity of verifying, by personal inspection, during a recent 
 visit to the upper lakes, the Truite des Battures (large plate) 
 is of a dark bluish green on the back, fading into a greenish 
 brown about the lateral line, thence into a greenish yellow on 
 the sides, and into bluish silver on the belly, the whole largely 
 marked with distinct irregularly- shaped spots, light green 
 on the dark back, yellowish on the brown green of the sides, 
 and silver on the bluish belly, becoming larger as they descend 
 from the back, and at last melting into the brightness of the 
 abdomen. The dorsal and caudal fins of the same colour as the 
 back, with irregular yellowish green spots, the latter faintly 
 margined with dull red; the pectorals bluish grey, margined 
 with the same colour, and the ventrals and anals broadly mar- 
 gined with dusky vermilion. The third variety, the Truite de 
 Greve, is generally of a muddy greenish brown, darker and 
 greener on the back, browner on the sides, and yellowish grey 
 on the belly. The spots in this variety are much smaller than 
 in that last described, and far less definite both in shape and 
 colour, so that the fish might be said to be mottled or clouded, 
 rather than spotted. The fins are all of the same dull, dingy, 
 olivaceous colour, similarly clouded, with the faintest possible 
 indication of a ruddy margin on the pectorals, ventrals, and 
 anals, but no tinge of that colour on the caudal fin. Both 
 
IIAIUTS AM) HAUNTS. 1 .V.t 
 
 these variftk-s 1 liavc seni and compared within the hist moiitli, 
 recently taken on Lake Krie, and 1 am informed tliat the eoh)nr 
 and tlavonr oftlie fish is atVeetid, as mi«,'ht be expeeted, hy thi- 
 sanu' eireumstanees which produce tlie (hll'erenee of ivtirnid 
 eolourinjr, the hrij^htir lish havini; the redder flesh and the 
 lii<;her and more delicate lla\our. 
 
 In the decj) cold waters of Lake Huron, all the li>h are inti- 
 nitelv superior, hoth in lirmness and tla\our, to those of the 
 comparatively shallow and muddy waters of Lake Erie, so much 
 so, that those who havi' been accustomed all thiir lives to the 
 White-Fish (Cortt/oniis Jibuti), o( the lower lake, speak of that of 
 Lake Huron as entirely a difl'erent tish as regards its epicurean 
 qualities. 
 
 " The flesh of the Xaniaycush," says Dr. Richardson, " is 
 rcildish or orange-coloured, being paler wlien out of season. 
 When in good condition, it yields much oil, and is very palling 
 to the appetite if simply boiled, but roasting renders it a very 
 pleasant article of diet. The Canailian voyagcurs are fond of 
 eating it in a frozen state, after scorching it for a second or two 
 over a i|uick tin', until tin- scales can be easily detached. I)ut 
 not continuing the aj)plication of the heat long enough to thaw 
 the interior. The stomach, when boiled, is a favourite mor>el 
 with the same people." 
 
 ,\lthoiigh I have seen this tish at almost every season of the 
 year, the llcsh of none has exceeded what I shouhl call a dull, 
 buflish flesh-colour, not approaching to what, on the most 
 liberal construction, could be termed red or orange colour. It 
 is in my opinion a coarse, bail fish on the table, at once rank 
 and vapid, if such a combination can be imagined, yet it is 
 
140 SALMONID.-E. 
 
 decidedly the best of the large lacustrine Trouts, none of which 
 in either hemisphere are either delicate or high-flavoured. I 
 doubt not^ however, that when fresh out of the water, in the 
 cold deep lakes of Huron and Superior, crimped and broiled or 
 roasted, it is far better than could be supposed by one who has 
 eaten it only after being many hours out of its native element. 
 
 In no respect, however, must we regard the opinions of 
 sportsmen, discoverers, and explorers of new regions, more cum 
 grano, than in their appreciation of the qualities of fish, flesh, 
 or fowl in an epicurean point of view. They are apt to be very 
 hungry, in the first place, when they eat, and who does not 
 know the eflFect of the Spartan sauce or the palatableness of the 
 nlainest viands ? their tastes are moreover simplified by the 
 absence of sauces and stimulants of any kind ; and, in a word, 
 things which to men accustomed to the cooking of cities are 
 tasteless and vapid, are by them naturally esteemed delicate 
 and savoury. 
 
 The habits of the Mackinaw Salmon are similar to those 
 of most of the non-migratory Lake Trout ; they afl'ect and 
 prefer the deep waters at most seasons of the year, and lie at 
 a great depth beneath the surface. In the spring of the year, 
 however, they approach the shores, and are found in the 
 shallow waters, whither, it is supposed, they pursue the various 
 kinds of fish on which they prey, which resort thither in search 
 of larvae of various insects. They do not enter the rivers to 
 spawn, but approach the shores for that purpose in autumn, 
 depositing their ova on the gravelly shoals, and then retiring 
 again into the depths. In Lake Huron they begin to spawn 
 about the 10th of October, and return to the centre of the 
 
M«>1>K t>F (ATCIllNti. I H 
 
 lake within three months fnnn the eommenceinent of the 
 movement. The youn^ fry of tliis tish ha.s been exaniined by 
 Prot'essor .\j;a.ssi/, and fonnd to possess the same hiteral bands 
 or markin;xs whieh were formerly Ijelieved to be pcenliar to the 
 Parr alone, but uhieh are, in all prol)ability, eomnion to evi-ry 
 species of the family o( SuImonidiP. 
 
 l>iirinir its stav, at the spawning season, in the shallow 
 i-hanncls between the iiinnmi'rable islands, the Xaniaycnsh is 
 speared by torchlifjht, in j^reat (jnant itics, by the Indians — a 
 ernel and wasteful di'vastation, \\Iiicli, thou^di it eannot be 
 wondered at in the mitntored savage, cannot be reprehemled 
 too severely when pnietised, as it is universally, by the civilised 
 white man, for purposes of reckless sport or illicit and dis- 
 honourable gain. In the fur countries they are sometimes 
 taken in the autumn with nets; but the season when it is 
 captured in the greatest abundance is in the months of March 
 and April, during which it is taken by th()usands on cod-liooks, 
 baited witli small fish set in holes cut throu^'h the ice, in eight 
 or nine fathoms water. It will not be amiss liere to state, that 
 when the ice is fornn-d of snow partially melted and rccongcaled, 
 so as to be oparpu", presenting an appearance like that of 
 ground glass, neither this nor any otln r of the Trout tainily 
 will take the bait. 
 
 During the mid-summer and nud-winter months the Macki- 
 naw Salmon is rarely seen or captured, as during those .seasons 
 it lies in the deepest waters jn the c<Mitre of the great lakes, so 
 that it can Ik* fished for only with n drop-line and heavy 
 pliunmrt at an extraordinary depth, in a manner similar to that 
 practised in dccp-sca fishing. 
 
 Of the more scientific and exciting methods of angling for 
 
142 
 
 SALMONID.E. 
 
 this fine fish, as trolling, spinning^ and the like, I shall treat in 
 due order in another portion of this volume ; what I have said 
 here being rather in illustration of its habits, than of the 
 correct modus operandi. 
 
 Salmo AmcthTstus.— Mitchil. 
 
(iKNKKAl, DKSCKHTliiN. 143 
 
 iiii: sisK \\\ n/. 
 
 Nt)UTin:uN i.AKi: tuout. 
 
 Saliiw Sitl-uiciU-' A(iAs>i/. 
 
 Tills lliu' fisli, which is scfDiid (tiily in si/.c to that last 
 ilescril)i(l, was discoveretl so recently as last suiunur, (Imini; 
 a trip t(» tiic nijper hikes for scientific i)urpi)ses hv I'lofcssor 
 A^assiz, to whose courtesy aiul kindness I owe the power ot" 
 inchidinjc it in this work, as it lias not np to tliis time been 
 described or Hgured in any book of natural history. A journal 
 of that tour is at this moment passin*; throuj^h the I'niversitv 
 press at Harvard, which will comprise a full account of this, 
 and several other previously nondescript fishes, together with 
 accurate and beautiful lithographic illustrations by SonrtI ; and 
 to this, for fuller information, ••uid especially for accounts of 
 several species which do lujt come within the limits of this 
 work, I refer my readers, certain that they will drrive both 
 pleasure aiul profit from the perusal. 
 
 The Si.skawitz, in its colouring and general appearance, as 
 regarded by an uninstructed eye, bears a very ccuisiderabie 
 resemblance to the Mackinaw Salmon, or Nanuiycu.<*li, par- 
 ticularly to that accidental variety of it which I have described 
 above a.n the Truite de (iri've , and is found in the same waters 
 with it, inoHt abundantly in I>ake Superi«»r and Lake Ilunui, 
 but nu)rc or less commonly in all the lakes above the Falls of 
 Niagara. In Ontario, and, as it is believed, in the snwdlir 
 
-^^^ SALMONID^. 
 
 inland waters of New York and the Eastern States, it is 
 
 unknown. 
 
 The head, back, and 
 sides of the Siskawitz, 
 above the lateral line, are 
 of dingy brownish olive, 
 with a greener gloss on 
 the upper parts, irregu- 
 larly blotched and cloud- 
 ed, rather than spotted, 
 with lighter circular or 
 oval patches of the same 
 colour. Below the lateral 
 line the colour is paler 
 and more yellow, with 
 clusters of the same spots 
 fading into a dull dead 
 white, which is the pre- 
 vailing hue of the belly, 
 with a very slight silvery 
 gloss on some of the 
 scales. 
 
 The dorsal and caudal 
 fins are of the same 
 greenish brown with the 
 back, and like it are 
 irregularly patched with 
 lighter spots. The pec- 
 toral, ventral, and anal fins are paler, but with the same 
 
 Salmo Siskawitz— Agassiz. 
 
UKNKKAI, HKSCIUPTIuN. U5 
 
 markings, and with n very taint indication of dnsky red on 
 the margins. 
 
 Altogether, the Si.skawit/. is u greener eoluured and less 
 lustrons fish than the Namaycush, and far less distinctly 
 spotted; still there is so iniich siniihirity, that l)y a person not 
 nccustonu'd to look for nicir and more pciinanent structural 
 distinctions, the two species might he wvy icadily confomidcd. 
 
 In form the Siskawitz is rather shorter and stouter than 
 the Mackinaw ti^h, and doi-s not ta[)er nearly so much at either 
 extremity. The head particularly, which in the other is very 
 small, neatly shaped, and depressed towards the snout, is short, 
 thick, and very obtusely rounded, giving it a coarse and clumsy 
 protilc, and distinguishing it decidedly from the kindred species. 
 On the shoulders it is moderately broad, with the sides some- 
 what compressed. The length of the head is about one-fourth 
 of the whole length of the fish, from the snout to the tips of the 
 caudal. The skull is strong and bony, with powerful lower 
 jaws. The porous lines and foramina of the bones, seen on the 
 heads of several of the otlur Trouts, are very evident, and 
 distinctly marked in this, as are the radiating processes on the 
 opernilum and pre-opernilinn. 
 
 'The prc-ajjcrriilitin is considerably rounded, and almost 
 vertical; the posterior free margin of the gill-covers is nearly 
 semicircular, much less acute posteriorly than in the Namaycush. 
 
 It has n ver}' complete and formidal)le dental system, all the 
 maxillary and palatine bones, as well a.s the lower jaws anti 
 either side of the tongue, being armed with strong, sharp, 
 curved tc«th, and the vomer provided ^^ith a double line 
 extending along the wliolc length backward. The dorsal fin is 
 
 L 
 
] 4G SALMONID^. 
 
 situated nearly midway the whole length of the body; the 
 posterior dorsal is thicker and more clumsily shaped than in 
 the preceding species. The caudal fin is deeply forked. 
 
 The number of rays in the several fins I am, I regret to say, 
 unable to supply at present. 
 
 Neither in colouring nor in form, therefore, does the Siskawitz 
 equal the Mackinaw Salmon or Namaycush ; it is in all respects 
 a clumsier and coarser fish. Its flesh is moreover of a paler 
 bufi^, of a less firm texture, and of very inferior quality upon 
 the table. 
 
 Its habits and haunts are almost identical with those of the 
 other species, like which it is not migratory or anadromous, 
 never entering the rivers either for the purpose of spawning 
 or in pursuit of food ; although it approaches the shores, and 
 visits the gravelly shallows of the lakes in autumn, in order 
 to deposit its ova. 
 
 It is taken by the French inhabitants and by the Indian 
 hunters Avitli the torch and spear, occasionally with the scan, 
 and also with the long line in deep water. It also strikes 
 readily at a piece of glittering tin, or mother of pearl, made to 
 revolve and glance quickly through the water. 
 
 There is no doubt but that with good spinning tackle, baited 
 with minnow, shiners, or the parr of the Brook Trout, which 
 would probably prove the most killing of the three, or wdth the 
 deadly spoon, the Siskawitz might be angled for with great 
 success, and would afl'ord good sport, as it is a strong and 
 powerful fish, growing to twenty-five pounds or upwards, 
 although its usual weight does not exceed fifteen or sixteen 
 pounds. 
 
HABITS AM) HAUNTS. 117 
 
 Neither tins lisli, however, nor the Nnnmycush, nor, so fur 
 as 1 know, any other of the non-niiirratory Lake Tro.it, strikes 
 with the same tiereene^s and a\iility, sprinniiif; ont of the 
 water to take the hait, and hiipinj; tar and frecincntly al)ovc 
 the snrfaee when hooked, as the Sea Sahnon, the Sahuon 
 'I'ront, or any of the anaihonions speeies of this hiirhly interest- 
 in'.,' family. The motion of the ^MH-at lakiTs is for the most 
 part confined to a heaw himi)erin^' rnsh in pnrsnit of thi- hait, 
 ami to a stroni; di-ad pnll when endeavonrim; to cseajx; after 
 bcinjj strnek. They will hore down desperately at first into 
 the deep water, bnt do not tight with the swift energy, or resort 
 to the cnnning artifices of tlic Salnio Saiar. Strong tackle, an 
 eighteen-foot rod, and a steady hand, will not fail to secnre 
 them, even with far less skill than is required to take a threc- 
 poundcr Brook Tront in a (pnek rnnning river. 
 
 I nn»y add here, in eontinnation of the remarks made above, 
 nndcr the head of Trne Salmon, in reference to the yonng fry 
 of all this family, that Professor Agas^iz has discovered the 
 Pinks, both of this and the preceding species, in what may be 
 called the Parr form, with dnsky lateral transverse bandings. 
 I have not judged it necessary to give ents of these fry, as 
 the fact may be regarded as thoronghly established, and as 
 the other characteristics of these yonng Lake Tnmt arc so 
 broad and distinct, that they eoidd not be easily mistaken 
 cither for tin- xoimtr "f anv of her species or for a distinct 
 variety. 
 
 The above descriptions, as wj-ll as the representation in 
 the wooilcut, are taken, by permission, uhiih is here 
 gratefully acknowledged, from a ••pirited coloured sketch bv 
 
 l2 
 
148 
 
 SALMONID.'E. 
 
 Mr. Elliot Cabot of Boston, who accompanied Professor Agassiz 
 on tlie tour above mentioned, and from tlie notes of that 
 gentleman. 
 
 It is trusted that this notice, although brief, of an entirely 
 new Salmo, will prove satisfactory both to the sportsman and to 
 the naturalist ; and if the mention of its peculiarities may induce 
 the gentle anglers of this country to pay a little more attention 
 to the structural differences of fishes, so as to lead to the 
 discovery of new species, several of which, it can hardly be 
 doubted, remain still nondescript in the unfrequented waters of 
 this mighty laud, some good will have been done to the great 
 cause of science. 
 
DISTIN(JI?ISII1N(J t IIA1{A< TKKS. 
 
 VJ 
 
 Till, \.\k\. tiki! T. 
 •Si/»tu ( '«ii ft II I* — I) K K A r . 
 
 Thr I ukr Tp>iit. 
 
 Nor li;i\iii;; Ixi-ii t-Hiihlcd this spiiii^ to obtain a specimen of 
 this fish, whieli I wns excecclin«jly anxious to do, for the purpose 
 of coinpnrinj: it with the Siskawit/, and Naniayeush, I take the 
 following account froni the " New York Fauna" of Dr. Dtkay, 
 whose description of tlie tisli is very complete. It is a verv 
 closely cognate species with the two last de.scrii)ed, hut I helievc 
 it t(j be clearly distinct, wliicii in tlie first instance I was disposed 
 to doubt — 
 
 *' Characteristics. — Blackish, with numerous grey spots. Body 
 robust ; comparatively short in proportion to its depth ; eaudal 
 fin with a sinuous margin. Length, two to four feet. 
 
 " />j»rnyy/io«.— Body stout, thicker and .shorter than the 
 Common Salmon. Length of the head to the total length, as 
 one to four aiul a half nearly. Dorsal outline curved. Scales, 
 .small, orbicular, and minutely striated. The lateral line dis- 
 tinctly markj'd by a series of tubular plates, arising at the 
 upper angle of the opercular o[)ening, slightly concave until 
 
150 SALMONID^. 
 
 it passes over the hnse of the pectoral fiu, when it proceeds 
 straight to the tail. Head flattened between the eyes. Snout 
 protruded, and in aged individuals with a tubercular enlargement 
 on its extremity. Eyes large ; the antero-posterior diameter of 
 the orbits 1"5, and their distance apart 2*5 ; nostrils contiguous, 
 patent ; the anterior vertically oval, the posterior smaller and 
 rounded. Under jaw shortest, and received into a cavity of the 
 upper. The transverse membrane over the roof of the mouth 
 exceedingly tough and thick ; the numerous curved teeth in the 
 jaws partly concealed by a loose fleshy membrane. Tongue, 
 long, narrow and thick, with a series of teeth along the central 
 furrow. Many series of acute teeth along the vomer and on 
 the palatines. 
 
 "The first dorsal fin ^dth its upper margin rounded, sub- 
 triangular, arising somewhat nearer the snout than the 
 extremity of the caudal rays, higher than long, measuring 
 4-5 in height, and 4*0 along the base. It is composed of four- 
 teen rays, the first two short, and imbedded in the flesh ; the 
 fourth and fifth rays longest. The adipose fin 1"0 long, and 
 placed over the end of the anal fin. Pectoral fins broad and 
 pointed, five inches long, and arising slightly behind a line 
 drawn from the upper posterior angle of the opercle. It is 
 composed of fom-teen rays. The central fins, placed nearly 
 under the centre of the dorsal fin, composed of nine rays, and 
 furnished with a thick axillary plate. Anal fin quadrate; its 
 extreme height 4-4, and its base 3-0 ; composed of twelve robust 
 rays. Caudal fin nine inches in extent from tip to tip, furcate, 
 with a sinuous margin. 
 
 " Colour — from a living specimen. All the upper portion of 
 
CKAKItAL 1)KS( Itll'TloN. ] ;, 1 
 
 till" hi-nd ami IjdiIv l)liii>li hlurk. Si(li'> (tf t lie licad, base of'tlic 
 first (loi-Nul, of tilt' I'uuilal and anal tins, witli iimiiiToiis romuK-d 
 crowilt'il iiTL'i^ular li^lit ^pot.s. On tin- ha^c of tlu- d()l•^al and 
 caudal, tlu* spots Jiir oblon-^ I'n'*^ jjri'ciii.sli ; cliiii hrownisli 
 liiouzi' ; pupils blai'k ; iridos sahuuu-colour. Tips ot llu" lower 
 tius slightly tiujjt'd with red. 
 
 " Leufjth, •il-.'i ; olthf lu-ad. 1 ■>. W fiirht, lillccu pduniU. 
 
 " rin-ia\s, 1). 1 III; 1'. 11: \ . "•' ; A. L' ; C. 21^. 
 
 '' Tllis is thf urll-know u Lake Salmon, I^akc 'I'lout, or Salmon 
 'i'rout ot' the State of Ni'w \()rk. Amonir tlu" thirtceu species 
 or \arieties of Lake Trout, or Laki- Salmon, so beautifully illus- 
 tmted by Riehartlson, I cannot find this species described. It 
 appears more nearly ullied by the fij^ure to Salmo I/oodii, but 
 dilfei-s in very important particulars from this species. It occurs 
 in most of the northern lakes of this State, and I have noticed 
 it in Siher Lake, I'cnnsyhania, adjacent to Mroome County, 
 which, as far as I know, is its southernnu)st limit. The figure 
 illustrating this sjiecies was from a specimen taken at Louis 
 Lake, Hamilton County, of unusual si/e and vigour. The 
 average weight is eight or ten [jounds ; but 1 have heard lishcr- 
 nu'u speak of some weighing thirty pounds, and e\en more. 
 There is, however, such a strong propensity to exaggeration in 
 everything in relation to aquatic aninuds, that 1 refrain from 
 citing ca.ses derived from such sources. 
 
 " They frequent the deepest part of the lake, and unlike most 
 of their congeners, never rise to the fly. 
 
 " The flesh is of course much prized in those districts where 
 no oceanic tish is ever tasted ; but to me it appears to possess 
 all the coarsenes^s of tlic Halibut without its flavour." 
 
152 SALMONIDiE. 
 
 This, with the exception of a few general remarks on its 
 habits, is all that Dr. Dekay has recorded of this fish. 
 
 I cannot, however, proceed, without expressing my great 
 surprise at Dr. Dekay's opinion of its resemblance to the Salmo 
 Hoodii, known also as the Arctic Charr, the Mingan River 
 Salmon, and the Masamacush of the Cree Indians. This is a 
 decided long-finned Charr, beautifully coloured, of a rich lake 
 purple, with numerous bright golden spots, and the red belly of 
 the proper Charr. It is, moreover, an anadroraous species, 
 running up the swift rivers of the north, and descending to the 
 salt water to recruit. Its flesh is bright red. It is one of the 
 boldest fish at the bait known on this continent, leaping com- 
 pletely out of water to seize it, and flinging itself high above the 
 surface many times in succession on being struck. 
 
 I can see nothing in which it can be compared to any of the 
 Lake Trout, and least of all to this, which is the most worthless 
 of all the non-migratory species. It is found, I believe, in Lake 
 Ontario, below the Falls of Niagara, and certainly in all the 
 New England lakes so far to the eastward as the State of 
 Maine. In the British pro^dnces, with the exception of 
 Lakes Mephramagog and Champlain, I do not think that 
 it exists. 
 
 From a careful comparison of the cut in Dr. Dekay's work, 
 plate 38, fig. 123, as well from his description of its colouring, 
 I have no hesitation in pronouncing it far more nearly con- 
 nected with the Siskawitz of Professor Agassiz, than with any 
 other of its congeners, although the elongated head, the shape 
 of the fins, and especially the lobe-like formation of the caudal, 
 clearly distinguishes it from this species. 
 
INACCntATi: ll.l.rsTKATlUNS. l.'):5 
 
 It is to 1)0 rcj^rcttcd, Ijowcvcr, tliiit in tlu; work of the inaj;iii- 
 tiule ami importance of the "New York Fauiiu" oltlic State nf 
 New York, the plates should be, as they are, so atrociously 
 executed, that for mutters of scientific examiiuition they are 
 all but useless, while as pictorial illustrations they are below 
 couteiupt. 
 
154 SALMONID.E. 
 
 SALMON TROUT. 
 
 SEA TROUT.— WHITE TROUT. 
 
 ^almo r/7t«a— Yarrel. 
 
 This beautiful fish, which is the Salmon Trout of the Thames, 
 the Sea Trout of Scotland, and the White Trout of Wales, 
 Devonshire, and Ii'eland, is found nowhere on the continent of 
 America except on the eastern side of the Province of New 
 Brunswick and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 
 
 It must on no account be confounded, as it has been by 
 Dr. Smith in his " Fishes of Massachusetts,^' with the Brook 
 Trout {Salmo Fontinalis), when they run down and remain pei'- 
 manently in salt water, as they do, more or less, along the 
 whole south side of Long Island, but especially at Fireplace, at 
 Waquoit Bay, on Cape Cod, and probably at many other points 
 along the eastern coast; for the fish are totally distinct, as will 
 be shown hereafter. 
 
 " It is distinguished,'' says Yarrel, "by the gill-cover being 
 intermediate in its form between that of the Salmon and the 
 Bull Trout. The posterior free margin is less rounded than that 
 of the Salmon, but more so than that of the Bull Trout. The 
 
HABITS AM» II A I NTS. 15.') 
 
 line of imiini of the ujjfrnilinn with \\\v. suh-opcrrulinii aiul the; 
 inferior nuir^iii of tl»e suh-opficulnin aic ohliciiu', forming; a 
 eonsidenihle iinj^U' with the axis of the Ixxly of the tisli. 'I'he 
 po-stcrior edjje of the pre-uperculum rounded, not sinuous, as in 
 the IJuU Trout. The teetli are more sUmuKm- as well as more 
 nunierons than in tin- Salmon or Hull Trout ; thost* on thi' 
 vomer e\tendini; alonj; a threat part dt" the Irnijtli, and indent- 
 ing the tonjftu" dei-ply hetwccn the two rows of teetli that are 
 tliere plaeed, owv row aloni; eaeh side. The tail is h-ss forked 
 at the sam(> age than that of tlu> Salmon, hut heeonu-s like it 
 scjuare at tlu- end, aftir the third yeai-. The >i/e and surface of 
 the tail also is mneh smalKr than that of the Salmon, from the 
 shortness of the caudal rays. 
 
 "The habits of this sj)eeies are also very like those of the 
 Salmim, and the fenuiles arc said to run tip the rivers before 
 tlu- males. Sir AVilliam Jardine says : ' In approaching the 
 entrance of rivers, or in seeking out, as it were, some one they 
 preferred, shoals of this fish may be seen coasting the shoals 
 and headlands, leaping and s|)(U'ting in great numbers, from 
 about one pound to three (U* four pcuinds in weight ; and in 
 some of the smaller bays the shoal could be tnued several times 
 circling it, and apparently feeding. They enter every river and 
 rivulet in immense numbers, nnil when lishing for Salmon, are 
 annoying for their (pnuitity. The food of those taken with the 
 rod in the t-stuaries appeared vi-ry indi.seriminate; CH-'CJisionally 
 the remains of some small fish, which were too mneh digested to 
 Ijc discriminated ; sometimes flies, beetles, or other insects, 
 which the wind or tide had carried out ; but the most 
 genernl food seemed t«) be the Tulitris Ltjcusta, ut common 
 
156 SALMONID^. 
 
 saud-hopper, with ^yhich some of their stomachs were completely 
 crammed." 
 
 " The largest adult fish of this species I have ever seen," 
 Mr. Yarrel adds, "was in the possession of Mr. Groves, the fish- 
 monger in Bond-street. This specimen, which occurred in 
 June, 1831, was a female, in very fine condition, and weighed 
 seventeen pounds." 
 
 Never having myself seen this fish in America, although per- 
 fectly familiar with it in Great Britain, but ha\dng good reason 
 for being sure that it existed in the great estuary of St. Law- 
 rence, and in the Bays of Gaspe and Chaleurs, I wrote, so soon 
 as I decided on the preparation of this work, to a friend, 
 Mr. Perley, in New Brunswick, Her Majesty's emigration 
 officer at St. John's, knowing that I might rely as well on his 
 kindness in supplying me with any information he might 
 possess on tlie subject, as on his skill and thoroughness as a 
 sportsman and fly-fisher, and his science as an icthyologist. 
 
 He obligingly replied to me at length, besides sending me a 
 highly valuable report on the Eisheries of the Gulf of St. Law- 
 rence, fully confirming my opinion of the existence of this noble 
 and sporting fish in the pro^^ince. 
 
 Without farther comment I proceed to lay his observations 
 before my readers, premising only, that while they fully prove 
 the identity of the New Brunswick White Trout with the 
 Salmon Trout of Yarrel {Sabno Trutta), and distinguish it from 
 the Brook Trout, whether English or American [Salmo Fario, or 
 Salmo Fontinalis), they show some remarkable differences in 
 habit from the same fish in the British Islands. 
 
 " You will perceive," says Mr. Perley, " that, under official 
 
liKMAlJKS (IN TlIK WHITK THolT. l.'i? 
 
 ordtTs, I Imvi- hocii compi'llcd to go into luitural history; juul 
 that you limy see the whole, 1 send some reports printed in 
 1^17, iiuludin': one on the Forest Trees of New Brunswiek. I 
 proeiired the steoiul edition of \ arn-l whiii in Loiuhjn hust 
 year, and thi' heantiful snppU'nient eontainin^' the phites f)l' the 
 Sahnon, from the UttK- Pair n[) to the (irilse of two years, all of 
 whieh I have heiMi eoiiipelK-d to stud\-. 
 
 "The \Vhite Trout of the (Julf of St. Lawrence is precisely 
 similar to the Stilmo Tntttn of Yarrel. The drawiiij^ of Ndl. 1 1., 
 p. 7 7, second eilition, is a very good representation of our 
 White Trout. In June, when in the finest condition, they 
 are somewhat deeper than there represented " — the cut is a 
 fac-simile of tlic plate in Yarrel alluded to hy Mr. I'erley — 
 " the shoulder is tlicn exceedingly thick ; tiie head, espe- 
 cially in the female, is very small. 1 never heard of any 
 weighing nu)re than seven pounds. I have never seen a 
 White Trout on this side of the province, or anywiiere except 
 within the gulf. They are of delicious flavour when newly 
 caught, the white curds lying thick hetween the hriglit |)ink 
 flakes; and they do not cloy like the Salmon. 
 
 " Many of the Common Trout {Salmo Farin )" — Fontinalh' 
 — "also visit the mixed water of the estuaries, and very likely 
 go out to sea. They then aecpiire a very silvery brilliancy, and 
 their condition becomes greatly improved ; but they cannot be 
 mistaken, even then, for the White Trout. Thev are a longer 
 fi.sh — their heads an- larger — the colour of the spots is more 
 brilliant, and there an- more of them ; and the trieoloiired tins 
 leave no room for doubt, as the fins of the White Trout are 
 v«ry pale, and of a bluish white. When first lifted from the sea, 
 
158 SALMONID^. 
 
 the backs of the White Trout are of a bluish green, just the 
 colour of the wave ; and the under part of the fish sparkles like 
 molten silver." 
 
 In a report of the fly-fishing of the province, which J\Ir. Perley 
 was good enough to enclose, I find also the following pertinent 
 remarks on this fish : 
 
 " It is to be understood," he says, " that the whole Gulf of 
 St. Lawrence abounds with White Trout, from one to seven 
 pounds in weight. They proceed up the rivers as far as the 
 head of the tide in each, but they never ascend into the purely 
 fresh water. In the salt water they are caught only with the 
 ' Prince Edward's Island fly,' so called, the body of Avhich is of 
 scarlet with gold tinsel, or of gold tinsel only, with fom- wings 
 from the feathers of the scarlet ibis — the ' curry-curry ' of South 
 America. 
 
 " In the estuaries of rivers where the water is only brackish 
 they take the Irish lake-fly with gay colours ; the scarlet ibis 
 seems the most attractive, however, in all cases. In the fresh 
 water the Trout are quite difterent ; they are much longer, very 
 brilliantly coloui-ed, with tricoloured fins of black, white, and 
 scarlet, and numerous bright spots over the body. When the 
 fish are in good condition these spots are nearly as large as a 
 silver penny. They rarely exceed three pounds in weight, but 
 are a very sporting fish ; they take the most of the Irish flies, 
 but the red hackle in all its varieties is the favourite. A bril- 
 liant hackle, over a yellow or fiery brown body, kills everywhere, 
 all the season through. 
 
 "The Sea Trout fishing, in the bays and harbom's of Prince 
 Edward's Island, especially in June, when the fish first rush in 
 
AN UNDESCKIUKI) SI'FXIES. 15'.) 
 
 from the gulf, is rrally inagniliceut ; they average from thrieto 
 five pouiuU eaeh. I foiuul the best fishing at St. rcler's Bay, 
 oil tl»e north side of the island, about twenty-eight miles from 
 Charlotte's Town. 1 there killed in one morning si.xteen 'I'ront, 
 which weighed eighty ixuinds. 
 
 '• In till" buys, and along the coasts of tlic i>l.iu(l, they are 
 taken \\'u\\ the scarlet lly, from a boat under easy sail, with 
 a • maekei-i'l l)ree/.e,' and ofti-ntimes a hea\y 'ground swell.' 
 The tly ski[)s from wavi' to wave; at the end of thirty yards of 
 line, and tluMe should be at least seventy yards more on the 
 reel. It is splendid sport ! as a strong tish will make some- 
 times a long run, and give a good ehase down the wind." 
 
 This clear, able, and sportsmanlike account of this line fish 
 perfectly establishes the fact of its existence as a distinct 
 species, intermediate between the true Salmon {Saimo Safar), on 
 the one hand, and the Hrook Trout {Sa/ino FontinoHs), on the 
 other. And it nnist on no account l)e confounde<l with the 
 non-migratory Lake Trouts, which ha\e just been described, 
 and which are sometimes erroneously and absurdly called 
 Salmon Trout. They ucvcm* (juit the purely fresh water — these 
 never leave it. These are anadronious, tho.sc stationary. 
 
 Those are a worthless fish, both to the sportsman and the 
 epicure, companitively speaking ; these are in all respects the 
 most valuable of the species, with the exception only of the 
 true Salmon ; and neither in excellence of flavour nor in 
 sporting (|ualitications do they fall behind even him, although 
 they arc far inferior in weight and size. 
 
 Mr. ^ arrel .ntates that the length of the head in this fisli is 
 as one to four to the length of the whole body, and the depth 
 
1(30 SALMONID^. 
 
 of tlie body to the length the same. The teeth, small and 
 numerous, occupying five rows on the upper surface of the 
 mouth, those of the central row, on the vomer, extending some 
 distance along it, the points turning alternately to each side, 
 one row on each side of the under jaw, and three or four teeth 
 on each side of the tongue, strong, sharp and curving back- 
 wards, well calculated to secure a living prey, or convey food 
 towards the pharynx. 
 
 The dorsal fin-rays are twelve in number, the pectoral 
 thirteen, the ventral nine, the anal ten, and the caudal nine- 
 teen. When the Salmon Trout is placed by the side of a 
 Salmon, it is in comparison darker in colour in the body, but 
 lighter in the colour of the fins. 
 
 It is with great satisfaction that I am enabled to present this 
 beautiful and gallant fish to my readers, and to establish with 
 certainty its identity with the Salmo Trutta of Yarrel, and its 
 existence in the North American Provinces. This fish has 
 hitherto never been described in any American sporting work, 
 nor I believe in any work of a scientific character, as an 
 American species, with the exception of the Parliamentary 
 Reports of Mr. Perley. The fish, described as the Salmo Trutta 
 in the "American Angler's Guide," and in "Smith's Fishes of 
 Massachusetts," is, as I have already observed, nothing resem- 
 bling it, but the very Brook Trout described above, with the 
 tricoloured fin, improved by a visit to salt water. 
 
 I may here observe, en passant, that my distinguished friend, 
 Mr. Agassiz, was not aware, a few months since, of the 
 existence of this fish as an American species. 
 
 It cannot fail to prove a great acquisition to the list of the 
 
Fism.\(; K\1'KI»I'II'>\. 1(;| 
 
 American anjjior, ns tlicro i> no lioldrr or Ixftrr fisli, ami its 
 haunts aiv of no «litlicnlt arccxs. I Icinii that an Mn^lisli 
 yacht is already fittin}^ ont, in onkr to takt- tlic lirUl against the 
 Sea Trout in tlie jrulf this very sununer ; and I doubt not that 
 ere ion}? sonn- of our Nfw \ ork cliiiiurs will spread their winj,'s 
 in emulation ol" their lirotlu-rs of the aii^lc from the eastern 
 side of the l)road Atlantic. I can concci\e no more delij^htfid 
 trip, no more exeitin;^ rivalry. 
 
1(32 SALMONID.E. 
 
 THE MASAMACUSH. 
 
 ARCTIC CHARR.— HOOD'S CHARR. 
 
 Salmo Zfoorf/i— Richardson. 
 
 Masamacush. Arctic Churr. 
 
 This beautiful fish is given on the authority of Dr. Richardson, 
 by whom it appears to have been first described, although 
 discovered by Lieutenant Hood, in Pine Island Lake, lati- 
 tude 5i°. 
 
 It is not a little remarkable tliat this fish should have so long 
 remained unknown, as it is stated by its describer "to be 
 common in every lake and river from Canada to the northern 
 extremity of the continent." Whether this includes the great 
 lakes above the Falls of Niagara, it is not stated, although the 
 language would authorise that interpretation ; no distinct 
 mention is made of it, however, as having been taken south of 
 the Mingan River, which empties into the estuary of St. Lawrence 
 somewhere about the latitude of 50°; all the other specimens 
 described being taken in Winter Lake, or in the waters of 
 Boothia Felix ; it is scarcely possible, however, but that it must 
 
HAMITS AND IIAIN'IS. 1 C.J 
 
 be found to tlu- soutliwiirtl of this line, to justify the words of 
 so accurate and correct a writer as Dr. Richardson. 
 
 At all events, the Minj^an River is in Canada I'ropcr, in the 
 lordship of Miniran, and is constantly visited for the purpose of 
 Salmon fishing, hy yacht ini: parties from (Quebec, scarcely u 
 year occurrinij but one or more vessels are fitted out tor this 
 wihl spot, which is nearly o|>posite to the uorthiin side of 
 thi' inhospitable, and marly if m)t absolutely uninhabitLci, 
 Island of Antiet)sti, the sport amply repayiii}; the time and 
 trouble. 
 
 I am personally accpuiintcd with several very accomplished 
 Salmon fishers who are at home on those waters, yet by m)nc 
 of these have I ever heard any mention of this tish, and 1 am 
 well satisfied that although it must, 1 presume, have been taken 
 by them frequently, it has entirely escaped their obsenation, 
 bcinj; probably confounded either with the Salmon, or the 
 Salmon Tntut, although entirely distinct from either. It is 
 remarkable as beini; the only ("hair that is found in the 
 inhabited portions of the I'nited States or Canada, for althoiii^h 
 Ricliardson desif^nates the Common Brook Trout {Sd/inn Fon- 
 I'tnalts), as the Nrir York ('fuirr, 1 confess I am at a loss to 
 perceive any j^rounds for so specitymj; it. One ot the nuuked 
 chamcteristics of the Charr, the {greater comparative hei^^ht of 
 the dorsal tin, which will be readily observed in the cut at the 
 head of thi.H article, is entirely wanting in the Brook Trout, and 
 ulthuu^h the vomerine teeth are di»po.H<'d in a cluster in that 
 species, after the manner of the Charrs, this alone hardly 
 appears to me a sunicient reason for altering its nomenclature. 
 
 The other varieties of Charr, the Angmalook (Salmo A'i7iV/»/,v), 
 
 M -1 
 
164- SALMONID^. 
 
 and the long-finned Charr {Salmo Alipes), are fonnd in the 
 small lakes and rivers of Boothia Felix, but as that far northern 
 peninsula is utterly beyond the reach of the most determined 
 angler, it is useless to give them more than this mere passing 
 
 notice. 
 
 The Masamacush is, on the contrary, within easy reach of all 
 who are willing to travel distances, without incurring either risk 
 or fatigue, in pursuit of their game, and is found, moreover, in 
 the very waters which afford the greatest variety and the 
 highest attractions to the scientific fly-fisher, in their abundance 
 of Salmon, Salmon Trout, and Brook Trout. It is also a bold 
 and daring biter, voraciously seizing a bait of sucking carp, pork, 
 deer's heart, or the belly of one of its own species affixed upon 
 a cod-hook. " We took many at Fort Enterprise, in March, in 
 gill-nets set under the ice," says Dr. Richardson, "in the 
 neighbourhood of an open rapid by which the waters of Winter 
 Lake were discharged into a river that remained frozen up until 
 June. At that time their stomachs were filled with the larvse 
 of insects. During the summer this fish is supposed to retire 
 to the depths of the lakes, but it reappears in smaller numbers 
 in the autumn, and is occasionally taken in the winter in nets, 
 but seldom by the hook, except in the spring. The spawning 
 season is in April or May, judging from the great development 
 the spawn then acquires, though the spawning beds are 
 unknown to us. The Masamacush attains a weight of eight 
 pounds, but begins to spawn before it weighs more than two or 
 three." 
 
 Dr. Richardson does not state whether this fish will take the 
 fly or not, but as it is not the general habit of the non-migratory 
 
M AlUTS tiF THK MASA M ACI S||. IC).', 
 
 Trout ot till' Aiiu-rican lakrs, or of tlu- Hriti>.li ("li.irr, to do so, 
 it limy, 1 think, hv prt'siiiiu'il that the Ma^aiiiaciish, w ht-rc he 
 exists ill hiko, is to he taken by trnlliiit; in (hi'|) water with a 
 small 'I'rout or other fish upon a hea\ ily-\\ei|^hti(l hook, with 
 s|)inuiii>; tucklo. 
 
 It is nut (listiuetly stated, and prohalily is not aseertaiiu'd, 
 wluthir this is an anadroinous or non-nui(ratorv lisli. The 
 Clmrrs, for the most part, are found only in the deepest parts 
 of the lakes which they inhaljit, aiul rarely enter the streams 
 whieh feeil or drain these hut for the purpose of spawning, 
 when they seek out the elearest ami swiftest rivers running on 
 gravel bottoms. 
 
 The faet, however, that the Masamacush is taken in the 
 Miiigau Kiver, a powerful body of water having direct com- 
 muuieation with the sen, would go far to prove that he is an 
 anadromous fish there, at least, visiting the sea, and returning 
 to spawn ; although it is very probabh' that like many of this 
 family, and like his own eongener, the Angmalook, he can exist 
 inditlcrently in fresh or salt water. 
 
 I doubt not that in the Mingau and similar rivirs, he could 
 be taken with the same Irish lake-tlies, or the red ibis tly, which 
 is so mortal to the Salmon Trout. 
 
 Like all the Charrs, he is red-lleshed, and of delicious flavour. 
 And from these facts, were it not that the Masanuieush is said 
 not to exceed eight pounds in weiglit, I should be vastly inclined 
 to suspect his identity w ith tlu- red-fleshed and brightly -coloured 
 lake-fish, which is occasionally taken in the Hamilton County 
 waters, as mciitioiied by Dr. Hethunc in his beautiful edition of 
 Walton's Angler, at page l-J^, iu a note; and as described to 
 
166 SALMONID^. 
 
 me by Mr. Webber, the author of a series of very agreeable 
 letters concerning the fishing of that region, which were pub- 
 lished in the columns of the New York Courier and Inquirer 
 during the past summer. 
 
 It is very unfortunate that, so far, none of the gentlemen 
 who have been so lucky as to take this highly-coloured and fine 
 fish, have possessed sufficient scientific knowledge to examine 
 and record its characteristics in such a manner as to allow us to 
 decide upon its identity with any known species. 
 
 The only thing which appears to be certain, is this : that it 
 does not belong to any one of the three known species of the 
 non-migratory Lake Trout. As it is said to have been taken 
 by the President of the Piseco Club, a gentleman on whose 
 authority perfect reliance may be placed, up to the great weight 
 of twenty -four pounds, this must, in my opinion, be either an 
 entirely nondescript fish, or merely a Brook Trout of gigantic 
 dimensions. 
 
 It is generally described as being square-tailed, with two 
 rows of red spots, the ventrals and pectorals deeply tinged with 
 vermilion, and the flesh of a bright glowing carnation, and a 
 delicious flavour. Now, this description coincides with no 
 described fish of North America, though nearly agreeing with 
 that of the great Common English Trout of the Thames and of 
 the Irish lakes and rivers. 
 
 But to return to the Masamacush, as it is known to exist in 
 the northern waters. 
 
 Its body, as will be observed in the cut, is more slender than 
 that of an}' of the Salmonida heretofore described, and the head 
 is about a sixth of the total length. The lower jaw, when 
 
nKSCRIITION (.F Tin: MASAMaCI SII. Ili7 
 
 the mouth is closrd, projects beyond the upper one by the 
 ilcpth of the ehin, and it appears h)n^er yet when the month 
 is open. 
 
 The teeth of the hibials, interniavilhirit'^, and lower jaw, arc 
 very small, short, conical, acute, and slij^htly curved — on the 
 palatine bones there is a row of lar^'cr teeth mixed with smaller 
 ones, and on the knob of tlu' vomer, a cluster of six or seven. 
 The tongue is anni-d with a single row on each sicU-, which meet 
 in a curve at thi" ti[) ; then' arc also two or three scattered teeth 
 on the centre of the tongue. The rakers and i>haryni;cal bones 
 are armed with short teeth like vehet pili'. Of the gill-covers, 
 the ojH'rciil'iin is very narrow, its transverse diameter being 
 scarcely ludf its hciglit. The suh-ojjrrcnhtm exceeds tlie half of 
 its length in height. 
 
 The Masamacush of the Mingan Kiver, which is the tish in 
 its normal form, according to Dr. Richardson, from wJiom this 
 account is abridged, has ten gill-rays on one side, eleven on the 
 other; dorsal tin-rays twi-lvt-, pectorals thirteen, vcntrals eight, 
 anal ten, and caudal nineteen. 
 
 The back and sides of this tish are intermediate between olive 
 green and clove broun, bestudded \\\\\\ yi'llo\\i>h grey spots aa 
 big as a pea. A few of these spots on the gill-covers, Helly 
 and under jaw white; the latter dotted thinly with bluish grey. 
 
 The Arctic fish is brighter in colour ; the i)ack and sides 
 being purple, the spots distinctly yellow, and the sides, below 
 the latcnil line, tinged with a flush of lake. 
 
 IJcforc proceeding to the Grayling, which, though of this 
 family, is not a pro|>cr Salmon, but of the subgenus Thytmilhts, 
 I \m11 observe that the opinion \Oiich I ha/anlcd in m\ intro- 
 
168 SALMONID^. 
 
 cluctory remarks couceruing the existence of a distinct Salmon 
 in Sebago Lake, near Portland, in Maine, known as the Sebago 
 Trout, and which I proposed to designate as Salmo Sebago, is 
 fully carried out by the information which I have received 
 since writing those remarks, from a thorough sportsman, well 
 acquainted with all the described species. 
 
 He assures me that the waters of that lake did contain a 
 Salmon closely resembling the Salmo Salar, but which has in 
 all probability become extinct. At the date of his writing, he 
 was about to set forth on a ^dsit to the lake, and should a fish 
 be procurable, I shall receive it, although not in time to include 
 it in the body of the work, at least in season to be embodied in 
 the Appendix. 
 
TIIK AKtTIC IJKAVLINli. 
 
 n;-» 
 
 M\rK"s (ii; \^ |,|\(. 
 
 TIIK AK( I'll (illAVl.lNt. 
 
 TttjfiHullH* .SVyHi/cr- Ui< II Mii»iiN, ('i\a:K. //tteluiJ: /'uMHii — Kst^i imai .\. 
 /'oi»n>i> JllfU (.'an. Vin. 
 
 Arctic UnvlUiK. 
 
 TilK t'M'ffiliiij; hcaiity ami iciiiiirkaMr ^rimio (|ualitirs nl" tlii> 
 li«»l)lr tisli lia\c iiidufttl me to ^i\c liiin a platt- iii tliisc paf^cs, 
 to «liifli liii placf of iiati\ity liardly entitles liiiii, as In- is, I 
 tV'Jir, to l)r toiind iiowlieie sunt liw aid (if tin- i'>l\\i\ parallel ol 
 lutitnde, Ix tweeii Mackeii/ie's lvi\er and the \N eleuiiic. " Its 
 liif^hly appropriatr lvs(|uiiiiaii\ title," sa\.s |)r. Kielianlson, 
 iVoiii whose tine work on the Kanna «»t" Arctic Anurica, 1 
 liuve borruwi'd both the matter oi this article and the cut 
 llbo^^, " (UMiotin^ 'wini^likc tin,' ullndo to its maj^niticcut 
 dontnl ; nutl it was in retcrencc to the same tVatiire that I 
 bontowcd ui>oii it the specific appcUalioii jif Sh/ni/rr, ' the 
 tttniubird-bcanT,' iiiteiuliii^ also to adxert to the rank ol' my 
 con)|mition, Captain Mack, then a midshipman, who took the 
 firnt )i|)ccinicii we saw with tbi* artiticial lly." 
 
 I may remark here, that the Kniopeaii (iraxlin^ has the 
 
170 SALMONID^. 
 
 similar appellation of Vexillifer, or the "banner-bearer," in 
 allusion to tlie same feature, although the fin is greatly inferior 
 in size to that of the fish of which I am speaking. The allusion 
 to Captain Back, then a midshipman, is founded on the fact, 
 that midshipmen in the British navy rank as ensigns in the 
 army, and that French officers of the same grade are styled 
 enseigne de vaisseau in consequence of the same analogy. 
 
 Dr. Richardson proceeds to observe that " it is found only in 
 clear waters, and seems to delight in the most rapid part of 
 mountain streams. In the autumn of 18£0, we obtained many 
 by angling in a rapid of the Winter River, opposite to Fort 
 Enterprise. The sport was excellent, for this Grayling generally 
 springs entirely out of water when first struck by the hook, and 
 tugs strongly at the line, requiring as much dexterity to land it 
 safely as it would to secure a Trout of six times the size." 
 
 And this latter would be no small feat, since I find elsewhere 
 that the fish grows to five or six pounds' weight, greatly exceeding 
 his European congener, in size, as he does also in vigour and 
 brilliancy of colouring. 
 
 " The characters by which the Graylings are distinguished 
 from the Trouts,'' continues Dr. Richardson, " in the 7'effne animal, 
 are the smallness of the mouth, the fineness of the teeth, the 
 great size of the dorsal fin, and the largeness of the scales. The 
 stomach is a very thick sac ; the gill-rays are seven or eight in 
 number." 
 
 The colour of this beautiful fish is stated by the same author 
 to be as follows : — " Back dark ; sides of a hue intermediate 
 between lavender, purple, and bluish grey ; belly blackish grey 
 with several irregular whitish blotches. There are several 
 
DESCHIITION hF the (iKAYLlNO. 171 
 
 (iuailran|,'ular spots of Prussian-blue, on the anterior part of the 
 body, each tin<;inj; the margin of four ftdjoiuiu}; scales. The 
 head is hair brown above, the cheeks and ^ill-covers the same, 
 combined with purplish tints, and there is a l)lue mark on each 
 side of the lower jaw. The dorsal tin lias a blackish ^rey colour, 
 with some lighter blotches, and is crossed l)y rows of l)cautiful 
 Herlin-bluc spots ; it is edged with light lake-red. The ventrals 
 jire streaked with reddish and whitish lines in the direction of 
 their rays. 
 
 "The scales are covered witli a thickisli epidermis, consc- 
 (|ucntly having little lustre. 
 
 " The body is ct)mpressed, with an elliptical profile, the head, 
 when the mouth is shut, ending acutely, but when viewed from 
 above, or in front, the snout is obtuse. The greatest depth of 
 the body is scarcely onc-tiflh of tiie total length, excluding the 
 caudal, or one-seventh including it. (Jrbit large, distant half 
 its diameter from the snout, and two diameters from the edge 
 of the gill-cover. Nostrils midway between the orbit and the 
 tip of the snout. Mouth not cloven as far back as the edge of 
 the orbit. Intermaxillaries longer than in the Coret/oni, but 
 overlapping the articuhir end of the lal)ials less than in the 
 Trutta. Labials, thin elliptical plates, the posterior piece 
 lanceolate, and a-s broad as the anterior one. I ndcr jaw 
 tolerably strong and rounded at the tip. 
 
 "The teeth arc small, subulate, pointed, and slightly curved, 
 standing in a single scries on the intermaxillaries, in t\u) rows 
 on the palatines, and in clusters of six or seven on the vomer. 
 The tongue is smooth, but the pharyngeal bones and cartilagi- 
 nous rakers of the branelual arches arc rough. 
 
172 SALMONID^. 
 
 " Of the gill-covers, the pre-operculum has the form of a wide 
 moderately-curved crescent. The sub -operculum is more than 
 half the height of the operculum, not exceeding it in length. 
 Inter-operculum, small, and acute-angled. 
 
 " The dorsal fin has twenty-three rays ; the pectorals, fifteen ; 
 the ventrals, nine; the anal, thirteen : and the caudal, nineteen." 
 
 Although this exquisitely beautiful and very game fish is 
 not, as I have previously observed, properly speaking, a native 
 either of the United States or the British provinces, being only 
 found in the northern part of the unsettled regions of British 
 America, and the waters flowing from Great Slave Lake into the 
 Arctic Ocean ; still, so wonderfully are the facilities of travel 
 increasing through the west and north, and so great is the 
 enthusiasm of the Anglo-Norman race in all matters connected 
 with sporting and sportsmanship, that it by no means appears 
 to me impossible that, before many years have elapsed, the 
 lovers of the angle, whether of English or American bii'tli, will 
 be found casting the fly in the glass-clear rapids of the Winter 
 River, and the other waters of those untamed regions, for the 
 Arctic Grayhng, and the many beautiful species of Salmon that 
 are to be taken there. Nor would there I beheve be much more 
 risk or hardship attending the performance of such a sporting 
 tour, by a strong and well-found party, than was incurred, not 
 only without hesitation, but with alacrity and enthusiasm, by 
 the sporting gentlemen who crossed the Mississippi, in pursuit 
 of the elk and bufi'alo, at any time antecedent to the Black 
 Hawk war. 
 
 The excitement, the novelty, and, consequently, the charm of 
 such an expedition, would be indescribable; and as the brief 
 
Sl'oUTINi; TOIKS. 17. 5 
 
 summer of those re«;ions is ii« l)eautifiil as it is brief, wliilc tlie 
 sport.smua would be brouj^lit into eoutaet with an ciitirclv new 
 race of bcnsts, birds, and fish of elui.se, I ean iniaj^iiu' nothing; 
 that would better re|)ay the risk aud cuterprise of sueh an 
 expedition. 
 
 All the arranijenuMits of smh a tour eouhl be made with 
 {^jrcatest ea.se at Montreal, where every facility could he atlorded 
 to the tourists by the aj^ents of the fur companies, aiul when- 
 the whole of the necessary means are just as well understood. 
 aiul tlu' necessary outfit just as rasily procured, as are those for 
 a tishinj; excursion into llamilton Count v. in Xeu York, or for 
 a Maine Moose-hunt in Boston. 
 
 The prairies of tlie West have lon<; been explored as hunting; 
 •rrouuds, by the sportsnu'u of the old world as well as bv the 
 hunters and trappers of the new — the forests and deserts of 
 Southern Africa liavc afforded tlieir tropliiesof the savapjc race ; the 
 centml wilds of Abyssinia luivc surrendered their tierce denizens ; 
 the forests of Ceylon, and the dark jun^xles of the farthest India, 
 have become familiar hunting' ^'rounds to the I'^nj^dish sportsmen ; 
 ami I think it is scarcely to be doubted that before mauv years 
 have elapsed, tlie Swedish and Xorwepan rivers beiii^ alreadv 
 overfished, the votaries of the rod aiul reel from either side of 
 the Atlantic will be found whij)piu^' the yet \ir;;in streams of 
 the far north-west. 
 
 I*i>litical reasons, too, will ha\e their wei;xht in briu;^inj; about 
 such a consummation ; for the di.sturbed state of the continent 
 is already sufficiently alarming to deter the plcasnre-seekin}; 
 yachtJT from \i>itin}: his old liaunts in tlic soft and sunnv seas 
 of Southern Kuro|>r, while the stormier seas of the NNCstern 
 
174 SALMONIDJl. 
 
 World offer him peace at least and hospitality^ while on these 
 shores he will find sport, whether he affect the rifle or the rod, 
 far superior to what he has been used to enjoy on the eastern 
 continent. I have heard of one yacht already fitting out by 
 an enthusiastic English sportsman, with the intent of visiting 
 this very season the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the bays of Gaspe 
 and Chaleurs, and the wild shores of Prince Edward's Island ; 
 and that good sport to his utmost wish may follow the adven- 
 turous owner, must be the prayer of every generous son of the 
 gun or angle. 
 
Tin; SMKI.T Nt>T A S.MKl.'l 
 
 \V> 
 
 'nil. \ Ml. lilt AN SMKI.T. 
 
 «.*/iirriM i'lriil'.t.f-.ui l.jx mil, IIkka^, Ai..i> 
 
 All.riuail .Siiidt. 
 
 Tills liit;lily-j)ri/((l and delicious little fish docs not projjcrlv 
 rail witliin tiic angler's catalogue of Sportinj; l'i>lics, inasmuch as 
 it is quest ionaljlc, at least, whether it is ever taken \\itli the 
 liook ; I have heard it positively asserted that it has been 
 captured both with the fly and with its own roe, but I consider 
 the fact doubtful, to say no more — the fish having probably been 
 confounded with the Athcrinc or Sand- smelt, a small fish com- 
 monly known in this country as the Sparling, and much used 
 as a l)ait fish. This lisli, which a -rood deal resembles the true 
 Smelt, botii in appearance and liavonr, is of ;i dilfcniit order 
 and family, being of the ordci" .■lrti/i//iopfcri/i/ii, aiul famiU 
 Miu/Uidiv, bites freely and readily, and has prohabiv, as I 
 observcil, been mistaken by the unscirntific angler. 
 
 My object in dwelling on this delicate little fish is, firstly, to 
 correct a vulgar error which 1 find still prevalent with nuinv 
 |MT»ons, that the true Smelt is itientical with the Salmon Smalt, 
 and is, in fact, the fry «»f the Salmon at the commeneemeMf of 
 hia second ycur. 
 
 The absurdity of this is .Hutficiently evident fn)m the consichr- 
 
176 SALMONID^. 
 
 ation that the Salmon Smalt is an immature fish, which runs 
 down the rivers he inhabits in the spring, and returns in the 
 autumn a Grilse, as has been related above ; whereas the Smelt 
 enters the rivers perfectly mature, and full of spawn, running 
 up for the purpose of depositing its ova so soon as, or even 
 before, the streams are clear from ice, and returning a spent 
 fish in the autumn. It is a sub-genus of the genus Salmo, true, 
 — but as distinct from it as a roebuck from an elk. 
 
 My second object in devoting a page or two to this little fish, 
 is to call the attention of scientific men to the fact that there 
 are, in the United States, two distinct species of this fish : the 
 Common American Smelt [Osmerus Viridescens) , — which differs 
 from the European Smelt [Osmerus Eperlamis) in many parti- 
 culars, — and a much smaller and more highly-scented, as well as 
 highly-flavoured, variety, which I believe to be identical with 
 the European fish. 
 
 Some years since, before I thought of publishing on this 
 subject, I compared this smaller fish with the Eastern Smelt 
 [Osmerus Viridescens) of Lesueur, and, although I have unfor- 
 tunately lost the notes which I made at that time, and forgot 
 the specific difi'erences, except that the ventral fin in the smaller 
 fish was considerably farther forward than in the common fish, 
 I am certain of the fact that there were farther differences in the 
 number of the fin-rays, apart from the extraordinary difference 
 in size, which could not fail to strike the least observant. 
 
 This smaller fish, so far as I know or have heard, is never 
 taken but in the Passaic and Raritan Rivers; and in neither of 
 these is the large Smelt, common alike to the Eastern and the 
 Southern States, ever seen. I have observed and examined 
 
HAIUTS (»K TIIK SMKl.T. 1 77 
 
 many tliousaniU, by l)ushi'l hu.Nkrts-l'iill at a time, and liavc 
 never seen n Hsli exeectliuf; seven or eijjht inches in length 
 taken from the Passnie, the jjeneral nm not exceeding; six ; 
 wluTcas it is notorions that the American Smelt is rarely taken 
 less than ten or eh'ven. and thence npward to twelve and tittcen 
 inches. 
 
 Yarrel stall's of tlic lluropian Smelt, that they are occa- 
 sionally seen ten and eleven inches lon^j^, hot that this is an 
 nnnsnally large size. 
 
 He also describes their food, diniiii; their residence in fresli 
 water, as consisting of small ti^h. with crustaceons and testa- 
 ceous animals. In the Tay they are s;iid tn feed principally 
 upon the shrimp ; and I have heard it asserted hy persons of 
 iiitegrity, that they have been can^ht with the same bait near 
 Helleville, on the Pa.ssaic. 
 
 It was my intention to have institnted a toll examination 
 and comparison of these — which I am perfectly satisfied will 
 prove to he two distinct species — this la.st spring : bnt, nnfortu- 
 nately, I was necessarily absent from home dnring the very few 
 days of this season in which they were taken in the Passaic, 
 and lost the opportunity of doing so. The rnn of them is 
 becoming less and less numerous every successive sca-son. and 
 it is to be apprehended that ere hm^; they will cease to visit 
 us at nil. 
 
 I will remark here that the habit of the Knropean Sntelt in 
 Kngland i<« very capricious in regard to the rivers which he 
 honours with his presence. It is said that in Kngland the 
 Smelt i.^ never taken between Dover and Land's Knd ; on the 
 eastern side of the island it is taken from tlie Thames and 
 
 s 
 
178 SALMONID.E. 
 
 Medway to the Tay, and on the western, in the Solway, and so 
 far south only as the Mersey and the Dee. 
 
 A specific description of this well-known little fish would be 
 useless, as I am unable to furnish data of comparison between 
 the Smelt of the Raritan and Passaic Rivers in New Jersey and 
 the Osmerus Viridescens. 
 
 Before proceeding farther, I will merely observe that I am 
 well assured that it is generally believed that difierent species 
 of fish cannot be taken with the hook, merely for the reason 
 that no one has ever attempted so to take them ; at least, with 
 any bait at which there was the slightest possibility of their 
 rising. 
 
 I know that the Shad and the Herring, contrary to all 
 received opinion, can be taken with the fly ; and I have had 
 great sport myself with the latter fish, off" the pier of Fort 
 Diamond in the New York Narrows, catching them with a 
 gaudy peacock-fly, as fast as I could throw it in and pull 
 them out. 
 
 It would by no means surprise me to find that, during the 
 time when Smelt run up our streams, they may be taken freely, 
 either with a very small bright fly, or with morsels of shrimp or 
 pellets of their own roe, baited upon a number-twelve Limerick 
 Trout-hook, and thrown like a fly, on the surface. Should such 
 prove to be the case, they would affbrd very pretty light fishing 
 at a time when there is no other sport for the angler. 
 
l"".i« i.F TIIK <(.!». I7'.> 
 
 Till-; CAI'I.I.IN. 
 
 MttUittHM VUlotUS — Ci'VIRK. 
 
 Of this hciuitiriil little li>li, winch iiih:il)it> the lioithcni 
 seas oiilv, iicviM" romiii;,' hirthfr south than the shores of 
 Nova Scotia and New I >iuus\s iek, 1 am iiiiahle to oiler any 
 representation to my n-aders, ne\er having; seen a specimen or 
 en^'mvinj:. 
 
 He is very nearly ailiitl to tlie Smelts, from which he difTers 
 principally in the snuilhu-ss of his teeth. 
 
 He is stntetl in Mr. I'erley's report on the risherics of the 
 (Jnlf of St. Lawrence, to he "from fonr to seven inches in 
 len^^h, the nnder jaw lonfjcr tlian the npper, the colour of thi" 
 hack frrccnish, the nnder surface of the hody silvery. They 
 usually appear ahout Miscou and in the Bay of Chaleurs early in 
 .May; hut sometimes not until nearly the end of that month. 
 The Cod fishery does not commence until the arrival of the 
 Cnpelin, which continues near the shores until tlu" end of .Inly." 
 
 Mr. I'erley proceeds to state that, in consc(|ueiu'e of the 
 '■ wanton destruction of the proper food of the Cod, — llerrin;^ 
 and CajMlin, — which art taken in immense quantities, not lor 
 immediate eatitii:, or for eurint;, or ft»r hait, hut for manurin^r 
 the pround," tin- Co<l fishery is utterly decliuin;:, the fisheries 
 {;oinp to w.isfe, and the cstahlishments dcscrtetl and ^oiii-; 
 to ruin 
 
 " In a reprc"»entati<M>," In* ad«ls, " made to the Canadian 
 lc|;i!»lature hy a fisherman of (fiupr, it is .stated that this fi.Hher 
 
 N i 
 
180 SALMONID.E. 
 
 man had seen five hundred barrels of Capelin taken in one tide 
 expressly for manure ; and that he has also seen one thousand 
 barrels of Hen-ing caught at one time and not taken away, but 
 left to rot upon the beach." 
 
 It is in this connection that I have here enumerated the 
 Capelin ; for he cannot be taken with the hook, so far as I can 
 learn, and therefore is not game. But for Cod fishing, whether 
 with the deep-sea line, or the bultow, as it is called, or sea-line, 
 it is invaluable as a bait. Whenever it can be obtained, no 
 other should be used. 
 
 It is an exceedingly excellent fish, however, for the table, 
 possessing much of the flavour with the peculiar cucumber odour 
 of the Smelt. 
 
 This wanton and stupid destruction of all kinds of game, 
 whether feathered, finned, or furred, really appears to be a dis- 
 tinct characteristic of all the white inhabitants of America, 
 wheresoever they are to be found ; and it cannot be doubted that 
 ere long they will most bitterly regret the consequences of their 
 rapacity and wasteful folly. 
 
 In this case, the wantonness is the more remarkable, as well 
 as disgraceful, because, as Mr. Perley well remarks, " a boun- 
 tiful ProAddence has furnished the shores with inexhaustible 
 quantities of kelp and sea-weed, and other valuable manures, 
 which really enrich the soil, while it is admitted that the use of 
 fish greatly deteriorates it. 
 
 " The legislature of Canada has been strongly urged to make 
 it a misdemeanor, punishable by fine and imprisonment, for any 
 person to use either Herring or Capelin as manure, and such a 
 measure would seem to be highly desirable in New Brunswick. 
 
KKSTHrn'HtN OK TlIK (Al'Kl.lN. l^l 
 
 To be cttVctiM'. tlnTc should hr similar rpijulations on both .siilus 
 of the Bay of Clmleiu-s." 
 
 Doul)tless this is all \iry trui-, hut unt'tirtuiiately the Icj^is- 
 Inture of Canada is imieh too busy in j)ii.ssin«; bills (or the 
 nward ai' notorious niurtltTcrs and rrln-ls, and the opposition to 
 tlu- ministry mneh tuo l)M>>y in combatiu}; them, and striving to 
 ^et into oftiec again, to think of anythin<^ that eould benefit the 
 |tn)\nu'i', or tend to the good of any one except themselves and 
 their own innnediate partisans. 
 
 Their own had passions, and factious partisanship, and no ex- 
 terujil causes whatsoever, are the bane aiid curse of the C'anadas ; 
 but, after all, I suppose, it matters mighty little whether the 
 legislature pa>s such a law or no ; for no human being that I 
 ever heard of in America, whether British or of the United 
 States, ever dreamed of obeying the game law, except exactly iu 
 so far as suited his own convenience. So I presume the doom 
 of the Capelin, and ultimately of the Cod, may be considered 
 sealed. 
 
1S3 SALMONID.E. 
 
 THE WHITE EISH. 
 
 ATTIHAWMEG. 
 
 Congonus Alius — Lesueur, Clvier. 
 
 This and the succeeding fish are the last two of the Salmon 
 family, and the only two of their own peculiar sub-genus 
 found within the limits of the United States and British 
 provinces, although there are several other species in the Arctic 
 regions. 
 
 In Europe they have several equivalents which are generally 
 known as Lavarets ; of these are the well-known British species 
 the Gwyniad, the Vendace, and the Powan, of England and 
 Scotland, and the Pollan of Ireland, all closely connected, 
 and yet perfectly distinct from the analogous fish of America. 
 
 Here, unfortunately, these fine fish have no names at all, 
 save the trivial designations or absurd misnomers given to 
 them by the first rude settlers of the regions in which they 
 are found. 
 
 The fish of which we are now speaking is probably the most 
 delicious of all the purely fresh-water varieties ; for such to all 
 
U A HITS AND MM NTS. 1 S-i 
 
 iiitt'uts imil pur|)oscs it is, hm h tjible li^ll, Inr il is uol t'uuiul 
 within thf limits of civilisaitioii, except in tlie hikes above the 
 Falls of Niajjara, which preclude the |»t)ssil)ility of coniinuiiica- 
 tioii with the sea. It is, ImwrMr, toiiiid in the ( 'oppcniiiiie, tlu- 
 Mackenzie, ami otlu-r ii\eis uhith tall into the .\retic Sea, and 
 can " prohahlv live indiiri-ientiy," as |)r. Kiihardson observes, 
 " on fresh or salt water, like sr\iral species of Trntta and 
 Curct/oiii, that occasioualiy w.uuk-r to the sea, althoni^h they are 
 not strictly ainidronious." 
 
 It is clai'.netl by the inhabitants of that portion of the State 
 of New York that the finest White Fish of tlu- whole western 
 country are taken in ('hatan(|ue Lake, a snndl mountain tarn 
 situated some hundretl feet above Lake Kric, and formin-j; one of 
 the sources of the Allejihany River. I doubt not the superiority 
 of the C'hataucjue Lake White Fish to the same species taken in 
 the shallow, muildy, and turbulent waters of Lake Krii- ; but 1 
 entirely disbelieve in its beinj; able to sustain comparison with 
 that of the clear, di-ep, and eoKl waters of Lake Huron, \> here 
 it is found of the greatest size, and in, as I understand, the 
 ;;reatcst jHirfectiou. 
 
 " It is," .says Richardson, " a ri<h, fat fish, yet instead of pro- 
 duciu}; satiety, it becomes daily more aj^reeable to the palate ; 
 anil I know from expericnci', that, thou{?h deprive*! of bread ami 
 vegetables, one may live wholly upon this lish for nu)nths, or 
 even years, witliout tiring." 
 
 " In Octoljcr," observes the same author, " tlie Attihawmcg" 
 — this is its appellntion among the Cree ludians, and it were 
 most desirable that in the absence of any correct Knglish nomen- 
 clature the aboriginal names could be adopted- tpiits tin 
 
184 SALMONID^. 
 
 lakes, and enters the rivers for the purpose of spawning. It 
 ascends the streams in the night-time, and returns to the lake 
 as soon as it has spawned. Dr. Todd informed me that it enters 
 the Severn River from Lake Huron about the 25th of October, 
 and retires to the depths of the lake again by the 10th of 
 November ; but that, in some rapid rocky rivers of that lake, 
 indi"vdduals are taken throughout the year. A few spawn in the 
 summer. It is a gregarious fish, and resorts to different parts 
 of a lake, according to the season of the year, its movements 
 being in all probability regulated by its supply of food. In 
 winter the fisheries are generally established in deep water, 
 remote from the shore; toward the breaking up of the ice, they 
 are moved near to the outlets of the lake ; and in the summer 
 comparatively few Attihawmeg are caught, except what are 
 speared in the rivers. After the spawning period, the fall 
 fishery, as it is termed, is more productive in shallow bays and 
 on banks near the shore. I was informed in the fur countries, 
 that tliis fish preys on insects, and that it occasionally, though 
 rarely, takes a hook baited with a small piece of meat. Dr. Todd 
 found fresh-water shells and small fishes in the stomachs of the 
 Lake Huron Attihawmeg ; indeed, shelly mollusca — Helix, 
 Planorbis, Lymneus, Paludina, &c. — appear to be a favourite 
 food of several Trout and Coregoni, both in Europe and 
 America.'' 
 
 The fact of the Attihawmeg feeding on shell-fish is greatly 
 corroborated by the circumstance of its differing from all the 
 other known Coregoni in the extraordinary thickness of its 
 stomach, which resembles the gizzard of a fowl ; the same being 
 the case with the Gillaroo or shell-fish eating; Trout of the Irish 
 
DESCRIPTION (iK THK ATTIHAWM KtJ. | •>:, 
 
 loclis ; Jiiul, 1 have littU' douht, with the frjib-ciitiii^ Trout ol' 
 the Mnrshpee ri\er in this e«)iuitr\. 
 
 To the exeelh'iiee ot" the \N hite Fish, I eau liear perxjiial ti's- 
 timony when on the tiibh", hut 1 have nevir had an op|)ortunit\ 
 of examining it ; and I am nuU'hted for the dcvcription l)elo\v 
 to the '"Fauna Horeali-Auierieana," of thi- autlior 1 have so often 
 quoted. 
 
 I am informed that this tish is t)ceiisionully taken \>y persons 
 engaj^ed in trolling; for tlie liake Trout, or thro\\in^' the fiv tor 
 the Bhick Bass {Gnjsfes Nir/rican^), nor ean I at all douht that 
 were Ids luihits properly observed and carelully studied hv a 
 scientific anjiler, judj^inj:; from what has been stated above in 
 relation to his food, he mi;:ht be taken with the iiook with as 
 much certainty as any other of the lake lish, unless, perhaps, 
 the IJlaek Bass, and he would assuredly show pjreat sport at the 
 end of a lonj; line, bein«; both a powerful and active fish. 
 
 The avcra;;e weight of this tish appears to be three or four 
 pounds, but, when ven.' fat, it is often taken up to seven or eight; 
 and in particular localities it attains a much greater size, having 
 been caught in Lake Hurou of thirteen or fonrtecMi, aiul in [jake 
 N[nnito, it is said, of twenty. 
 
 One of seven pounds, caught in Lake Huron, measured twenty- 
 seven inches in length. 
 
 In form, the .Vttihawnicg is very deep in comparison to its 
 length ; one of the ordinary size, taken in Pine Lsland liake. 
 measuring as five to seventeen, exclusive of the eaudal fin ; but 
 when vcr}* fat, its di*pth is as one to three. 
 
 The bo<ly is compressed, InMUg much less tiiick than de(j). 
 The head i«« narrow al)ove, with a moderateh wi(l(> frontal 
 
186 SALMONID^. 
 
 bone^ aud formiug oue-fifth of the length, excluding the 
 caudal. 
 
 The eyes are large, and situated a little more than a diameter 
 of the orbit from the tip of the snout, and nearly thrice as 
 far from the edge of the gill-plate. The nostrils are placed 
 mid-way between the orbit and the snout. The snout is 
 blunt when seen in front, but its profile is more acute. The 
 mouth has a small orifice, but, when shut, its angles are 
 depressed. 
 
 The jaws and tongue are furnished with a few teeth, which 
 are too minute to be readily seen by the naked eye, and too 
 slender to be very perceptible to the finger. The vomer and 
 palate are quite smooth. 
 
 Of the gill-covers, the pre-operculum is sharply curved, and 
 rather broad ; its width, in the middle, equalling the height of 
 the suh-operculum. The operculum measures one-third more 
 vertically than it does horizontally ; while, on the contrary, the 
 suh-operculum is twice as long as it is high. The inter -operculum 
 is triangular. The branchial arches have each a single row of 
 erect subulate rakers, a quarter of an inch long, and rough on 
 their inner surfaces. The pharyngeal bones are inconspicuous 
 and toothless. 
 
 The scales are large, irregularly orbicular, and about half an 
 inch in diameter, with a bright pearly lustre. 
 
 Colour, in the shade, bluish grey on the back, lighter on the 
 sides, and white on the belly, giving place to a nacry and 
 iridescent pearly lustre in a full Hght. Cheeks, opercula, and 
 irides, thickly covered with nacre. 
 
 Fins : branchiostegous rays, eight ; dorsal, fifteen ; pectoral, 
 
i>Ksri{ii''rii>N Ml' TiiK AiriiiAW.MKc. Is; 
 
 sixteen; vtntrul, iIcm-m ; aii.il, tit'tciii ; (Miidiil, iiiiu'tcm and 
 seveII-s^^l•ntll^. Tlic ailipuM- tin i>r:ithtr lar^c, uud >>itu:itr(l 
 oppositi" the UrinuiiitioM ot* the anal. I'lic landal is forked and 
 spreads wiilciy. 
 
 It is, III siiort, a \t TV liiantilnl lisli, and no Itss iiM't'iil tlian it 
 i> lu-antilnl and dtlici()ii>. allordiii;,' tlic |iriiici|ial >iil)>'i>tciift' to 
 st'Viral Indian liordis, and l)i'iiiir (lie main ri'liaiuT of niaiiv ot 
 tlif tiir posts tor ci^jit or niiu- niontiis uttlic viar. flu' Mip[)lv of 
 otiiir artic'lfs of diet heini; scanty and casual. 
 
 I shall rejoice to liarn hercaitcr that it inav turn out, as 1 
 inori- than suspect it may, as i^reat a sourci- of pleasure to the 
 anirh-r, as it is of [)rolit to the fur-tradi-r anil the \oyai;enr. 
 
188 SAI.MONID.E. 
 
 THE OTSEGO BASS. 
 
 OTSEGO LAVARET. 
 
 Coregmius Otsego — Dekay. Salmo Otstgo — Dewitt Clinton. 
 
 Through the kindness of my esteemed friend,, Mr. Cooper, 
 of CooperstowUj I have had an opportunity, during this present 
 spring, of carefully examining and dissecting this exceedingly 
 beautiful and interesting fish, as well as of testing its qualities on 
 the table. 
 
 It is very closely cognate to the last-mentioned species, but is 
 unquestionably distinct ; differing in size, form, in the number 
 of fin-rays, slightly in the gill-covers, and so far as I could dis- 
 cover without a microscope, entirely in the dental system. 
 
 Although a deep fish, it is not nearly so much so as the Atti- 
 hawmeg ; the finest specimen which 1 inspected, measuring 
 eighteen and a half inches in length, and ten inches in circum- 
 ference at the origin of the dorsal fin ; the depth at the 
 same point was a fraction under four inches, not being much 
 less than a fifth of the whole length, including the dorsal. The 
 gill-covers diff'ered in form, in having the posterior free margin 
 
llvniTS AM) IIAI'NTS. IHO 
 
 more cnrvod, and k'ss vertical, the operculum less Iul'Ii in pro- 
 portion to its len^jth, niul the Hub-opercnlum more so. The snout 
 was sharper and lonj^er, and the hd)ial plates shallower in pro- 
 portion to their len<:th. 
 
 The hranchiostefjous rays were eight on one side, nine on the 
 other ; the dorsal fin-rays, thirteen ; the pectoral, seventeen ; the 
 ventral, eleven ; the anal, eleven ; and the caudal, twt-nty-two. 
 
 I examined tlu' mouth as minutely as I I'ould without the aid 
 of a glass, and neither hy my eye nor my finger could I detect 
 the vestige of a tooth on the niaxillaries, interniaxillaries, tongue, 
 palate, or vonu-r. the latter ])arts heiniz of a pearly whiteness, 
 and as smooth as glass. 
 
 The pharyngeal hones were also toothless, hut the hranchial 
 arclies were armed with erect rakers, precisely as descrihed in 
 the last-named species. 
 
 The colours of this fish were the most beautiful, lustrous, and 
 brilliant, that I ever witnessed — the back, of a rich iridescent 
 blue, changing to greenish ; the sides, cheeks, and friii-eovtMs, 
 glittering like mother-of-pearl, and the ])elly sparkliu;,' like 
 molten silver ; the tins, of a bluish green ; the caudal xcry 
 deeply forked; the lateral line lu'arly straight. 
 
 This exquisite and beautiful fish, so far as is known, is found 
 only in the Otsego Lake, the head waters of the Susquehana 
 Kiver; but it wouhl be vcr}' curious to compare it with the 
 so-called White Fish of ('hatau(juc Lake, a locale very similar to 
 the Otsego, e(|ually cut off from commtinieation with other 
 waters, and at about an equal elevation above tide-water. I 
 greatly suspect that the Coregoni of these two mountain lochs 
 would prove identical. 
 
190 SALMONID.E. 
 
 The habits of the Otsego Lavaret are but little known. It is 
 gregarious^ however, and rushes in vast shoals, early in spring, 
 to all the shallow waters and shores of the lake, for a few days, 
 during which he is taken in vast numbers ; after that time he 
 retires to the coldest depths of the lakes, and is seen no more 
 until autumn, when he again makes his appearance for the 
 purpose, it is supposed, of spawning, although the period at 
 which the ova are deposited does not appear to be clearly ascer- 
 tained, nor whether the spawning-beds are in the shoal waters 
 of the lake, or at the mouth of its feeders. 
 
 It is lamentable to think, though but too true, that through 
 the wanton improvidence of the early settlers, who dealt with 
 this delicious fish much as the New Brunswickers do with the 
 Capelin, literally, I believe, feeding their hogs with them, they 
 have already visibly declined in magnitude, as well as decreased 
 in number. 
 
 They were formerly taken, weighing up to four pounds ; but 
 now, the half of that weight is regarded as an unusually fine 
 fish. The specimen which I have described above weighed 
 two pounds and three ounces, and was an uncommonly well-fed 
 and delicious fish. 
 
 With regard to their food, I can say nothing definitely; 
 the stomachs of those which I examined contained nothing 
 but a blackish earthy substance, which resembled decayed 
 vegetable matter, and some small fragments of worms, or larvse 
 of insects. 
 
 I observed no thickening of the stomach, nor anything 
 which seemed to indicate their feeding on any shell-fish or 
 molluscse. 
 
("KiiKnii'V <<V MISNuMKKS. H'l 
 
 Mr. Cot)j)cr informs inc tlial lie rccolli-cts l)ut asinirli' iiistaiifc 
 of one of these Hsli beiii^ taken widi a bait. Tlic tly, howcvt-r, 
 luijrlit jmssibly prove more successful. 
 
 'I'lu' mrity, excellence, and peculiarity of the Otsego Lavaret 
 entitle him to a place, ii.s well us the nohle raei- of which he is a 
 nicmher, thonirh in some dejrree (lestitutt> of the irame (pialifies 
 of his order. My prineipal oljjeet, however, in iiit rodueiii^ liiin 
 In this place was, lirst, to present the whole fainily of Ameiiean 
 SalmonidfE to my reackM's, as complete as jjossihle ; ami secondly, 
 to reclaim with all my mitrht ajr:iinst the absurdity of eallin*; 
 tins fish n Hnss, of the family l\ rriihr, to which it has neither 
 reseml)hinc(> nor kindred. 
 
 Thi.s absurdity, if possible, is rendered more flagrant by thi' 
 fact that tliere is yet another fish, as distinct from this as pos- 
 sible, (lesi{:^nate(l as tlic Oswej^o Hass, thou«;l> it is no Mass 
 either, but a Corviua, of tin; famdy i)( Sric/iidtP, called also the 
 Lake Sheep's-head, which, from the similarity of title, is fre- 
 (piently confouiuled with this Corci/fnius or Tiavaret, and als(» 
 with the Hlack Hass of the St. Lawrence, which, for tiio 
 third time, is not properly a Hass (Grystvs Xii/rira/isi, and 
 which is a;xain, throu;jh the similarity of names, eontused with 
 tlic Sea Hass {('r/ifrnjiris/cs Xii/rirdiis), who is alxi l)lunderin;4l\ 
 called niack Hass. So that we have actually four TinIi, as differ- 
 ent one from the other as any four thinj,'s eau be, all binndered 
 up together in confusion worse confounded, owing to the timi- 
 dity of naturalists lu-sitating to alter a nuHuonier originating in 
 the ignorance of those who were naturally ignorant. Tin' 
 scientific name and chnracteristies of this fish are wc 11 estab- 
 lishctl, as i'oreynnuit (Jtnt'ffo, the Knglish of whicli, beintr inter- 
 
192 SALMONIDiE. 
 
 preted, is '^ the Otsego Lavaret." And now, why should not 
 the stupid blunder of Bass be consigned to the oblivion which 
 it deserves, and the true appellation be applied to the fish, an 
 appellation which assigns to this the last, not least, of the 
 American Salmonida, a local habitation and a name ? 
 
FAMILY «>K Tin: slI.tlUDi;. 
 
 I'J.i 
 
 ISlLUlUDJv 
 
 — ♦ — 
 
 Tin: f\T-risii. 
 
 /luroH Pimrli>t{r. Silumii, J'liii'liiilii.t, i',rni)*>i» Ririimi)so>. 
 
 f'hannrl f«t-»t«h. 
 
 I'll IS siu'jtilar and hideous family of tislics is distinguislicd 
 from the others of the same order, by the skin being either 
 nnkcd or protected by lar<;e phites, but always destitute of true 
 scales. The interniaxillaries are suspendi'd under the ethmoid 
 bone, and form the border of the \ipper jaw, «hile the labials 
 are lenj^'thened out into barbi-ls, or are dimply rudiniental ; it 
 has, also, a seeoud adipose dorsal tin. First r;iys of the dorsal 
 and pectoral tin spinous. 
 
 This fnniily contnins twenty-five or thirty species peculiar to 
 Americn, which are peneraily known n.s Cnt-fisli, Bull-heads, 
 Bull-j)outs, &e. They inhabit the Inrfjer lakes and rivers espe- 
 cially, but arc found in all tin- waters of North America. 
 
 o 
 
194 SILURID^. 
 
 The commonest and the largest species both belong to the 
 subgenus Pimelodus, and are well known as Cat-fish. The ordi- 
 dinary kind measuring only a few inches in length, and never 
 exceeding a few ounces' weight ; the largest reaching a hundred 
 or even a hundred and fifty pounds, especially in the great 
 northern lakes, and in the western rivers. The great Huron 
 Pimelode, or, as it is often called, the Channel Cat-fish, which 
 is the largest of the family, is thus described by Richardson. 
 
 "Profile oval, tapering into the tail. Head broadly oval, 
 forming two-ninths of the total length. Orbits small, and 
 nearer to the snout than to the gill-openings. Nostrils situate 
 some distance before the eye. A slender barbel, half an inch 
 long, springs from their posterior margin. Snout obtuse. 
 Labials ending in a tapering barbel, which is an inch and a 
 quarter long, and reaches to the gill-opening; there are also 
 two slender barbels, one on each side of the chin. Both jaws 
 are armed with a brush-like band of short teeth. The palate 
 and vomer are smooth. In this genus the sub-operculum is 
 wanting ; the pre-operculum is attached to the operculum by 
 bone, and can be traced by its elevated ridge. The inter-oper- 
 culum cannot be traced through the skin. There are nine gill- 
 rays. The gill-openings are rather narrow. The dorsal rays 
 are — one spinous, seven soft ; second dorsal, adipose. Pectorals, 
 one spinous, eight soft ; ventrals, eight ; anals, twenty-four ; 
 caudals, seventeen. 
 
 The skin is smooth, thick, adipose, and lubricated by a mucous 
 secretion. The colour is a dingy greenish brown above, and 
 dirty white below. The flesh is very rich and gelatinous, and 
 not dissimilar either in quality or flavour to that of the Eel. In 
 
•-i'r.( US mk ivT-iKii 105 
 
 some places it is cstceiut-d u j^reat ilelicuoy. All tlic Cat-tish an- 
 greedy biters, and will take nlinost any animal substance as a 
 bait. After beinj; hookeil, however, although they are powerful 
 lish, and pull hard for a while, it is y(>t a dead lu:; entirely: 
 unlike the livi-ly and tierce nsistanee of the Trouts and 
 Perches; and they afl'oid in truth very little real sport ti) the 
 angler. 
 
 Seven species of this \U\\ ari- (jnotiil by M. Lc Sueur as 
 belonging to Lakes Erie, Ontario, ami their tributary waters, 
 besides many other varieties in the soutlicrn and western waters, 
 where it grows to a yet more enormous size. 
 
 There is, however, so little diUcrencc either in the appearance 
 or habits of this filthy, niuddoving and hideous fish, that the 
 description of one species must serve for all. 
 
 The cut at the head of this article represents the great Cat- 
 tish, or Huron Piinclode. 
 
 The {Si/iirus Glunis), Sly Silurus, or Sheat-fisli, is tlu- largest 
 fresh-water tish of Europe, growing, it is said, to six feet in 
 length, and attaining to three huiulred weight. 
 
 Dr. Smith includes this species of Si/un/.s in the tishes of 
 Massachusetts, and l)r. I'lint attributes it to tlu; Ohio and 
 Mississippi, both evidently confounding it «ith the \ari(jus 
 indigenous Pimclodcs, which it greatly resembles. It ditfcrs 
 from the American Pimclodcs in having the anal tin extremely 
 long, extending almost the whole distance from the extremity 
 of the ventral to the ••ritrin of the caudal fin. 
 
196 FAMILY OF THE CYPRINID^. 
 
 CYPRINID^. 
 
 THE COMMON CARP. 
 
 Cyprinus Carpio — Linn^us, Cuvier. 
 
 Of this family, Cyprinidx, the principal characteristics are a 
 mouth slightly cleft ; weak, and generally toothless jaws ; 
 pharyngeal bones strongly dentated ; one dorsal fin ; branchial 
 rays few in number ; to which may be added large fleshy lips, 
 and bodies covered with large scales. 
 
 It comprises eighty or ninety well-known American species, 
 not one of which is worthy of notice, as either a fish of sport or 
 a dainty. There are in America no Carps proper, indigenous 
 to the country — no Barbels — no Cobitis, or loaches. Leucisci, 
 analogous to, though by no means — as stated by Dr. J. V. C. 
 Smith, of Massachusetts — identical with the Chub, Roach, 
 Dace, and Bleak of Europe, are found in abundance under the 
 above names, but still more commonly as Shiners. The genus 
 Abramis, Bream, has again several representatives in the waters 
 of North America, but none either of this or the last subgenus 
 can attain to dimensions which lead the angler to trouble him- 
 self about them, unless it be as bait for other fish, as Pike and 
 Perch, for which purpose several of these fish are better 
 
Sl'KClEb uK CAKl*. IU7 
 
 mlapted than those of any other fiimily, nnlcss it be the youn}^ 
 fry of the Salinoniilte, while in their l*arr form. 
 
 In lieu of those {ijenern, however, whieh exist in Englanil ami 
 on the eontiuent of Europe, but entirely laek Anu*riean repre- 
 sentatives, several prevail here whieh arc totally wanting in 
 Kurope, as the genus Labeo, the genus Catastumun, Suckers, or 
 Sucking Carp, many varieties of which are founil throughout 
 the waters of the Initeil States and Canada, from north to 
 south, and many species of Hydrarijyra, analogous to the 
 European Minnow. 
 
 Sevcnd of these laat species are of great interest to the 
 naturalist, the ('utdsfoini, or Snekers especially, from the sni- 
 gular formation of their mouths, which are situated far below 
 and posterior to the tip of the snout, and furnished with 
 crimped and pendant labials, adapted for the deglutition of 
 vegetable substances and even of nnul ; biit to the sj)ortsman 
 they are of no account, as they do not take the bait, and are 
 worth little as bait themselves, while, l)y the epicure, they are 
 justly held in utter scorn. 
 
 The truth is, that nowhere under the canopy of heaven are 
 the genus Cypr'mus worthy to be accounted Sporting Fishes, and 
 nowhere are they eatable — not even excepting the Carp and 
 Tench of Euroiw; — unless with the aid and appliances of a most 
 careful cuisine, and l)y dint of stewing in claret, with condi- 
 ments and spices, garlic and forcemeat balls, and anchovies, 
 such as might convert a kid glove, or the sole of a reasonably 
 tender India-rubber slioc into delicious esculents. 
 
 The shyness of the Carp in biting, the great size of the 
 T^enm and nnrbcl. and even in some waters of the Chub, 
 
198 CYPKlNlDiE. 
 
 induce bottom-fishing anglers at home to take some pleasure in 
 their pursuit and capture, but that is invariably in such slow 
 and sluggish waters as contain no gamer or more delicate fish ; 
 and the duU, loggy^ watery fish themselves, and the cockney 
 punt-fishers, who aspire to take them, are held in about equal 
 esteem, or disesteem, by those who know what it is to throw a 
 long line lightly, with a cast of flies, for the vigorous-speckled 
 Trout, or to spin, or even troll, with the parr or minnow, for 
 the savage and voracious Pike or Salmon. 
 
 In America, none of the Leucisci, Chub, Roach, Dace, or 
 Shiners, and none of the Abramis, Bream, exceed five or six 
 inches in length, and consequently are never subjects of more 
 serious pursuit than the holiday crooked-pin and angle-worm 
 fishing of school-boys. They are the detestation of the Trout 
 bottom-angler, constantly nibbling away his bait, and tantalising 
 him with vain hopes of a bite. 
 
 Of this family, therefore, so far as the true American genera 
 are concerned, no notice need be taken in a sporting work, 
 except as relates to two or three little fishes, to which I shall 
 devote a few lines each, as being excellent bait for all the larger 
 and bolder fishes. 
 
 Within the last few years, however, two European varieties 
 have been introduced, and have become entirely naturalised in 
 some of our waters. The Gold Carp {Cyprinus Aiiratus of Lin- 
 nseus and Cuvier), or common Gold and Silver Fish of China, in 
 the Schuylkill, and in some streams of Massachusetts, and the 
 Common Carp of Europe, whose title stands at the head of this 
 paper, in the Hudson, especially in the vicinity of Newburgh. 
 
 The former of these little fish is, indeed, unworthy of notice. 
 
Tin: (AIM' IN Tin: in dsun. liH) 
 
 except as an omaiiunial fish, to be kci)t in garden tanks and 
 fonntains ; bnt the other being nineh, though 1 must confess in 
 my opinion untlrsfrvvdty, esteenied in Kuiope, and having been 
 deemed wortliy of legishitive enactments for his protection l)y 
 the State of New \ork, I >h;ill proceed to (h'seril)e as a species, 
 which, within a year or two at the farthest, will come within 
 the American angler's list of game. 
 
 The mode of this fish's introduction into Aincriean waters is 
 as follows: — Cai)tain Hobiiison, who has a tine place iiniiie- 
 diately on the banks ot the Hudson liver, containing some line 
 Hsli-ponds, between Newbiu"gh ami New Windsor, imported 
 some years since a (jnantity of ("arp at considerable expense, 
 I believe from Holland, where the species is very abundant and 
 very tine in cpiality. His ponds were soon admirably stocked; 
 but in process of time a heavy freshet carried away his dams 
 and tlood-gatcs, and a very large proportion of his Carj) escaped 
 into the Hudson, This fact being represented to the legis- 
 hiture of the State, a penal enactment was passed, heavily 
 mulcting any person w jio should lake any one of these Hudson 
 KivcrCarp, at any seas()n or under any circumstances until after 
 the expiration of five years from the passing of the net. 
 
 The provisions of this bill have been striitly enforced: several 
 |>cr8ons have been fined, and the lish is now extremely abundant. 
 
 I cannot here, in relating these circumstances, control myself, 
 but must invoke the contempt and indignation of (?verv gentle 
 sportsman, ever)' rea.sonablc thinking man, upon the heads of 
 that ignorant, motley, and dfstructivf assemblage, which is 
 entitled the Senate and AsM-mbly of New ^ Ork. Tor the last 
 fifteen years not r session lia.s pn-sscd without the strenuous iind 
 
200 CYPRINID^. 
 
 sustained attempts of the most echicated and most influential 
 gentlemen of the State, both of the city and the agricultural 
 counties, to induce the faineant demagogues of that assembly to 
 take some measure to prevent the total extinction, within that 
 very county of Orange, of some of the noblest species of game 
 in existence, indigenous to that region, and once abundant, but 
 already scarce, and within twenty years certain to be lost alto- 
 gether, through the mal-practices of their destroyers, the errors 
 of the existing game-laws, and the difiiculty of enforcing them 
 in their present state. 
 
 It is quite unnecessary to state that these efi'orts were wholly 
 ineffectual — that it was found impossible to induce those learned 
 Thebans to do anything to prevent American Woodcock from 
 being shot before they are fledged, and American Brook Trout 
 from being caught upon then' spawning beds; but that no 
 sooner is a coarse, watery, foreign fish accidentally thrown into 
 American waters, than it is vigorously and effectively protected, 
 which protection was merely granted I believe to enable 
 " a facetious member of the legislature," as he is styled by the 
 learned Dr. Bethune in his fine edition of "Walton's Angler, to 
 draw a witty comparison between the naturalisation of " scaly 
 foreigners" and Irish voters. I dare say the " facetious member" 
 was not devoid of hopes that the scaly foreigners would some 
 day or other vote for him. 
 
 It is impossible to feel anything but contempt for such 
 unutterable blockheadism, while it is equally impossible to 
 expect anything better, after their recent exhibitions in the 
 legislatorial line, from such a body as the New York Houses of 
 Assemblv. 
 
DKSCKIl'TloN (»K TIIK CAICI'. :.'Ul 
 
 Siiui', however, tlic'ir wistloni lias prououuccd tliat lit'iiccfortli 
 the Carp is tu he a game tish of America, I shall proceed to 
 descrihe this "scaly foreijjtuT," thus naturalised with a live 
 yeairs' exemption from liability to capture, in the waters of 
 1 lud^ou's ri\i'r. 
 
 The lluropeau ("arp is oru* of tlu> lish wliich has hccii the 
 lon«;cst known and esteemed, heintr mentioned hy Ari>totle and 
 Pliny, althou^di they do not at that period ap|)ear to have 
 attained their present celebrity. They are found in most of 
 the lakes anil rivers of l]iu"ope. but thrive best in the more 
 ti'mpcrate southern districts, degenerating; when thev are 
 carrieil fartlicr north. It is said that in Russia they arc even 
 now unkiu)wn. " Their growth," says .^^r. Varrel, " is, however, 
 particularly cultivated in Austria and Prussia, and consid.'rable 
 tratVic in ('ar{) prevails in various parts of the European 
 continent, where an acre of water will let for as much vearlv 
 rent as an acre of land, and where fresh-water fishes, as articles 
 of food, are lield in higher estimation th.in in this country" — 
 Mr. \ arrel means Kngland, l)ut the observation is even more 
 applicable to tin- I nited States than to (ireat Britain. 
 "Carp," he continues, "are said to live to a great age, even 
 to one hundred and titty or two hundred years ; l)nt they 
 lose their rich colour — their scales, like the productions of 
 the cuticle in some other animals, becoming grey and white 
 with age." 
 
 The exact period of the introduction of the Carp to England 
 is unknown, but it is mcntioucd in the " Hoke of St. Albans." ])y 
 liady Juliana IJcnjers, printed in I UMi, and the great pro- 
 l)ability is that it was naturalised from the continent, probably 
 
202 CYPRINID^. 
 
 from the Low Countries, or Austria, previous to the suppression 
 of the monastic institutions. 
 
 The Carp thrives best in ponds or lakes, and in such parts 
 of rivers a8 have a slow, lazy current, and a muddy or marshy 
 bottom. 
 
 " They are very prolific," I again quote from Mr. Yarrel, 
 " breeding much more freely in lakes and ponds than in rivers. 
 Bloc found six hundred thousand ova in the roe of a female of 
 nine pounds' weight, and Schneider seven hundred thousand in 
 a fish of ten pounds' weight. They spawn toward the end of 
 May, or the beginning of June, depending on the temperature 
 of the water and the season ; and the ova are deposited upon 
 weeds, among which the female is followed by two or three 
 males, and the fecundation of a large proportion of the ova is 
 by this provision of nature effectually secured ; but they both 
 breed and grow much more freely in some waters than in others, 
 without any apparent or accountable cause." 
 
 The Carp, and indeed the whole family of Cyprinida, are the 
 least voracious of all fishes, and the least addicted to animal 
 food, the larvse of insects, worms, the softer and more gelatinous 
 parts of aquatic plants, and even vegetable mud, furnishing 
 them with ample subsistence. During the winter, it is believed 
 that they eat little or nothing, and lie, lialf torpid, in the mud. 
 They are extraordinarily tenacious of life, and can be kept alive 
 in a cool place for many days, and even weeks, if placed in wet 
 moss, and fed on bread steeped in milk. This peculiarity 
 renders them very easy of transportation. 
 
 They are slow of groAvth, not arriving at the weight of ten 
 pounds before their sixth year; they arrive, however, ultimately 
 
DHSCKIITION oF TIIK CAKl'. lIU.J 
 
 at a very <;rcut size, lmviii<; been taken up to eighteen pounds, 
 at wliieli ultiniuni they are ntarly as broad as they arc h)Ji;r, 
 nieasuriui; thirty iuelies in len;,'th by twenty-two or three in 
 depth. 
 
 " Tliey are in season for tlie tabk'," says Yarrell, once more, 
 " from October to April, and are greatly inikdjtcd to cooks for 
 the estimation in whieh tluy an- held. 
 
 *' Tlie mouth is small ; no a[)[)arent teeth ; a l)arl)ule or eirrus 
 at the up[)er part of each eorni-r of the mouth, with a second 
 smaller one above it on each side; the nostrils are large, pierced 
 at the second-thiril of the distance between the lip and the eye. 
 Tlie eye is small : the operculum marked with striie radiating 
 from the anterior edge ; nape and back rising suddenly. The 
 dorsal tin-rays arc twenty-two in nundjcr ; the pectorals, seven- 
 teen; ventral.s, nine; candals, nineteen. The first dorsal tin-ray 
 is short and bony, the second also bony and strongly serrated 
 posteriorly. The first anal lin-ray is also bony and serrated 
 posteriorly. The tail forked, the longest rays as long again as 
 those of the centre. The caudal rays of the two halves of the 
 tail always nneiiuHl in ninnbcr in the Cyprinldw. The body 
 covered with large scales, about twelve rows between the ventral 
 and dorsal tins; the general colour golden olive brown, head 
 darkest; irides golden; belly yellowish white; lateral lini- 
 interrupted, straight. Fins, dark brown." 
 
 This fish \s very well adapted for keeping in muddy stew-ponds, 
 where he wdl Ijcainic very fat, and can be used with advantage. 
 when no other fish is to he procured. 
 
204 CYPKINID^. 
 
 THE AMERICAN HOACH. 
 
 Leuciscus Urtilus ? 
 
 The American E/Oach is a pretty, lively little fish, common to 
 most of tlie ponds and small running streams of the Middle and 
 Northern States, and is closely analogous to the Em'opean fish 
 of the same name, although it never approaches it in size. In 
 England the Roach has been taken up to the weight of five 
 pounds ; in the United States it rarely exceeds five or six inches 
 in length, and together with its congeners, the Chub and Dace, 
 as they are generally termed, though none of them identical 
 with the European species, are seldom taken except by 
 school-boys, and never put on the table except in remote 
 country districts, where sea-fish and the better inland varieties 
 being unknown, anything will pass muster, in this line, as 
 dainties. 
 
 The Roach is readily distinguished by his blood-red irides, and 
 the ruddy tinge which borders his pectoral, ventral, and anal 
 fins. His head is thick and obtuse at the snout, the labials 
 coarse and fleshy. The eye large, and situated midway between 
 the tip of the snout and the posterior margin of the gill- covers. 
 The gill-covers are moderately curved, forming an irregular 
 semicircle. The pectoral fin has its origin immediately behind 
 the edge of the sub-operculum. The origin of the dorsal is 
 midway between the snout and origin of the caudal fin, and the 
 ventrals vertically imder it. The caudal fin is powerful and 
 lunated. The dorsal rays are ten in number; the pectoral 
 
nESfRIPTION OK THK ROACH. 20.') 
 
 sixteen; vcntrnl, nine; unal, ulcvtii; iiml cuudal, nineteen. 'I'lii>< 
 little tish is {^egurious, swimming iu shoals, anil fci'iling on 
 worms and herbs. It is ailniirahle as a bait tor Pike, and for 
 the larjjer varieties ot' Pen li and River liass, l)ein^, I think, 
 preferred by tluin to any other tish, as the Parr is by the Sea 
 Salmon, and the iarj^er spceies of Lake and Sea Tnnit. The 
 Chub ami l>aee are also {^ood i'm the ^allu• pnrijox', hut interior 
 to the Roaeh. As sportinir 'i^^h, it would he a loss of time to 
 describe them at length. The Ameriean Chub never exeeeds 
 ten inehes. 
 
•200 
 
 CYPRINID^. 
 
 THE NEW YORK SHINER. 
 
 Stiihe Clinjsoleucos — Agassiz. Cyprinus Chrysoleucos — Mitchil. 
 
 New York Shiner. 
 
 This beautiful little fish is common to almost eveiy pond and 
 stream throughout the temperate regions of North America, 
 from the waters of New England to those of Lake Huron. It 
 is found associating, to a certain degree, with the species last 
 described, and still more commonly with the Sun-Fish [Pomotis 
 Vulgaris), and the Yellow Perch [Perca Flavescens), though it 
 undoubtedly falls a victim to the voracious appetite of the latter 
 fish, when it grows to a large size. It loves gravelly shallows, on 
 whicb it spawns, and is constantly to be seen sporting among the 
 large water lilies. 
 
 Like the species last named, it is an excellent bait both for 
 Perch and Pike, and is often taken on spinning tackle by great 
 Trouts, whether brook or lacustrine. 
 
 It belongs to that group of Leucisci which have the dorsal fin 
 far back, and in this respect greatly resembles the sub-genus 
 Abramis, or Bream. 
 
I.I v( iMl'TluN uK THK ^IIINKK. :iU7 
 
 Its head is snuiU, smuotli, aiul dupresscil aihove. The mouth 
 is small, ami ilfstitut*.' of ti-fth. The eyes arc lar;<(', with 
 yellow iriiles. The body is very deep, being very nearly one-third 
 of the lenirth, exeludinj; the eaudal fin. The branehiostej^al 
 rays are three in niiinber; the i)ect()ral, sex tiiteen ; ventral, 
 nine ; dorsal, nine ; anal, fourteen ; and caudal, nineteen. 
 
 The upper part ot'tlic luail, hack, and sides, dark glossy green; 
 lower sides, and belly, silvery white, with i^oldcn rellcxions. 
 Dorsal fin, bruvMiish yellow ; ])cc-torals, reddish bufV; ventrals, 
 ilull lake ; anal and eaudal. dull reddish brown, streaked with 
 lake. 
 
 Of this group, there are several speeies, all abundant, ami 
 afl'ording mueh sport to sehool-boys and young ladies. To the 
 angler, exeept as bait, they are little worth, and to deseribc one 
 variety, as a type of the species, will be atnply snllieient. 
 
208 
 
 CYPRINID^. 
 
 AMERICAN BEEAM. 
 
 A hram Is Versicolor — Agassi z. 
 
 American Bream. 
 
 The Bream of America, of which there are several inferior 
 species, like the others of this family which I have enumerated, 
 never grows to any size, and is very little accounted by the 
 angler in general, though in some of the western waters, where 
 they bite freely, they are sometimes angled for with the small 
 red worm, and are accounted a delicate pan-fish. 
 
 They are distinguished from the other Cypi'ini, by the great 
 depth of their bodies, by having the dorsal set very far back, 
 behind the extremity of the ventral, and by the great length of 
 the dorsal fin. 
 
 The tongue is smooth, as well as the jaws and palate, but the 
 lower pharyngeal bones are set with large teeth. 
 
 Like the other Cyprini, the Breams are among the least car- 
 nivorous of fishes. 
 
 This is a beautiful species. The back is dark, of a hair-brown 
 hue, varied with many coloured changeable reflexions ; the sides, 
 
CANADIAN HKKA.M. 209 
 
 golden yellow ; and the Ixlly, silviry white ; the d()r>:d and 
 eaudul fins, hrown ; the others, yellowish, tinned with red. 
 
 The bninehial rays are three in nuniiier ; the dorsal tiu-rnys, 
 twelve; the pectorals, twelve; tin- ventrals, seven; the anal, 
 twenty-seven ; and the eandal nineteen. 
 
 A little fish, elosely resendjlinj; this in form, is di-serihed and 
 tiirnri'd in l>r. Richardson's " Northern Zooloj^ry," on the an- 
 thority ot' Lieut. -Colonil Snuth, who took it at the; eonllnenec of 
 the Iliclielicu and St. Lawrence. It is known to the Canadians 
 as La Qiu'schv. In form, it elosely resembles this species; and 
 in colour, the last described ; bnt it has one spiny ray in the 
 dorsal, and one in the anal fin, and a tootlu-d tonj^ne, which 
 wonld seem to divide it from the genns Abramis : while the 
 size of the ainil divides it from the trnc Carps. It has, more- 
 over, small scales, and barbels. 
 
210 
 
 CYPRINID^. 
 
 MINNOWS. 
 
 Hydrargyra — Auctorum. 
 
 American Minnows. 
 
 The Minnow Proper of Europe [Cyprinus, Leuciscus, Phoxinvs), 
 is unknown to the waters of North America, but as their equi- 
 valents, and analogous to them, we have innumerable species of 
 the Hydrargyra, or Aram-ican Minnow ; which, in general ap- 
 pearance, habits, and haunts, are very nearly assimilated to the 
 European fish. 
 
 Its food consists of aquatic plants, small worms, and minute 
 portions of any animal substances. It bites boldly and readily 
 at small red worms, gentles, or the larvae of any of the Phry- 
 ganea, knoAvn as caddis-baits, stick-baits, and the like, on the 
 least Limerick hooks, number twelve ; and is constantly taken 
 by boys with a worm alone tied to a fine string, which the little 
 fish swallows so greedily that he is pulled out before he has 
 time to disgor2:e it. 
 
HAIN'T'^ — rSKI) \S lUIT. 2T1 
 
 Under many local names this l)(>autit'nl little ('i//iriiii/.'i is 
 found in every swifVrnnnin<; streani with u {gravelly l)ottoin,and 
 in the shallows of every pond or lakelet throughout the country. 
 They arc generally known as Killy-lish, and an' an excellent 
 hait t\>r fish of almost every kind that prey on other lish. 
 
 As live hait tor Pike, I'ercli, or Cat-tish, they are not to he 
 equalled; and in s[)inninu' or tiitlling they are excellent for the 
 noble Striped I'ass, the I'ike, the Salmon, the Lake Trout in all 
 its varieties, and t\)r the Hrook Troiit — especially those which 
 are found in the tide creeks, where they are less willintr than in 
 other wntei-s to take the tly. A more particular description of 
 so common and well-known a ti^h would take up space need- 
 lessly, which is more re(piired for other parts of uiy subject ; and 
 the species are, I was almost about to say, innumerable. Three 
 of tlie commoner varieties, and those uiost useful as bait, arc 
 represented above. 
 
21Z FAMILY OF THE CLUPEIDyE. 
 
 CLUPEID^. 
 
 THE HEERING. 
 
 Clupea Ilarenyas. 
 
 The Herring. 
 
 The Common Herring, which visits both continents^ runs into 
 the mouths of all the northern and north-eastern rivers of North 
 America, and is not only greatly sought for as an article of food, 
 but really affords very excellent sport to the angler. In spring, 
 when he enters the estuaries in full condition^ and full of spawn, 
 he leaps freely at any gaudy-coloured fly — whether of the pea- 
 cock feather, or, what is yet better, a four-Avinged fly of the 
 scarlet ibis and silver pheasant, on a scarlet chenil body, not 
 unlike the fly used in Black Bass fishing, but of a smaller size. 
 The best way to use it is with a single b b shot attached to the 
 gut an inch or two above the fly, so as to troll mth it, as it were, 
 slightly sunken below the surface. I have taken them in this 
 manner off" Fort Diamond at the Narrows, almost as fast as I 
 could cast and draw in the flv. 
 
MKHKINC} A tJAMK FISII. 2 I .'J 
 
 The appearance of this tish is so well known that a very par- 
 ticnlar description is hardly necessary. The leiifrth of" the head 
 to the hody is ahont as nnc to t"oin-, the dt ptli to the icuj^th ol 
 the hody as one to live. The np|)er part ot" tjic lish is a fine 
 hliie, with f^reen and other reflections, when viewed in different 
 lij^hts ; the lower part ot" the side and helly sihcry white ; the 
 cheeks and irill-covers sihcry. l)ors:d and eatidal fins dnsky ; 
 till- fins on till' lowei- parts of tlu- hody almost \\hite. The 
 hnM-r jaw is nuieh lon;:er than the other, with five or six small 
 teetli extcudinj; in a line haekwards on each ^ide from the ante- 
 rior point; fonr rows of small teeth on the eintral npper 
 snrface of the tonj^ue, and a few snndl teeth on the central 
 surface of the u|)per jaw. l)ranchiostegous rays are eitrht in 
 number; pectorals, sixteen; ventrals, cij;ht ; anal, si.vti-en; 
 doi*sal, nineteen ; and cauchii, eifjhteen. The scales are large. 
 The aindal fin deeply forked. 
 
 Se%'cml other species of Ili-rrinj,' arc common to the waters of 
 the United States, hut this is the only one which is taken with 
 the tly, or can be accounted as <;ame to the s[)ortsman. 
 
214. 
 
 CLUPEIDJ;. 
 
 THE SHAD. 
 
 A losa PrcvstahilU — Dek ay. 
 
 The Shad. 
 
 This delicious and well-known fish, which is by many per- 
 sons esteemed the queen of all fishes on the table, has been, 
 until very recently, regarded as one that could be taken only 
 with the net, and therefore of no avail to the angler. It is, how- 
 ever, now clearly proved that, like the Herring, the American 
 Shad will take a large gaudy fly freely, and being a strong, 
 powerful, and active fish, affords great play to the sportsman. 
 
 It is undoubtedly the fact that, until within the few last 
 years, fishing in the United States, except of Trout, having 
 been practised rather as a means of providing the table, than as 
 a matter of sport, it has been taken for granted that many 
 species of fish, which are easily captured by the sean, will not 
 take the bait or the fly ; and few species have been pursued as 
 game except those which are not easily caught otherwise than 
 with the hook. Fly-fishing, moreover, having been a few years 
 ago confined to a very few individuals, and even now being 
 comparatively limited, it was attempted only with those families 
 
SllAh A (iAMi: FISH. 215 
 
 which couhl hartlly l)i" ttthirwiM- cnpturid. Now, however, 
 IIOU.S (irons r/itint/i (out vt-Ut, iiiul opportunities tor the practice ol 
 this (Ichghtt'iil art are sou«;ht for so eaj^erly, that any person is 
 rejjariled in sonic dejjree as the sportsman's hencfactor if lie 
 introthiees to liis notice a new species wliich will :itl"uril >purt 
 witli the artificial tly. 
 
 It is, ;i> 1 have ohscrveil, iiulisitiitahly true, that on his 
 entrance into fresh water from the salt, for the purpose of 
 spawning;, the Shad will readily take a <;au(ly lly, the more 
 readily the higher he rims up into the cold and hi-^hly aerated 
 waters in the upper parts of our large rivers, where also they are 
 taken in tlie jjreatest perfection, as for instance in tlie Delaware 
 so far up us Milford, in Pike county, Pennsylvania. 
 
 The New York Shad {.llona l*i<i'.tfahilis) was, 1 helieve, first 
 distinguished specifically l)y l>r. Pikay of New \(>rk, having 
 Ijcen previously confounded with the Allice Shad (»f I'^urope 
 {Alosa Communis of Cuvier, Cln/ntt Alosn Auctorum), to which 
 it hears a very considerahle resendjlance, alth(iu;_'h I presume 
 that the distinction can lie fully made out. 
 
 The body of this fisli is deei) and compressed, the thickness 
 rather less than one-third of the hiiu'th. The length of the 
 head is to that of the whole fish as one to six ; the depth to the 
 length as one to four. The scales are very large; the tail long, 
 slender, and deeply forked. 
 
 The dorsal fin-rnys are nineteen ; the pectoral, fifteen ; ven- 
 tral, nine ; nnnl, twcnty-six ; and caudal twenty. The greatest 
 depth of the hody is ju.st licforc the vcntnd fin. The Shad has 
 no distinct lateral 1 ibdominal edge is strongly serrated, 
 
 csjKcially l>clund the venlndn. 
 
21 6 CLUPEID.E. 
 
 The top of the head and back are dusky blue, with brown 
 and green reflections in particular points of view. . There is a 
 single dugky spot behind the operculum. The irides, sides of 
 the head and tody, are of a silvery white, with a tinge of copper- 
 colour. The dorsal and caudal fins are dusky ; the pectoral, 
 ventral, and anal fins, white. 
 
 The flesh of the Shad is perhaps the most delicate of any 
 existing fish ; and, though it lacks the lusciousness, as well as 
 the glutinous fin, of the Turbot, it is preferred to that fish 
 by many judicious epicures, notwithstanding the drawback occa- 
 sioned by its innumerable and sharply-pointed bones. 
 
 From personal experience and success^ I can assure the fly- 
 fisher that he will find much sport in fishing for the Shad during 
 his upward run in the spring, with a powerful Trout-rod, a long 
 line, and such flies as he will procure in perfection at Conroy's, 
 in Fulton-street, New York. 
 
FAMILY UF Till-: KSoClD.F.. 217 
 
 ESOCIDJv 
 
 Tiii^ family, the Esocid.k, of which the tiiK' l*ike {blsoj; 
 Lucius) of Europe is the ty[)e, is hir^ely represented in the 
 waters of the United States and thi' I'lovinees ; six or seven 
 distinct species having been discovered, exclusive of the formid- 
 able Garpike [Esox Osseus), of the south-western w aters, which, 
 instead of scales, is cased in a complete armour of rhond)oidal 
 plates; and which is held, by Mr. Agassiz and other distin- 
 guished naturalists, to be a connecting link between the animals 
 of the present period, and those contemporaneous with the 
 Saiiridii.s-y and other extinct races. 
 
 The lish of this family are distinguished, generally, by the 
 want of the second dorsal or adipose tin, by the situation of the 
 dorsal very far backward and opposite to the anal tin, and b\ 
 having the border (jf their upper jaw either formed solely by 
 the intcrniaxillaries, or by having the labials destitute of teeth, 
 if they enter at all into its eompositiun. The mouth is alwa\s 
 large, and the teeth sharp and powerful, but the shape and pro- 
 portional length of the jaws vary greatly in the various species, 
 i\a do the situation ami number of the teeth, and the formation 
 of the gill-co\ers ; and by these particulars arc the Hpocies 
 distinguished. 
 
218 ESOCIDiE. 
 
 The principal of these various species, are — 
 
 The Mascalouge {Masqueallonge, Esox Estor), of the Great 
 
 Lakes. 
 The Northern Pickerel {Esox Lucioides), of the same 
 
 waters. 
 The Common Pickerel {Esox Reticulatus) , of all the ponds 
 
 and streams of the Northern and Midland States. 
 The Long Island Pickerel {Esox Fasciatus), probably 
 peculiar to Long Island, formerly Nassau Island, on the 
 southern coast of New York. 
 The White Pickerel {Esox Vittatus), of the Ohio, the 
 
 Wabash, and others of the western waters, and 
 The Black Pickerel {Esox Niger), of Pennsylvania. 
 Of all these species, the first two form the type, all the others 
 following the formation of the head, which is remarked in one 
 or other of these, as regards the comparative length of the snout, 
 the formation of the lower jaw, the dental system, and the gill- 
 covers. So marked is this difference, that, in addition to the 
 wood-cuts of the entire fishes, I have thought it well to give 
 large representations of the heads of these two noble fish ; and 
 by examining these with a little care, and comparing them with 
 the heads of any of the smaller varieties, it will be easy to 
 distinguish to which type any one of them belong. 
 
 Thus, any person will at once perceive that the Common 
 Pickerel, in the comparative length of the jaws, and the beak- 
 like form and scanty dentition of the lower mandible, follows 
 the type of the Mascalonge; while the Long Island species 
 resembles in the short obtuse snout, and extension of the teeth 
 to the tip of the lower jaw, the Northern Pickerel. 
 
>i'i:ririi CI. \ssiKi(ATi'>N. -219 
 
 The same timi'^ will Ix t'uuinl to \h- tlu; case with all the 
 other subspeeie.s, altljoiif^h the ihllereiiees between them are so 
 triMiug, ami so purely techiiieal, while their };cneral resemblance 
 is so great, ami their hal)its >t» entirely similar, niwlcrin^ it 
 impossible to mistake them for lish nf any other family, that 1 
 have lUt-med it supcrtluuus to multiply examples, ur to {;ive 
 specitie descriptions of moie than the first lour species; con- 
 tentiiiix myself \\ith eiiumerat ini^ the others, and indicating the 
 localities in uhieh tliev itri" to be fonnd, which is altoirether 
 sullicii'iit in order to prevent confusion. 
 
220 ESOCIDJL 
 
 THE ^klASCVLOXGE. 
 
 Maaqme-nUomge. — Caxadia>" Fbilxch. E^jx Ettcr — Cctiek, Aga^iz. 
 
 This masnificent fish, which is the finest^ largest, and most 
 excellent food of all the Pike family, is found only in the great 
 lakes and waters of the St. Lawrence basin, not having been 
 discovered in any of the rivers or lakes which discharge them- 
 selves into Hudson's Bay or the Polar Sea, nor yet, so far as I 
 have been able to ascertain, in any of the smaller lakes of the 
 United States which shed their waters northerly into the 
 St. Lawrence. It is stated that "in the spring, which is its 
 spawning season, it frequents the small rivers that fall into Lake 
 Simcoe " — ^which discharges itself by the Severn into Lake 
 Huron — and that "it feeds on small, gelatinous, green baUs, 
 which grow on the sides of banks under water, and on small 
 fishes.'* 
 
 This great Pike is said, by Dr. Richardson, to attain the 
 weight of twenty-eight pounds, but it unquestionably grows to 
 a much larger size, though I cannot state with precision the 
 greatest dimensions that he has been known to acquire. Dr. 
 Dekay says that he has been known to exceed four feet in 
 length, which, having in view the breadth and depth of this fish 
 when in condition, would give a probable weight of sixty or 
 eighty pounds, which I believe to apprpach his maximum. He is 
 a bold and most voracious fish. 
 
 The cut accompanying this article and the following descrip- 
 tion are taken trom a specimen preservcNi in spirits, in the 
 
(iKNKIIAL I>i:s(lMI"n<>N'. ;>-2 1 
 
 possession of I'lolrssDi- Apissi/,, of ll.irvard liiivi rsit\ , w hit-li 
 im-asnrcd ahoiit t«n ffct and a lialf iii liiiirtli, and \v('i«;licd 
 t'ij;hti'»'ii pounds. 
 
 'I'lic K'n^tli of the luad to tliat of tlic uliolc hodv was as two 
 
 to IMMf. 
 
 Till' snout, tVoni lilt- orl)it of the vyv foruard, sin^ularlv 
 elongated and acute. The anterior (ulgc of tlic orbit, midway 
 between tlie ti[) of tin- snout and the posterior margin of the 
 free gill-cover. The l)order of the upper jaw is formed of the 
 nmxillaries alone, the edges of whieh are furnislied witli several 
 rows of louL', powerful, aiul exceedingly sharj), awl-shaped teeth, 
 the points curving slightly forwanl. The vonur and |)alatine 
 bones are covered with card-like ehuni)s of spiny teeth, as are 
 the base of the tongue, and the [diaryngeal hones. 'I'Ik' tongue 
 itself is soft. 
 
 The lower jaw is considerably longer than the upper; it is 
 armed for something less than half its length with very powerful 
 recurved fangs, the two largest being in front, a little posterior 
 to the tip of the tongue. Beyond these the lower jaw is toothless, 
 curved upwards, with sharp, horny, beak-like edges; and in these 
 points, particularly, is it distinct from the following spct-ies. 
 
 Of the gill-covers, the jiir-opn'riilum is nearly vertical, and 
 but slightlv cur\eil ; t\\v t/prrru/iiin much hii.(her than it is l)road, 
 and nearly four times a.s high juh the xufi-ojtrrculum, which is 
 slightly rounded posteriorly. The branchiostegous rays are 
 eighteen in number. 
 
 The bo<ly and liea«l arc quadrangtdar, tlaltened above, and 
 much comprc.s.«tcd at the sides. The dorsal fin is directly above 
 the anal ; the catidal powcrftd and deeply forked. 
 
222 ESOGID.E. 
 
 The fins, according to Professor Agassiz's singularly precise 
 mode of enumeration, contain — the dorsal, twenty-two fin-rays ; 
 anal, twenty ; ventral, thirteen ; pectoral, eighteen. The main 
 part of the caudal fin is di\dded into two somewhat unequal 
 lobes, containing the upper, nine ; the under, eight fin-rays ; 
 while above and below the two larger lateral rays, there are nine 
 smaller rays. 
 
 In colour, it differs from the Northern Pickerel in having the 
 general tint of the body lighter than the markings. The back 
 and upper part of the sides are dark, changing from greenish 
 to bluish grey on the sides, which are irregularly dashed with 
 darker spots and splashes. When exposed to a strong light, 
 every scale reflects bright colours, which vary as the fish is 
 moved ; but there is no fixed pale mark on the tip of the scales, 
 as in the succeeding species. 
 
 The Mascalonge, which owes its name to the formation of 
 the head — masque-allonge, long-face or snout, Canadian French 
 — but which has been translated from dialect to dialect, mask- 
 inonge, muscalunge, and muscalinga, until every trace of true 
 derivation has been lost, is said to be much more common in 
 Lakes Erie and Ontario than in the more northern waters of 
 Canada; but this will, I fancy, prove to be erroneous, as I know 
 them to be taken of great size, and remarkable excellence, in 
 Lake Huron. 
 
 It is the boldest, fiercest, and most voracious of fresh- water 
 fish ; and there is none, unless it be the Great Lake Trout, that 
 can offer any adequate resistance to his attacks. It is said that 
 even the spiny dorsals of the Percidce do not protect them from 
 his rnvcuous attacks. 
 
iiAniTS or Tin: mascalonok. 22:i 
 
 Mr l)iti's (l;irin;^'ly :it a (lead l)ait played with spiiniinLr-tacUlc, 
 or even with a siiiipU- ;;()rj;r aiul trollinj^-hooks. He is, morc- 
 ovrr, readily taken with that nmrderous instrument, the spoon, 
 or even by a bait ot" tin or red cloth, made to play (piiekly 
 tlironjjh the water. 
 
 Before passings to tli(> next species, 1 ciinnut hiit |)ansc to 
 notice a stranj^e error of nomenclature, in Mr. Hrown's com- 
 prehensive little volume, "The American .\n'_'lei's Manual," 
 to which 1 have alluded before, by which he transforms the 
 term /t.vo/, the specific name of every member of the Pike 
 Family, as assij^ned by Linna-ns, into the Essex, which he 
 appears to conceive a distinctive term peculiar to the .Mas- 
 cnlonjje, whicli he calls "the Kssev or Mnscalin;,'a of our 
 western hikes." I note this error, not from any desire to 
 underrate a usefid and \aluable little book, but merely to ^Miard 
 ajjninst its adoption by auL'lers in ji^cneral. 
 
224 ESOCID.E. 
 
 GREAT NORTHERN PICKEREL. 
 
 Esox Lucioides — Agassi z. 
 
 This great Pike, like the last, is peculiar to the basiu of the 
 St, Lawrence, and was first clearly described and specified 
 during the scientific tour to Lake Superior, which I have 
 already mentioned, by Professor Agassiz, who pointed out its 
 distinctions, both from the European Pike and the Mascalonge, 
 to the former of which {Esox Lucius) it is by far the most closely 
 allied, although it appears to have been confounded with both, 
 — Lesueur, who first gave a distinct specific name to the Mas- 
 calonge, having described it as the fish now under consideration, 
 Esox Lucioides, and not at all as Esox Estor. 
 
 The Northern Pickerel is taken up to the weight of sixteen or 
 seventeen pounds, but rarely, I believe, exceeds that weight. 
 It is an exceedingly handsome fish, longer and slighter, in 
 proportion to its depth, than the Mascalonge. 
 
 Its body is four-sided, the back broader and flatter than the 
 belly ; the vertical diameter is equal to about one-seventh of the 
 body, caudal included ; the transverse diameter is two-thirds of 
 the vertical ; the body carries its thickness to the dorsal fins, 
 and then tapers into the thin tail ; the sides are compressed and 
 flattened ; the head is about one-fifth the length of the body ; 
 the snout not nearly so long, and much more obtuse, than in 
 the Mascalonge ; the under jaw does not exceed the upper in 
 length nearly so much as in that fish, and is armed around all 
 the fore part with a single row of small, slightly -hooked teeth ; 
 
r.KNKlJAI. DKSClillTloN. ii^) 
 
 on the sides of the lower jjiw arc a row of larf^cr aw Isliapcd 
 te«'tli, iinplantt'd in (he hone; tlic palate boucs, vomer, and 
 phar\ njjeal arehes, are all armed with bands of small slmrj) teeth, 
 like rardiuj; maehiiies, as in the former speeies ; the tonj;ue is 
 broad, and truncated at the tip. 
 
 The fjill-covcrs are nearly as they are deseribed in the Masea- 
 lon^e, except that the ed^^e of the siih-ojifrnilinn is strai^hler 
 and more vertical, and that the uprrcuhi are in a sli^^ht degree 
 scaly. 
 
 The gill-openings are very large : and the l)ranchiostegou.s 
 rays are fit'leen in number, or mori- numerous by two than in 
 the Knglish Pike, which ditlers t'rom the Northern I'ickerel 
 moreover in the nund)er of all the fin-rays, in having the cheeks 
 and opnTxda covered with regular .scales, as in the Esox Rffirii- 
 latii.i, and in tlie teeth on it.s vomer and palatine l)cing dispersed 
 into lines, rather than planted in serried patches. 
 
 The Northern Pickerel has dorsal fin-rays, twenty-one ; anal, 
 eighteen; caudal, seven above and seven below the larger lateral 
 rays; the whole caudal divided into two unecinal lol)es, the 
 upper of nine, the lower of eight rays ; the ventral, eleven, aiul 
 the anal, sixteen. 
 
 The hack of this beautiful fish is of a rich blackiNh green, 
 which changes on the sides to greenish grey ; there is a bright 
 speck on the tip of each scale, which gives a singularly light and 
 sparkling asjK'ct to the wliole fish. The belly is of a lustrous 
 pearly white. Tlicrc are several rows of oblong, diamond- 
 shaped, yellowish grey spots on the sides of the head, body, and 
 tail. The cheeks are varied with emerald green refieetions, the 
 umler jaw and gill-rays white; the irides ptirple, with a golden 
 
226 ESOCIDiE. 
 
 band around the pupil; the dorsal and caudal fins are blackish 
 green, marked with patchy bands of a darker oil-green; the 
 anal greenish gray, with orange margins, and a few dark spots ; 
 the ventrals the same, with orange tips, but without spots ; the 
 pectorals dusky yellow. 
 
 The Northern Pickerel is equal in boldness and voracity to 
 the Mascalonge, and to the northern European Pike, from which 
 he differs in the fin-rays, dental system, gill-covers, and very 
 essentially in the colouring, — the Pike being banded or mottled, 
 and having no indication whatever of the regular rhomboidal 
 spots which mark the sides, and form a characteristic of the 
 Northern Pickerel. 
 
 He takes any sort of bait in spinning or trolling, and being 
 readily captui'ed by set baits through the ice, forms a very 
 essential article of food to the Indian hunter when the chase 
 fails him. No animal food of any kind comes amiss to this 
 fresh-water tyrant. Fish of every variety, even his own species, 
 and the spiny Perch, the immature young of wild fowl, rats, 
 reptiles of all sorts, — in short, every living thing that comes 
 within his reach ministers instantly to his voracious appetite. 
 
 But the baits by which he is most sportingly secured are the 
 small bright Leucisci, or Shiners, at the end of a double swivel 
 trace, or a live frog, which he can rarely refuse. 
 
I.DCAI. MlSNd.MKKS. 227 
 
 TIIK CUM.Mn.N I'K KKUKI.. 
 
 Etox ReticuUuus — Li>.i i.i u. 
 
 TiiKoi liiioiT till- luited States, excepting only the extreme 
 western ami southern waters, this is pcrliaps the commonest of 
 all the game fishes; from New l-^n^huul to the western limits of 
 Pinnsylvania, nut a river, pond, or streamlet but al)()un(ls with 
 this bohl anil rapacious tish ; anil it is i)rol)al)le that, like many 
 other of the northern tish, he is fonnil in the waters of the hill 
 districts of Nirj^inia, Carolina, and even of the Western States, 
 although in such locations he is lost sight of among the tribes 
 peculiar to those regions. 
 
 With regard to the SoutluTii States especially, it is almost 
 impossible to arrive at anything like certainty concerning the 
 species or varieties of game fish to be found within their limits, 
 from the universal misapplication of names, and the nnhappy 
 tendency of sportsmen, to which 1 have already made allusion, 
 to adopt any barbarous local misnomer, rather than to make 
 themselves acquainted \\ith tlic true specific names, ami to learn 
 the distinctions, so as to speak iindcrstandingly of the game 
 which they take. 
 
 It is indeed a hopeless ta>k to hunt up the real peeuliarities 
 and true genera of fish, known in their own regions as the 
 " Welshman," the " Pampolin," and .such other denominations, 
 which of course arc not to Ik; found in any work of natund 
 history, N^hile the people, who arc in the habit of taking them 
 
228 ESOCID.E. 
 
 daily, can give you no information, nor indeed data, on which 
 to found an opinion, except that they are " very like a whale," 
 or a Trout, as it may be. I mention this here en passant, 
 because I am perfectly prepared to find myself violently assailed, 
 and pronounced utterly incompetent to prepare a hook of this 
 nature, because I have not included " that delicious fish, the 
 pride of our southern waters, well known to the real sportsman, 
 the noble ' Pampolin,' or the unrivalled ' Welshman,' as it may 
 be, in my list of game fishes/' But I have made up my mind 
 to peaceful submission, deeming it quite enough to have inves- 
 tigated the identity of what it amuses southern gentlemen to 
 call " Trout," and Western New Yorkers " Bass " and " Sheep's- 
 head," without troubling my head about mere provincial bar- 
 barisms. I believe the " Pampolin " to be of the INIackerel 
 family, and the " Welshman," which is described as a bold 
 biter at small fish, worms, and the like, to be a Percoid fish, 
 analogous to Rock-Bass {Centrarchus jEneas), or perhaps a 
 Corvina, analogous to the Malashegane, or Sheep's-head of the 
 lakes. 
 
 The Common Pickerel — to return to my subject — does not in 
 general exceed five pounds, and in most districts this is consi- 
 derably above his average, which does not, I think, go beyond 
 two and a half or three pounds, but they are occasionally taken 
 in the smaller lakes, and in some few of the more sluggish 
 streams, of infinitely larger size, even so far, it is said, as to 
 twelve and fifteen pounds' weight ; but such instances are rare, 
 even if they can be relied upon as facts, — which I am some- 
 what inclined to doubt, thinking that they have probably been 
 mistaken for some other cognate species. 
 
WEkJlIT OF TllK COMMON I'M KKUKI-. •,':2'l 
 
 111 tlir yvdv {'^'.y'^, 1 inyst-lt" took a Picki-rcl wliicli wci^licd 
 firteeu puuiuls three ouiiees, uiiiler Stilhviiter Ihitlge, on the 
 Hiulsou Kiver, while tishinj; tor Bhick Bjiss {(!ri/stes Xii/ricans), 
 with :i hirj;e j^iiiuly fly, ami landed him, after a long and severe 
 strnggle, having only a light tly-rod, and neither gatl' nor 
 landing-net, although I wiw tishing with a Salmon-reel and two 
 hundred yards ot" line. 
 
 I was not at that time sufliciently conversant with minute 
 distinctions to say positively to what species this huge li^h 
 belonged, and I unfortunately took no ni)tcs at the time. 
 According to the best of my recollection, however, it was 
 a longitudinally spotted fish, and if so, was probably a 
 stray Northern Pickerel, which had found his way down the 
 canals, from the basin of the St. Lawnnce, into that of the 
 Hudson. 
 
 And this, which would at tirst seem a highly improbable, if 
 not impossiide hypothesis, becomes at once reasonable, when 
 the fact is known that thne, at least, of the fish peculiar to the 
 great lakes and to the waters of the St. Lawrence, have fouml 
 their way into the Hudson and its tributaries since the opening 
 of the various canals, and are now taken abumlantly within the 
 State of New York — these are the greater Mlack Hass [(irystts 
 \ii/rican:t) ; the (Jswego — not to be confoundeil w ith the Otsego 
 — Bass [Corrina OaruUt) . and the Kock Bass [Criifrarrfius 
 ^■Eneat) . 
 
 Any of these 9|>ccies, in order to reach tin- Hudson, mu>t 
 descend the cauals, and take advantage of the moment when 
 the boats are pasHing through the locks, and the gates opened — 
 which, when we consider the conunotion of the water, the 
 
230 ESOCID^. 
 
 splashing, hubbub, and confusion which occurs at such times, 
 is in itself sufficiently extraordinary, and seems to go far 
 toward proving that fish, except as regards feeling, are much 
 less shy than is commonly believed, and toward abolishing the 
 idea that they are driven out of their favourite rivers by craft 
 or steam-boats. 
 
 If one species, however, can succeed in passing these nume- 
 rous obstacles, there is nothing to prevent another from doing 
 likewise ; and it is in no respect more difficult to believe that 
 the Northern Pickerel should so make his way to our southern 
 waters, than that the varieties of Bass above mentioned should 
 — as it is well established that they have done — establish 
 themselves as an indigenous fish in the same. 
 
 Erom what I have personally seen, therefore, of the Common 
 Pickerel {Esox Reticulatus) , I am a good deal inclined to doubt 
 the tales I have heard of its great size ; and, until I shall be 
 satisfied, on personal examination, am unwilling to credit him 
 with a growth exceeding six or seven pounds. 
 
 This fish, as will appear from examination of the cut, follows 
 the type of the Mascalonge, in the elongation of the snout, the 
 curvature of the lower jaw, and the smallness, though not 
 absolute deficiency of teeth in the fore part thereof. 
 
 It is easily distinguished by its having its cheeks and gill- 
 covers completely cased in small scales, and by the brownish 
 lines on its flanks, occasionally intersecting each other, like the 
 meshes of a net, whence the name Reticulatus, 
 
 In form, this Pike closely resembles the others of his family. 
 His body is quadrilateral, the back broader than the belly ; the 
 depth is to the entire length, including the caudal, as one to 
 
DKSCKirTIoN OF THK CtJ.MMoN riCKKHKI.. J.U 
 
 seven, tlif thickness is ahout two-thirds of (he (hpth ; the 
 lenj^th of the head to the entire Icnj^th is as one to four; the 
 posterior edj^^e of tlie orbit is midway l)etwron the tip of tlic 
 snont and the posterior niarpn of the free j^ill-cnvcr ; the 
 ori-^in of the ventral tin is midway between the tip of the 
 >nout and the fork of the eimdal ; the termination of tlie 
 ean(hd opposite to the orij^in of thi' anal ; tlie ^ill-eovers are 
 nearly vertieal, and vi'ry slij^jitly ronnded, except the marj^in 
 of the suh-operculmn, wliieb is xcry short as compared with 
 the operruliim : the branehiostegous rays are nine in nnmber; 
 dorsal tin-rays, twenty; pi-ctoral, sixteen; ventral, ten; anal, 
 twenty; candal, eij;hteen, seven above, and seven below the 
 great rays. 
 
 The back is of an olive green with bine reflections; the sides, 
 olive green fading into greenish yellow, with vertieal lines of 
 dnll brown occasionally crossing one another, so as to form 
 a sort of irregular network ; the dorsal and caudal fins are of 
 an olive brown clouded witli green ; the pectorals and ventrals, 
 greenish brown, margined \\itli dull yellow; the anal, dusky 
 green ; the irides, golden yellow ; the cheeks and (iprmila, 
 which are covered with small scales, arc olive green, with 
 brownish marks and reflections. The snout, brown ; the 
 lower jaw and gill-rays, white; the belly, white, marked with 
 brown. 
 
 This is the Common Pickerel of the Middle and Kastern 
 States; and is the fish intended, when the word Pickerel is 
 used without any epithet or definition. It is rather a favourite 
 fish ; and has been injudiciously intro<luccd into many fine 
 Trout {H)nds and streams, which have in consequence lost all 
 
•232 ESOCIDtE. 
 
 their attractions to the fly fisher, but now swarm with this 
 coarser and comparatively worthless fish. 
 
 He is a bold biter, and affords considerable sport when 
 hooked; but is coarse, watery, and of small value on the 
 table. 
 
JiENKUAl, DKSCKIITION. 
 
 ZMi 
 
 Tin; LoMi ISLAM) i'lLKEUiX. 
 
 K*ox FtttciatM — Dekay. 
 
 I.oiiK li-Uiul I'U'ki'ii'l. 
 
 'riii>, ulii»-li is till- smallest mul most insigniticjiut vt' the 
 f'liiuily, SI) far as its sporting' or ([jinireaii (jualities are euii- 
 cerned, was first (listinj;uislii(l ami uaiiud hy l)r. Hekay, of 
 New ^ ork. 
 
 Its principal eliuracteristic is the ven* remarkable size of its 
 scales, which, in most of tlie family, even in the enormous 
 Mascalon«;e, are very minute and slcmler. 
 
 In this little denizen of the running brooks and clear 'rre)ut 
 ponds of Lonjr Island, their scales arc larger than in any other 
 of the taniily, so a.s to make it reseml)le, in that particular, 
 some of the Cyprinidip, rather than its own tribe. 
 
 In other respects, size excepted, it difl'ers little iVom the 
 otluT I'ikr, which t'ollow the type of the Northern Pickerel, 
 rather than that of the Ma.<iralont/r, to which variety it l)elonj;s ; 
 as is readily seen in the short snout, straij;ht lower jaw, of 
 this small fish, the latter carrying its teeth, of full si/.i-, (juite 
 round the fore part of the jaw. 
 
 The Lonj; Island Pickerel rarely, if e\er, in those waters, 
 exceeds a pound w(i;_'lit, and that is greatly above the average, 
 
234 ESOCID^. 
 
 which is probably nearer one-half that size. It is less voracious 
 also than the larger members of its family, and is said to be in 
 no wise detrimental to the Trout, which literally swarm in the 
 same waters. Indeed, its size would render it innocuous to any- 
 thing beyond the small fry, as a well-grown pound Brook Trout 
 would be considerably more than a match for any of these little 
 Pickerel which have come under my observation. In shape 
 and general proportions, the Long Island Pickerel is not dis- 
 similar to the species last described, the head alone excepted, 
 which, allowance being made for the difference of size, and the 
 scaliness of the cheeks and opercula, is in all respects similar to 
 that of the Great Northern Pickerel. 
 
 Its gill-covers do not materially differ from those of the 
 Common Pickerel, except that the lower margin of the suh- 
 operculum is something more oblique, giving the posterior 
 edge of the free margin rather an angular form. 
 
 The branchiostegous rays are four in number; the dorsal 
 fin-rays, twenty-two ; pectoral, sixteen ; ventral, ten ; anal, 
 eighteen ; and caudal, eighteen, seven above, and seven below 
 the great rays. 
 
 Its colour is olive green, darker on the back, and fading into 
 greenish yellow on the sides, irregularly barred with transverse 
 waving bauds of dusky brown, whence its designation of 
 Fasciatus. The fins are brownish green, generally, without 
 spots or bars ; the pectorals and ventrals the palest, and bordered 
 with dingy yellow. 
 
 Before closing this article, I would mention a very remarkable 
 specimen of this fish, which was kindly sent to me by my friend, 
 Mr. William Pennington, of Newark, who perceived that it was 
 
EFFECTS OF DIFFHHHNT WATEIIS. 235 
 
 a fish of unusu:il chiiractcr, and kiiowiiii; that I was cnj^a^cd in 
 this work, took some pains to proLurc iiu; a sij^ht of it. 
 
 This iiulividunl was caught in a nrt in tlic salt water, in thr 
 lower part of Newark Hay, ami, at first slight, I was inclined to 
 believe it a nondeseript species. 
 
 It weighed something over a jxjnnd and a half, was unusnally 
 thiek in proportion to its depth, and was in the finest conditit)n. 
 Its colour, however, \\ as the most remarkable; for the hack 
 and sides, down to the latiial line, were of the rii-hcst and most 
 lustrous copper eolonr, paling on the sides into hri;,'ht Ina/.cn 
 yellow, with the l)elly of a silvery whiteness. 'I'hr cheeks, gill- 
 covers, and tins, all |)artook of the same coppery hue, and the 
 whole fish was far more lucent and inctallic than any of the 
 family I had before seen. There was not the slightest indica- 
 tion of any tnmsvcrsc bars or of any mottling ; nor was there 
 any of that sea-green colour whieii is so peculiar to the Pike 
 family. 
 
 On a minute examination, however, of its characteristics, and 
 especially by the size of its scales, I was perfectly satisfied that 
 it was neither more nor hss than an individual Lnn^' l>land 
 Pickerel (Esor Fasriatiis), which, ha\inix wandered into salt 
 waters, had thus entirely changed its colours, and grown to a 
 wciglit exceeding its natural average, in the ratio of at lea-.t 
 three to one, probably from the snperiority and greater abund- 
 ance of foo<l which he found in his new hunting grounds. 
 
 I did not myself taste the fisli, but was informed that it was 
 of vt-ry unusual excellence. 
 
 I never saw a more striking instance of the effect whieh 
 different waters lm\e upon the colouring and condition of fishes, 
 
230 ESOCID^, 
 
 than in this Pickerel ; nothing was left unchanged except those 
 specific characters on which alone permanent distinctions can 
 be founded; and without a knowledge of which the quickest 
 observation is useless, so far as assigning their places to any of 
 the animal kingdom. 
 
 In addition to the four species above described, there are laid 
 down in the books three others, besides the hideous Garpike, 
 or AlHgator Gar [Esox Osseus), of the West. 
 
 These are the Esox Niger, Esox Phaleratus, and Esox 
 Vittatus, of the western waters, all which are so closely allied, 
 and so closely similar in habit, that there is no object in 
 occupying space in their description, the rather as they are 
 well known, and not liable to be mistaken for others of the 
 same family. 
 
FAMILY DF Tin; ANCT IM,I|) M. 
 
 237 
 
 ANGrilJJ \).\: 
 
 THK i:i:l. 
 
 A nguiUti — A ittorc m . 
 
 Ai.TiKH (iH I in no respect rej,';ir(l the l!el as wDitliy of the 
 notice of the nn;:h'r, a volume on fish and fishiiij; wouM )»• 
 incomplete, had it not sumc allusion tn this siu<;ular tish, which 
 is, moreover, verj* excellent on the table. 
 
 The family to which it belongs is of a (liffcrcnt order from 
 any which have been entimerated, that of the Apodiil Maln- 
 roptfrijgii, or soft-finned fishes, destitute of M'utrals. They 
 have slender and elongated bodies, without apparent scales, 
 
288 ANGUILLIDJ5. 
 
 these being deeply imbedded in mucous skin. Gill-covers they 
 have none, the gill-openings are small, before, and rather below 
 the origin of the pectoral fins. The dorsal fin extends above 
 two-thirds, and the anal above one-half the length of the whole 
 fish, both united at the end, and forming a tail. The lateral 
 line exhibits a series of mucous orifices. 
 
 The general coloui' is hair-brow^n, varying to glossy bluish 
 green, above, and coppery yellow varying to silver white below, 
 according to the purity and brightness of the waters which they 
 inhabit. 
 
 They may be taken with a hook and angle-worm, but it is a 
 nasty slimy business, and affords no sport to compensate the 
 disagreeable nature of the labour. The Eel-spear, the set-line, 
 or the Eel-pot, is the true mode of taking them, and their true 
 place is not in the creel of the genuine angler, but on the 
 board of tlie elaborate epicure, en matelotte, or a la tartare, 
 according to individual preference. 
 
 With this fish, our list of the soft-rayed species is brought to 
 a close, and I shall now proceed to the Acaiithopterygii, or 
 spiny-finned fishes, among which are several of our finest 
 species, both of fresh and salt water, both for sport in the 
 water, and excellence on the table. 
 
FAMILY OK TIIK I'KltCI D.K. 
 
 iW 
 
 ri:i:('ii)j':. 
 
 THE A.MKliU AN ^ Kl.l.OW 
 
 I'lrni FUivfJiccM- MiTiiiii.. 
 
 :i;( 
 
 Yi-llow Trrch. 
 
 This is a very connncMi li>li, uidrly dilluscd, with sninll 
 variation of size, shape, toriii and cuh)nr, throni^'h :dl the inhmd 
 iVisli waters of tlic whoK- I nitcd States, ran^in^; tlinm^^'h all 
 tlie hikes and rivers of the conntry from the eastern part of 
 Maine to the watei-s of the ( )hio, into which it has gained 
 access throni^'h the Ohio Canal, and wheiwe it will nndonbtcdiv 
 ere long make its way nit«) the Mississippi. There are several 
 subordinate varieties of this fish, which dilVir in size, colour, 
 and sli^'htly als«t in the number i»f lin-rays, in tliflVrent waters, 
 and these have been created into distinct sj)ccie», under the 
 titles of the Rough Yellow Perch {Perca Cerrato-Granulata) : 
 
240 PEECID^. 
 
 the Rough-headed Yellow Perch {Perca Granulata) ; the Sharp- 
 nosed Yellow Perch [Perca Acuta) ; the Slender Yellow Perch 
 [Pti'ca Gracilis) ; and the "White Perch {Perca Pallida). It 
 does not, however, appear that these distinctions are sufficiently 
 broad or permanent to justify this arrangement ; and it is now 
 generally held that there is but one species of true fresh-water 
 Perch in the United States, and that the forms which have 
 been designated under the above titles are mere accidental 
 varieties, similar to those which have been previously noticed of 
 the Common Trout. Originally the Yellow Perch was a northern 
 fish, its range extending to about the fiftieth parallel, but it 
 has lately, like several others of the same species, been much 
 more widely difi'used through artificial channels, as, for instance, 
 the Black Bass [Grystes Nigricans), and the Bock Bass, [Cen- 
 trarchus JEneas), which have descended from the basin of the 
 St. Lawrence, by the Erie and Whitehall canals, into the 
 waters of the Upper Hudson, 
 
 The Yellow Perch is a bold biter, and a tolerably good fish 
 on the table ; it frequents the same waters with the Pickerel, 
 from the assaults of which it is defended by the sharp spinous 
 rays of its dorsal fin. 
 
 In colour, its sides are yellow, varying in intensity from 
 greenish to bright golden in difterent waters, and occasionally 
 in tide waters to pale greenish white. Its back is banded with 
 six or eight dark vertical bars. Its pectorals, ventrals, and anal 
 are golden orange — its dorsal and caudal greenish brown. 
 
 Its body is compressed, elongated, with a slightly gibbous 
 dorsal outline. The scales are small ; the head, above the eyes 
 and between them, smooth ; lateral line concurrent with the 
 
DKsn.'irTliiN OK TllK YKI.l.uW IT.I.m II. 211 
 
 line of the hack. Ilrad suh-tU-prcssed, ami in lar|.,'('r and 
 oldor fi>li \\w rDstrum is jirDtliiccd, causiiiL; a hollow iit tlu' 
 thi'iiil outline. The lirst dorsavl commences above the pectorals, 
 the fust my much shorter than the second, the fourth, fifth, and 
 sixth rays are the longest, and the last the shortest — it has in 
 all thirteen rays. The second dorsal has seventeen rays, the 
 the two first spinous. The pectorals have fifteen soft rays; llic 
 vcntrals have one spinous and five soft rays ; the anal, two 
 sj)inous and eight soft ; the caudal is forked, with rounded tips. 
 
 The mouth i> of" nu)derate si/e ; jn'c-operciiliiin stronj^ly 
 toothed; the upfrcttluin serrated beneath, with a s|)iue on its 
 posterior angle. The iridcs are golden yellow — the pupils 
 bla<-k. 
 
 It varies \n weight \n thllcrcut water.s, from a few ounces to 
 four or five pounds. It is a bold, hardy fish — is easily trans- 
 porteil from one water to another, and appears to thrive ccpudly 
 well on all soils. 
 
 It is taken with tlu- worm or small fish, used either as a live 
 or dead bait, and afl\>rils v(>ry fair sport, pidling strongly on the 
 line for a few minutes, hut In- no means re(|uiring the same 
 degree of skill to clVect its capture. It is the favourite fish of 
 rural angU'rs, where Pii-kcrcl do not ahuund, anri is csfccmcd a 
 •rreat delicacy where sea-fi^h lanuot l)e obtained. 
 
242 PERCID/E. 
 
 THE STRIPED SEA BASS. 
 
 Roch Fish, Bay Fish — Rtchardson. Lahrax Lineatus — Cuvier. 
 
 This noble fish, which, after tlie Salmon family, is unques- 
 tionably the most sporting fish of this continent, has its 
 geographical range from the Capes of the Delaware, in which 
 river it is known as the Rock Fish, to the coasts of Massa- 
 chusetts ; unless, as I think almost certain, the Bar-Fish of 
 Richardson, which is taken in the St. Lawrence, proved to be 
 merely an accidental variety. 
 
 The Striped Bass is properly a sea fish, entering the rivers in 
 the spring to spawn, at which time he runs as high up the 
 courses as the depth of water will permit, and lies among the 
 bushes where the channels are narrow. They run far up the 
 Hudson — are taken at the foot of the Cohoes Falls of the 
 Mohawk in great numbers, and ascend yet higher up the cold, 
 clear waters of the Delaware. 
 
 In September and October they run along the coast in large 
 schulls, entering the inlets, and being taken in great numbers 
 between the outer bars and the beach by the scan. In the 
 heaviest surfs of the Atlantic, on the outer ocean beaches, they 
 are captured of great size with a bone or metal squid. They 
 are a bold, ravenous, and powerful fish, biting voraciously at 
 almost every sort of bait, from soft crabs and clams, on a drop- 
 line, to shiners or sparlings on trolling tackle. Shad-roe in 
 rivers frequented by that fish in the spring of the year, and 
 even the artificial fly of large size and gaudy colours, with 
 
II A HITS WD IIAI'XTS. i\:i 
 
 wliieh, at the end of a lniiulrtd yards (if lino, tlicv allord <;rcat 
 sport, beiiif; vigorous, fierce, and active, not succuinhing nntil 
 after a long and violent conflict with their captors. 
 
 In winter, when tiie wi-ather heeonies eold and stormy, tliey 
 again cuter the estuaries of rivers, and imbed theinsclves in the 
 nuul of tlic brackish bays and lagoons, which possess tlie 
 advantage of being calm and undisturbed by tlie tempests 
 wliich vex tlie open sea. 
 
 They attain to a very great size, even, I believe, to seventy or 
 eighty pounds' weight, though 1 ha\c ne\('r myself seen one of 
 above forty-thrcf ; the smaller-sized tish, of s»'ven or eight 
 pounds, are, howcM-r, by far the most delicate, and I think those 
 not exceeding fifteen pounds give tlu' best sport to tlie angler. 
 
 In eohtnr, the Striped Bass is bluish brown above, silvery on 
 the sides and beneath. .Mong each side arc froni seven to nine 
 equidistant dark parallel stripes, the upper scries terminating 
 at the base of the caiulal, and the lower above the anal tin. 
 TIjcsc lines are occasionally indistinct, sometinu-s interrupted, 
 and more rarely each alternately a continuous stripe, and a row 
 of abbreviated lines or dots; this appears to be the form which 
 Dr. Kichard.son has designated as the Har-Kish of tlu; St. 
 Lawrence. 
 
 Tlie body is cylindrical and tapering ; licad and Ixidy eoven-d 
 with large adhesive scales. Latenil line obvious, running 
 through the fourth stripe, and nearly straight. Head bluntly 
 l)ointed ; eyes large; nostrils double; gill-openings large; 
 lower jaw the longest ; teetli numerous on the maxillaric^, 
 palatine bone and tongue; oj>ernihim anned with two spines on 
 its lower margin, the prroperruhim finely dentate«l. 
 
 \K-1 
 
244 PERCIDyE. 
 
 The first dorsal consists of nine spinous rays, of which the 
 first and the last are shortest. A simple ray occurs between 
 this and the second dorsal, which consists of twelve branched 
 rays. The pectoral fins have sixteen rays; the ventrals, one 
 spinous and five soft rays ; the anal, three spinous and eleven 
 soft ; the caudal, which is broadh' lunate in shape, has seven- 
 teen branded rays. 
 
 The pupils are black, the irides silvery. 
 
 Altogether it is one of the most beautiful, as well as the most 
 excellent and sporting of American Game Fish, the flesh being 
 very firm, white, and well-flavoured. 
 
 There are two other species of Bass, the Labrax Rufus, and 
 Labrax Pallidus, or Ruddy, and little White Bass, which are 
 better known, both to anglers and epicures, as the River Perch 
 of New York, and White Perch. They are both taken in the 
 brackish waters of tide rivers, and aff'ord fair sport to the 
 angler, as well as being a very delicate pan-fish. 
 
 Dr. Dekay also enumerates another fish of this genus, as the 
 small Black Bass {Labrax Nigricans), which he describes as 
 being found in various ponds of Queen's and Suffolk counties. 
 Long Island, rarely attaining to two pounds in weight, being 
 esteemed veiy good eating, and rising freely to the fly. 
 
 I have never myself seen this fish, but have great doubts 
 whether it is more than a casual variety of the Black Bass of 
 the St. Lawrence, the Centrarchus Fasciatus of Dekay, the Huro 
 Nigricans of Cuvier and Richardson, and more properly the 
 Grystes Nigricans of Agassiz; for although this is improperly 
 
VAIMETFE^ OF TMK RASS. :3l.» 
 
 distinguislu'd into two tisht-s by Dr. l)ik:iy, it is in t'lu-t but 
 our. 1 liiuc never licaril, it is trnc, of tlie existence of the 
 St. Lawrence Hnss in the waters of the State of New York south 
 of Chaniphiin, prior to the opening; of the canals, l)Mt there is 
 no doubt that, like the I'ereli, it nii<;ht easily be transported 
 from one to another locality by artitieial means. 
 
 There is yet another variety, the \Vhite J^ake Hass {L<i//r(ij- 
 Ath'tdtL'i), which is taken readily with the hook in Lake Erie, 
 anil known at Ihilfalo, ^here it is much esteemed a.s an article 
 of food, as the ^^llite Bass. 
 
 None of these arc. how<'\cr, sutlieicntly ini|)ortant to iiicnt 
 more particular notice. 
 
246 PEECID.E. 
 
 THE YELLOW PIKE PEECH. 
 
 AMERICAN SANDRE. 
 
 Lucioperca Americana — Cuvier. 
 
 THE OHIO PIKE, GLASS EYE, YELLOW PIKE, OHIO SALMON. 
 
 This bold and voracious fish I have never seen, though it is 
 abundant from the Avestern part of the State of New York 
 to the waters of the Ohio, the great lakes and rivers of the 
 fur countries, up to the fifty-eighth parallel of latitude. It 
 afi'ords great sport to the angler, being readily taken with 
 the hook, with almost any live or dead fish bait, though it 
 is said to prefer the common fresh-water Cray-fish [Astacus 
 Bartoni), according to Dr. Dekay, whose account of this fish 
 I have taken the liberty of borrowing from his " Fauna of 
 New York : " 
 
 " The best time for fishing is in the dusk of the evening, with 
 a great length of line, keeping the bait in gentle motion. The 
 foot of rapids or beneath milldams appears to be its favourite 
 haunts. In the heat of summer it seeks the deepest parts of 
 lakes, or in streams the coolest places under weeds or grass. 
 It is esteemed one of the most valuable fishes of the western 
 waters, in which it greatly abounds, and sells readily for a high 
 price. It spawns in Lake Huron in April or May, and has 
 been taken of the length of thirty inches. 
 
 " Its colour is yellowish olive above the lateral line ; lighter 
 on the sides ; silvery beneath. Head and gill-covers mottled 
 with green, brownish, and white. Chin pale flesh colour. 
 
(.HNKIJAL l)i:sCl:il'TI(».V. '^47 
 
 Pupil (hiik :mtl \itii'(m>; iricli-s mottled \\itli Mack, aiui 
 yellowish. Mcmbraiu' ul' the spiuoiiv (loisal tin traiis|)areiit, 
 with Ji few (lark dashes; the upper part of the n»euil)raue tipped 
 with l)laek. Soft dorsal tin li^^ht yi-llowish, spotted with hrown 
 iu irregular louj^itudiual hars. \ eutral fius trauspan-iit \(l- 
 lowish ; pectoral tins yellowish olive, with brownish hars. Anal 
 tin transparent yellow i>li, with a hioad whitish margin; eauilal 
 fin with iireLTuiar dusky hars. 
 
 '' The hody is elongated, eyliiulrieal, and tapering. Scales of 
 moderate size ; lateral line straight fiom the upper edge of the 
 gill-covers to tlu- tail. I'rt'-u/jtrcit/um serrated with a series of 
 ilistant sj)ines. Opirclc with one slender flat terrinal spine, 
 beyond whieh is a pointed membrane, liniitrliidl rays, seven. 
 Mouth w ide, extensible ; the lower jaw s received into the upper. 
 A series of acute recurved teeth in both jaws, and on tlu* vonur 
 and palatines. Two very long and conspicuous tcelh, resem- 
 bling canines, in front of eaeli jaw ; those of the lower received 
 into cavities above. Teeth on the vonu'r minute. Tongue 
 smooth, pointed, free. The first dorsal fin is eouiposed of 
 thirteen or fourteen long sK-nder spinous rays; the seconil 
 dorsal has one short, simple, subspinous ray, and twenty-one 
 soft ravs ; the pectorals ha\e fourtei'u soft rays; the \entrals 
 cue stout spine and fi\e branched rays; the anal oiu- -piiu- anil 
 fourteen niys; the caudal is deeply furcate, and has seventeen 
 ilistinct, beside many accessory, rays." 
 
 This fish is a true IVrch, though its form, clongate<l mouth, 
 and fiercely predatory habits suggest the idea of a Pike, whence 
 Dr. Dcknv has given it the appellation of Pike- Perch, which is 
 a tniuslation of its classical name, in preference to the name 
 
248 PERCID.E. 
 
 Sandre, AvLicli belongs to the Cauadian fish of the same species^ 
 aud to the analogous European fishes. 
 
 The Grey Perch {Lucioperca Grisea) would seem to be a 
 permanent variety of the above^ if not a distinct species ; it dif- 
 fers from it in size, never exceeding ten or twelve inches, in 
 colour and several other important particulars. It is found in 
 the same Avaters with the preceding species, and is equally 
 prized as an article of food. 
 
 Richardson's Pike-Perch, the Canadian Sandre {Lucioperca 
 Canadensis), is another small distinct species found in the River 
 St. Lawrence. Its principal characteristic difference lies in the 
 fact that the operculum has five acute spines on the lower mar- 
 gin. In colour it is dark olive, green above, and whitish 
 beneath with a few pale yellow spots on the sides below the 
 lateral line. It does not exceed fourteen inches in length. It 
 is, like the others of its species, esteemed an excellent fish on 
 the table, and, being a free biter and hard puller, affords good 
 sport to the angler. It is not, however, of so great importance 
 that I care to enter into a more minute description. 
 
modi: of cai'tluk. ".'10 
 
 THi: HLA( K HASS OK TIIK ST. LAWKKXCK. 
 
 Ilui;> .\i, »-.,-. un - Ci vicR. Ceittraic/ius Fiuciattui — Dckay. lirytUs Niyricam — 
 
 AUASSU. 
 
 This is one of tlir liiust til" the Ainericjui tVi'sli-wjitcr fi.>>lir.s; 
 it is surpassed l)y iioir* in boldness of l)itiu|j:, in tierce and 
 violent resistance when hooked, and l)y a very few only in excel- 
 lence upon the l)oard. 
 
 Peculiar orijjinally to the basin of the St. Lawrence, in wliicli 
 it abounds from the Falls of Niagara downward, if not throuj^h 
 its whole course, it has made its way into the waters of the 
 I ppcr Hudson, through the canals. It is said by Dr. Dekay 
 to be found generally in the small lakes of the state of New 
 York, but I conclude that this must be limited to those which 
 communicate with the great lakes or the St. Lawrence. It is 
 takeu abundantly in Lake Champlain, but it is in the swift 
 glancing waters of the St. Lawrence, among the excpiisite 
 scenery of the Thousand Islands, that it affords the greatest 
 sport to the angler. 
 
 It bites mveuously at a small ti>li or >[)inning-tackle, or at 
 the deadly and murderous spoon, an instrument so certainly 
 destructive that the use of it is pro|K.rly discouraged by all true 
 anglers as poaching and unsportsnnmlike. 
 
 The tinest sjKirt can be had, however, with a long light Sal- 
 mon-line, treble-twjstcd gut, to defy its numerous ami exceed- 
 ingly acute tectli, and a large fly, with a body of scarlet clund 
 and four w ings, two of tlic silver pheasant and two of the scarlet 
 
250 PERCID^. 
 
 ibis. As the Black Bass attains to the weight of six or eight 
 
 pounds^ and is excelled in vigour, speed, and agility only hy the 
 
DKSC'KUTIUN UK THK MI.Ai K liASS. 2') I 
 
 Brook Trout, tlu- Salmoii 'riMnt.uiul tin- true Salmon, tlic sport 
 which he atlunU « licii thii> hooked ran he \(iv n-adilv 
 inmj;;incil ; nor can he hi; hroii^ht io thr l)a.skct hy ain\ thinj^ 
 short of the l)t'st tackh', and thi- nio>t ihdieatf and masterly 
 nianipnlation. 
 
 In colour, this lish is nt' a dusky l)luish hlack, sometimes 
 with l)ronze rctlections, the undir parts l)Iuish white, the cheeks 
 and {^ill-covers nacrous, ot" a bluish c-olour. 
 
 The l)ody is ciunpressed. Hack arched and j^'ihbons. I'rotile 
 desccndint; ohliipiely to the rostrum, uhieii is modn-ately pro- 
 longed. Scales larjje, truncated. Scales on the opcrriilmn 
 large ; a single series on \\\l' snli-Dpcrciiluni, much smaller on the 
 pre-operculnin, JLscending hi;zh up on the membrane of the soft 
 dorsid and caudal tins. Eyes large ; nostrils double. Opviculuin 
 pointed, with a loose membrane. The lower jaw is somewhat 
 longest. The jaws are smooth anil sealeless. Both jaws are 
 armed with a broad patch of minute conic acute recurved teeth. 
 .\n oblong patch of rasp-like teeth on the vomer, and a banil of 
 the same kind on the palatines. Hranchial arches minutely 
 toothed. I'haryngeal teeth in rounded patches. 
 
 The dorsal tin is composed of nine stout spines; the second 
 dorsal of one spine and fourteen soft rays. The pectorals have 
 eighteen soft rays ; the vcntrals, one spine and five soft rays ; the 
 anals, three spines and twelve soft rays ; and the caudal, sixteen 
 »oft rays. 
 
 It is somewhat dt.ui)tful to me whether the fish known in the 
 waters of Lake Krie, and those generally above the Kails, 
 as the Oswego Wnss, is not di.stinct from this fish, though it is 
 also occasionallv called Black Ba-w. There is very e\identlv 
 
252 PEECID^. 
 
 some confusion about the matter, as I am well assured that 
 another fish of the same family, the Corvina Oscula, is at times 
 confounded with it, and called by the same name, though in 
 truth it but slightly resembles it. Another fish of the same 
 family is the Growler. 
 
(JKNKIJAL DHSCUU'TlDN. Zb'.l 
 
 Tin: (iKowi.KK. 
 
 (frtjttt* Satmonitltt — Auctori m. Tiik Wiiitk Salmon— Smith's ilistor}' of 
 Virjpniji. Tiik Thout — C'aruliiin Proviiu'iAlisiiK 
 
 This fish, in f;;cneral t'onii, clusily corrcsiiDnds with that last 
 (IrsiTihiil. It lias the same jxibhous hack, with the lateral line 
 foUowinj;; tlie (loi*sal curve, ami the same protruded lower jaw. 
 Its teeth are luinutely in hroad hands or patches. The oprr- 
 nilitm has two moderate points. 
 
 Its colour is deep greenish brow n, w ith a l)luish black spot on 
 the jjoint of the operruUtm. When yonnjr it has twenty-five or 
 thirty lon^'itudinal brownish bands, which bceoine cd'accd by 
 age. 
 
 The first dorsal fin has ten spines; the seeoud, thirteen or 
 fourteen sort rays ; the pectorals, sixteen soft rays ; the vcntrals, 
 one spine and five soft rays ; tlu- anal three spines and eleven 
 or twelve soft rays; the caudal tin, which is sligjitly lunate, has 
 seventeen soft rays. 
 
 There may, perhaps, be two distinct varieties of this fish. It 
 ha.H been taken in the waters of western New \ork, in the 
 Wabash in Indiana, and abundantly in Carolina, \«here it 
 attains to the length of two feet, and is considered an excellent 
 fi.nh, passing, a.s well as another fish of tlie same family, the 
 C'an)lina Wiak Fish {Otolithus ('tiroUnen»ijt), under the misnomer 
 of Trout. I am inclined to believe that this fish is also known 
 n.H the Welchman in the iidand waters of North Carolina. 
 
 Before passing on to the next .H|)ccies I will observj- that 1 
 
254 PERCIDJ3. 
 
 consider the proper classical uame of the Black Bass of the 
 St. Lawrence, decidedly to be Grystes — the genus Huro not 
 having been by any means satisfactorily defined, while that of 
 Centrarchus is distinguished by having many spinous rays to 
 the ventral fin ; while the genus Grijstes has but three, Perca 
 two, and Lucioperca only one — this afi'ording a broad and clear 
 distinction. 
 
DKNKWAL UKSCKllTluN. 
 
 Til i: U()( K HASS. 
 
 ! Itr.SIl W ATKll MASS. 
 CcHtrarchus ^finnu — Cuvier. 
 
 Timn is jinother ilrlicatc and i^aiiu' lisli, wliicli, originally 
 peculiar to the ha.siii of tlir St. Lawrence, has made its way 
 through the canals into the ui>[»(i' waters ot" the Hudson and 
 the anastomosing stream^. It is abundant in the great lakes, 
 and Lake Chaniplaiu. 
 
 It, like the lilack Bass, is a bold biter, taking a small fish 
 dead or alive very freely, but preferring to all other baits the 
 Cray-fish {As(ani.<t liartoni). 
 
 The general colour of this fish is a dark ct)ppcry l)ron/.e above, 
 w it li green reflections ; the head above dark green ; gill-covers 
 metallic green, with a dark spot on the posterior margin of the 
 operniluiii. The sides golden copper, with several rows of 
 oblong dark >pots below the lateral line. The tins l)lui>h 
 green. 
 
 The body is compressed, short ami broad. The dorsal outline 
 gibbous; tlie lateral line following the curve of the back. Head 
 large, with a concave outline. (Jill-covers scaly; the operculum 
 with rudiments of a double angle on tlu^ posterior margin ; 
 lower jaw somewhat the longest. Teeth small, conical, 
 recur>ed, on the mavillariis interin:i\illaries, vomer, palatines, 
 antl pharyngeals. 
 
 The d(»rsal fin has eleven spinous and twelve soft rays; the 
 pectorals, fourteen mys ; the ventrals, one weak spine and five 
 
256 PERCID^. 
 
 branched rays ; the anal, six spinous and eleven soft rays ; the 
 caudal with rounded tips has seventeen rays. 
 
 The Rock Bass is excellent eating, and gives good sport to 
 the angler, though it never attains to the size of the Black Bass, 
 rarely exceeding a pound or a pound and a half, and conse- 
 quently being far less difficult to take. 
 
 This fish, as well as the Black Bass and others of the family, 
 might be transplanted with great ease into inland waters ; and 
 as they are hardy, and defended from all enemies by their sharp 
 and spiny fins, would be sure to thrive, and would prove delicious 
 additions to our lacustrine species of fishes. 
 
<.kni:i:al bi:stiMiTi(»x. 
 
 11. ( ()M\|(>\ I'OM) I isi 
 
 FUKSU-WATKll SI N ||>|| 
 I'nmotu Vulijitrit — Ci v i kr. 
 
 FiT»h-watrr Sun Ku.ii. 
 
 Tnix hc.iutirul little tish has {^aincd its proNincial name from 
 the extreme hrilliaiicv uf its colours when disporting itself in 
 the sunshine. The nunuTous spots on its body have procured 
 tor it the absurd nanu' of Pi/ni/jkiii-Mrctf in inany States, and in 
 Massachusetts it is known as lirciini. It is valueless as an 
 article of food, and equally so as a bait fish, its acute spines 
 deterring any fish from seizing it. It is, however, a constant 
 object of pursuit to boy and lady anglers. 
 
 It has vcPk' many varieties, and a wide geographical range, 
 being found from Lake Huron, tlirougli all the Kastern States, 
 and along the Atlantic coast so far south as Carolina. 
 
 lU colour is greenish olive above, with irregular points of 
 r«'d and broader yellow or reddish brown spofN disposed in 
 very irregular Iin«'-«. Ranges of brighter spots on the l)liiisli 
 
358 PERCID^. 
 
 operculum, and on the hinder prolongation of the operculum a 
 black spot with a bright scarlet margin. 
 
 Its body is much compressed, very broad, oval. Scales large 
 and even. Forehead sloping to the snout. Lateral line con- 
 current with the back. Eyes large, cij'cular near the facial 
 outline. Nostrils double ; mouth small, with very minute thick- 
 set teeth on the maxillaries, palatines and vomer. 
 
 Its dorsal fin has ten spinous, and twelve soft rays ; pectorals, 
 twelve soft; ventrals, one spine and five soft rays; anal, three 
 spinous and five soft; caudal, seventeen soft rays. 
 
 There is another well-defined species, the Black-eared Pond- 
 fish {Pomotis Appendix), which is distinguished by a large lobe- 
 like black prolongation of the upper posterior angle of the 
 ope7'Culum. 
 
(iKNKltAl. DKSCKirTloN. 059 
 
 TIIK I.AKi; SIIKKI'S.IIKAI) 
 
 Corvina Otcul II — Cimiu. 
 
 This is a very (.•oiumoii ti^li in Lukr llviv, and also below the 
 Falls of Xiaj;ara, where it is readily taken with the hook, though 
 it is in very small repute t\)r its eilihle ipialities, bein;^ eouiniouly 
 reported to be dry, lean, and tasteless. It is in faet very rarely 
 eaten. 
 
 Its colour is blnisli <;rey on the back, darker on the abdomen 
 and the snout. Abdomen and ehin irieyisli whitt-. 
 
 In sluipe it considerably resend)les the preceding genera, 
 (injutfs and Centrarclnis, having a gibbons dorsal outline, and 
 arched profile, the lateral line being also, as in these, concurrent 
 with the curve of the back. The eyes arc large, round and 
 prominent, situated close to the facial outline. The teeth in 
 the jaws arc small, conic, and sharp, but the jjalatc and pliaryn- 
 geal.s arc paved with large rounded solid teeth, \\tll a(la[)ti(l for 
 crushing its hard and shelly prey, such as the fresh-water clams 
 and nniscles, cyclas and [laludina, which constitute its principal 
 subsistence. 
 
 The dorsal fin has nine spinous rays; the second dorsal, one 
 spinous and twenty -eight soft rays ; the pectonils, nineteen soft 
 rnys; the ventrals, one spinous and five soft; the anal, two 
 spinotn and eight soft; the caudal, seventeen rays. Its air- 
 bladder is very large and simple. 
 
 This fish, if I am not greatly in error, is >< ry fretjucntly 
 
260 PERCID^. 
 
 confounded on the lakes in the vicinity of Buffalo with the Grystes 
 Nigricans, under the name of OsAvego Bass, and in fact, though 
 of a different family [Scienida), does bear something of general 
 resemblance to that species. It is also found in many of the 
 small inland lakes throughout the country. 
 
UENEKAI- nKSCKirTloN. iG\ 
 
 rm: malasiikcan w. 
 
 CVwTi'iMi Rkhariltoui — CtiriRR. 
 
 Tills, liUf the spccit-'s l;i>t iiaiiird, is iui iiili;il)it;iut of llic 
 uplJiT l;ik.rs, thuuj^li it is not I'uiuul below Lake liiic. hi Lake 
 Hiiri)ii it is known as the S/icrp's-head, aud iu the viciuity of 
 Hutlnlo as the liliick S/tcep's-hrad. 
 
 It atlurcls virv >HH)d sport to tho aii|^h'r, aud, unlike* its eon- 
 •jeuer last described, is highly i)ri/.e(l as one of the most delicious 
 of the lake fishes. 
 
 Its colour is grecnisli prey, l)ande(l with dusky or blackish 
 bars over the back, its sides arc silvery, its belly yellowish. Li 
 form it closely resembles the Corvinu Oscula, but its forehead 
 descends in a more vertical angle to the mouth. The under jaw- 
 is somewhat the longer. The mouth is cleft back as far as to 
 the middle of the eye, which is large aud round. The teeth arc 
 very numerous and verj' small. The operculum has two lobes 
 l)ilund. 
 
 The first dorsal tin has nine spinous rays; the seeond, one 
 spine and eighteen soft rays ; the pectorals have fifteen soft rays; 
 the ventrals, one spine and seven soft rays ; the anal, one spine 
 and seven soft rays; the caudal, seventeen soft branched rays. 
 
 There is yet another species of this family, the Cort'ina Grisea, 
 known familiarly as the White Perch of the Ohio, which is found 
 iu the waten* of that noble river, l)ut it is of little importance 
 either to the angler or the epicure, and merits not a more 
 particular description. 
 
262 PERCID^. 
 
 With this fish ends the list of those fresh-water fishes of the 
 United States and British Provinces^ which by the most liberal 
 courtesy may be called game or sporting fishes. 
 
 Hence I proceed to the shoal-water sea-fishes of the same 
 division, Acanthoptergyii, and thence^ and lastly, to the deep-sea 
 fish of the order Sub-bracMal Malacopterygii. 
 
SALT-WAT Kit (iAMK FISH. 203 
 
 sii().\i,-\vati:k I'isiiKs. 
 
 II \viN(i now fumr tt» the conclusion of tli;it, hy tar tlic most 
 uiiportiuit, portion ot" my suhji'ct wliicli rclati-s to the trcsli- 
 wutcr tishcst, including; tlio>c anadronious of nii;_'ratoiy species 
 which, although they make their ahoile during a part of the 
 year at least in salt water, arc taken in sporting style in risers 
 and estuaries only, I shall proceed to devote a few pages only to 
 these sca-fisli ; all of the division Acniit/tojtfmjf/ii, and all of five 
 fauiilies, PercidtP, Hic'u'nldiP, SparidtP, Scomhildd', and IjihruUe, 
 which are taki n in shoal waters at the mouths of large rivers, in 
 hays and estuariis, and which not only afford much sport to the 
 angler at particular seasons of the ycai-, but furnish a delicious 
 article of food. 
 
 These arc the bea Bass, or IMack Sea Mass {('vntnipristi-s 
 Si(/ncans) . 
 
 The Lafayette {Ltiostonnt.s Ohliqiim). 
 
 1 he Weak Fish {Otolit/iiis Rcy(dis). 
 
 The King Fish [Umbrina Svbulosa). 
 
 The Silvery Corvinn {Conimi .Irr/i/ro/i'iica). 
 
 riu Uranded Corvinn {('orvhia Ortllata). 
 
 The Big Drum {Poyoniaa Chrumul). 
 
 The Shccp's-licad {Suryua Ovu). 
 
 The Porgce (Pagnig Argyrop.o . 
 
 Tlic Blur Fish (Tnnnndon Sallator\, 
 
 The Taulog — Black Fish (Tanlot/ti Aimnrana). 
 
264 FAMILY OF THE PERCID.E. 
 
 PERCID^. 
 THE SEA BASS. 
 
 BLACK SEA BASS. 
 
 Centropristes Nigricans — Cuvier. 
 
 This is an excellent fisL^ aud a very general favourite on the 
 table. It is with us a summer fish of passage, in the Northern 
 States I mean, appearing on the coasts of New York during the 
 months of May, June, and July, in which it is frequent in the 
 markets, and readily taken with the baited hook. 
 
 Its geographical range is very wide, extending from the coasts 
 of Florida to Cape Cod, on the shores of Massachusetts ; abun- 
 dant in the viciiiity of Martha's Vineyard, it is rare in Boston 
 Bay. Properly a southern species, though it visits the waters 
 of the Eastern States in summer, it invariably returns to the 
 eastward in autumn. 
 
 With the wonted stupid perversity of their order, the fisher- 
 men of our coasts have confounded it, by means of absurd 
 misnomers, with two entirely different species, the Blue Fish 
 {Temnodon Saltator), and the Black Fish or Tautog {Tautoga 
 Americana), calling it commonly by both these appellations. 
 
 The colour of the Sea Bass is a general blue-black, sometimes 
 
liKNHKAl. l>Ksi"KirTli>N. :»(•.:» 
 
 iiioiT itr less slijrlitly Iji*oii/ai1, the eilges ot (.very scale :iic imuli 
 (larkir lliiiii tin- piovniliiijr culuiir, wliieh i:ives tin- eli:iriietir i)t' :i 
 lilaek iut-«urk uii a Wluisli j^rumul to the whole surfaee of the 
 ti>li. Tlie fins, except iiifr t hi" pectoral, are pah' hhie ; the dorsal 
 anil anal more and less distinctly spotted with a (hirk<r shade of 
 the sanie ci»lour. 
 
 The l)ody is ohloui: ami compressi-d ; thi' scales are ot an 
 ohloni; form, eoxcrini: the ojnrri//(i and extending; hi;:ii up on 
 tlu- dorsal ; the jnt-ojurrit/i/iii is distinctly toothed alon;,' its 
 i-ntire martrin,thc itperculuin has a large spine on it, and another 
 ahovc ; the teeth are like velvet pile on all the hones, those on 
 the outer edges of the jaws the largest. 
 
 The dorsal fin has ten low spinons, and el(\cn much more 
 elevated solt rays; the pectorals have eighteen soft rays; the 
 ventrals, one spine and five soft rays; the anal, three spines and 
 seven soft rays; the caudal, trilohed, consisting of eighteen soft 
 rays. 
 
 This tine fish is known hy a great nnmher of provincial titles; 
 among others, Dr. Dekay mentions the trivial names of Black 
 Hurry and Iluitaliills. 
 
 It is a hold and free hiter, and is one of the principal ohjcets 
 of pursuit hv thosi- who join in stcamhoat i-xcnrsions to what 
 arc called the sea hunks, off the purt of New York, in the process 
 of which thev are often taken in considerahle numbers. 
 
266 FAMILY OF THE SCIENID.E. 
 
 SCIENID^. 
 
 THE LAFAYETTE. 
 
 SEA CHUB. 
 
 Leiostonms OhUqims — Lacepede. 
 
 This is a beautiful and exquisitely-flavoured little fish, which 
 properly belongs to the southern waters, being very common on 
 the coasts of Florida, where it is much prized both as a sporting 
 fish and as a delicacy. 
 
 New York is probably its northern limit, and in the New 
 York waters it is a rare visitant, though it appears at times in 
 extraordinary abundance. 
 
 One of the seasons of its most remarkable frequency happen- 
 ing to be simultaneous with the visit of Lafayette to America, it 
 thus obtained its common name by general consent, it never 
 having been observed previous to that date, and so taken for a 
 new fish, though it had in truth been defined long before by 
 Dr. Mitchil, who designated it Mugil Obliquus. 
 
 Its colour is greyish white, with fifteen or sixteen darker grey 
 bars, more or less, pointing obliquely forward, those nearer the 
 tail more vertical; pupils black, irides yellow, fins pale yellow, 
 the dorsal and anal finely spotted with black. There is a round 
 spot of dark brown on the lateral line above the pectorals. 
 
i;knkijai. i>ks(kii'TIi>n. 267 
 
 The first dorsal tin has nine spinons rays, and is trianiriilar in 
 shai)r, its tbnrth and tit'th rays hcinj^ thr larj^rst ; tin* st-cond 
 dorsal 1ms one spine and thirty soft rays; the pectorals, twenty 
 — the ventrals, fifteen soft rays ; the anal has two spines and 
 twelve si)ft rays; the eandal has nineteen l)ranehcd and 
 artienlated rays. 
 
 There is a viu-iety of this tish [Leiostomxin Xanthunis) pecnliar 
 to South Carolina, whieh has no spots or bands, hut has all the 
 fins, and more especially the caudal, yellow. 
 
j^ni'liML'^ 
 
 yCxfrw -toaBt! -it^CTTf ar Sim #mf -ftrt^; liai, aes^^r ijesL'^Rsrr ^Hs- 
 iiflliffiHCjr riff :fl& ryirenrifri - wrtKfli TR^EL inii(ic-?ff ifesL TI25H25 ffiwr.ror 
 
 tciiiBL,iitw'S!vsL i iiaiiaeiieii. i" " '"t • — ™- •■ - - -- —rgft. 
 
 ai]att^ iir iis SBBa£... ftega I3^aji oBtt J'. -(=. 
 
 :i^"ii:^ >• -^ iitia- dfeaiSIhr eajemnr, t^ 
 
 : -■ _ ^- -.-: ■_:.„... - .' _ -yjet 
 
 flfl. tSe liluiai. miit;.-^axjffir ani^er, aarf -wSjeat (paas . ■ - ' 3i£ "due 
 
(SRNKKAI. l>K,sCUIITIoN. Oftft 
 
 «)f tlic Tn»ut, whence prohnMy its soutlirni ininiionur. Win ii 
 it huH boon tnkrn tlircv or four hour* it In'oomc^ flntvijl, insipid, 
 and in fiirt utterly wurthlesa. 
 
 Its colour in liluioh grey mImitc, with trri'|;ulur liiu'!i of tmnii- 
 ver«e s|M)t!i on tlu* hnck and sides ; the head m jjreenish blue, 
 the indes arc yeUow, the ^jill-covers an<l In-lly silvery and 
 nacrous, the chin Salmon-colourc<I, dorsal and caudal tins hrox^n, 
 pcctomls pale brownish yellow, ventrals and anal oranp*. 
 
 The ImmIv is lonj;, ulendiT, and conipn'ssed ; hea<l convet 
 «Ik>vc the eye*, the scales niodrrate-sixcd, oval, coverir.jf the 
 head and jfilUeovers ; the lateral line is slightly-curved ; the eyes 
 larjje ; niaxdlahm, intennaxillanes, and pharyngeals minutelv 
 t(M>the<l. 
 
 The first (hirsal fin is triangular, and longer than it is high, 
 of eight weak spmes ; between this and the sec<ind dorsal is a 
 single weak spme. The wcond dorsal has twenty-eight iMift 
 rays, the |»cctorals have eighteen stift rays; iIh* \eiitnil«, one 
 sptne and five wtH rays; the anal, thirteen; aii«l tin- cnuil .1 
 •rventccn rays. 
 
 Of this fish there an* tw«» distinct varieties, the Otolithuji 
 CarolimenMU, also niisiianie<l Trttiit, whuh is blurr on the back 
 than the ComtntMi Weak Ki*h, and is s|N)tted rather than 
 ■tnated ; and the O/o/i/Amj Drummondt, a smaller aixxncs found 
 at New Orlcaiui. 
 
 The Common Weak Fish u taken with the huok and n^l uf 
 all titrs, fnmi a few ounrrs up to arvrn or eight |NHinds, and it 
 is prMitivelj aMcrtrd rvrti up to thirty, but I have never si-en a 
 spmmrn appnittchiug • ■ -''••■ dimensions 
 
O70 SCIENID^. 
 
 THE KING PISH. 
 
 BERMUDA WHITING. 
 
 Umhrina Alhurnus. Umhrina Nehulosa — Agassi z. 
 
 This admirable fish, which was formerh^ veiy abundant in the 
 waters of New York and its vicinity, very few ever wandering so 
 far as to Boston, is becoming daily less frequent. On the 
 coasts of Carolina and Florida, where it is still taken in vast 
 numbers, it is known absurdly as the Whiting, a fish to which 
 it bears no resemblance. 
 
 It is perhaps the gamest of all the shoal salt-water fishes, and 
 the angler regards the King Fish in his basket much as the 
 sportsman looks upon the Woodcock in his bag — as worth a 
 dozen of the more easily captured and less worthy fry. 
 
 His colours on the back and side are dark bluish grey, with 
 lustrous and silvery reflections, and bright many-coloured 
 nacrous gleams flitting over him as he dies. His irides are 
 yellow ; his dorsals, caudal, and pectorals are dusky olive brown, 
 the former the deepest; the ventrals and anals pale yellow. 
 There are several dark oblique bands ou the back, broken 
 toward the tail, and a dark horizontal stripe, more or less 
 distinct, from the pectorals to the tail. 
 
 The body is long, cylindrical, and slender ; the scales round, 
 the lateral line parallel to the back; the snout is long but 
 blunt ; the operculum has two strong flat spines; the pre-opercu- 
 lum IS serrated behind ; the branchiostegous rays are seven ; the 
 
KKNKKAl. DKSClIll'TInN. 271 
 
 teeth of tlio upper jaw art' loii^, sharp, and rare, in the htwry 
 even and rrowth'd. 
 
 First dorsal tin is trianj^ular, with ten si)inou.s rays; the second 
 dorsal has one spinous and twenty-five soft rays ; tlic pectorals, 
 thirteen soft rays; the ventrals, one spine and five soft rays; the 
 eaudal fin has seventeen rays, and has its upper lolie acute, hut its 
 lower rounded. 
 
 There is said to he a permanent variety of this lish, I'nthriiKi 
 ('oroides, pecidiar to South Carolina, \\ hieh has two spines to 
 the anal fin, and is marked with nine dark vertical hands on 
 the hack. 
 
27 £ SCIENID.E. 
 
 THE SILVERY CORVmA. 
 
 CORVINA ARGYROLEUCA.— SILVERY PERCH. 
 Bodiamcs Arr/ywleucos — Mitch il. 
 
 This fish, which greatly resembles the Perch, both in shape 
 and habits, is well known to the fishermen of New York as the 
 Silvery Perch. It is properly a native of the Caribbean Sea 
 and Gulf of Mexico, but ranges during the summer so far north 
 as the waters of New York. 
 
 It is a free-biter, and a moderately good fish. 
 
 It is of a lustrous silvery white on the upper parts of the 
 body, and opaque white below. Its dorsals, pectorals, and 
 caudal ai'e pale yellow ; its veutrals and anals, orange yellow. 
 
 Its body is compressed, its dorsal outline arched and gibbous, 
 its lateral line concurrent with the back ; eyes large ; mouth 
 deeply cut ; teeth small, and disposed in bands ; the pre-opercu- 
 him has two small spines, and a serrated margin ; the operculum 
 terminates in two flat spines. 
 
 The first dorsal fin has eleven spines ; the second dorsal, two 
 spines and twenty-two soft rays ; the pectorals, seventeen soft 
 rays ; the ventrals, one spine and five soft rays ; the anal, two 
 spines and nine soft rays ; the caudal, is slightly rounded, and 
 has seventeen soft ravs. 
 
UKNKKAI, hKMKIl'TloN. -21 :\ 
 
 'nil. i;i;\M»i:n roKvix \. 
 
 (VrriMa OccUata — C'ivikk. 
 
 This is a bcnutit'ul sprcirs, Ncry ran' at the UDitli, l)ut is 
 al)iiiKlaiit to the Miiithwarii. it is as excellent as it is liaiul- 
 sonie, aiul my southeni leaders will rccof^nisc it us the Poisson 
 Rouye, or Ked lisli ot" Ni-w Orleans, and as the Sea Bass or \\y\\ 
 Bass of Charleston. Like the rest of its family, it is a hold 
 hiter and a vifjorous fish, and is considered superlative on 
 the tnl)le. 
 
 In colour it is blue above, lighter below, with head, cheeks, 
 and shoulders of a deep j;olden yellow, with ruddy metallic 
 retlections. Its dorsal Hu is dark ^reen ; pectorals, ventrals, 
 and anal dull red. At the base of the tail it has one, and 
 sometimes two dark brown confluent spots. To these its name 
 of Branded has been ascribed by l)r. .Mitchil, as if the marks 
 resembled the brand left by a heati-d iron. 
 
 The body of this Corvina is more cylindrical, less compressed, 
 and shallower tlian in any of its family. The snout is blunt 
 but prominent. Lateral line concurrent with tlic ilorsal outline. 
 The teeth in one l)an(l in both jaws. The /nf-opcmiiiim is 
 serrated or toothed alonj; the whole marj^in ; the o/»rrriihnn 
 terminates posteriorly in two blunt spines. 
 
 The first dorsal fin has ten spines ; the second, one spine 
 and twenty-six soft rays ; the pectorals have seventeen soft 
 rays; the ventral.**, one spine and five soft rays ; the anal, two 
 spines and eight soft rays; an«l the caudal, which is nearly 
 
274 SCIENIDiE. 
 
 even, but slightly hollowed out in the centre, has seventeen 
 branched rays. 
 
 It is found in the southern seas from eight inches to three feet 
 in length, and in those waters is one of the most favourite objects 
 of pursuit to the salt-water angler. 
 
iJENEKAL DESCRIPTION. 
 
 Tin: I'K. Dia m. 
 
 I'lKji'ilHlJ l hr'^nin — CUVIEH. 
 
 TIM. DA.XDKD l)ia M. 
 
 I'lxjonms Pasciatm — Laclpkde. 
 
 HoTii of these fish arc so constiuitly and coramonly tnkcn by 
 the biiit fisher in shoal salt-wator tliat it would hardly bo i)r(»|)C'r 
 to omit all mention of them in a work of tliis nature, althout^h 
 except the jjreat size and diflieulty of landiii}; the former, and 
 the rapid bitinj^ of the latter variety — if they be indeed distinct 
 species, which I think Dr. Dekay has satisfactorily established 
 them to be — they have little or nothing to reconnncnd them. 
 
 The geographical range of both these fishes is from I'iorida to 
 New York, tlnir northern and soutlirrn limits being identical. 
 
 Tliey have both deep compressed bodies, large eyes, lateral 
 lines parallel to the dorsal outline, numerous teeth in rard-likc 
 bands on the jaws, and the pharyngeals furnishcil with large 
 hard grinders. 
 
 They have both double dorsals, the former with nine, the 
 latter with ten spines in the first — both with one spine and 
 twenty-two soft rays in the second. Pectorals, respectively, 
 eighteen and twenty ; ventrals of both, one spine and five soft 
 rays ; anals, rcsi)cctively, two spines, seven soft rays, ami two 
 spines, five soft rays ; caudals, seventeen, and fifteen branched 
 rays. 
 
 T 2 
 
^70 SCIENID^. 
 
 The large fish is of a brownish bronze colourj rather lighter 
 below, with a strongly marked spot behind the pectorals ; scales 
 silvery at the outer edges. 
 
 The smaller fish is nearly of the same colour, chocolate brown, 
 or bronze intermixed with silver, but marked with four dusky 
 bands, one coming down to the pectorals, the second crossing 
 the first dorsal, and the last two crossing the second dorsal. 
 The pectoral fins are yellowish, the others dusky brown. 
 
 The smaller fish has been by some persons supposed to be the 
 young of the larger species ; but this is, in my opinion, satis- 
 factorily controverted by Dr. Dekay, who has seen them in 
 September six inches long, with all the characteristics of the 
 adult. 
 
 It is known by various popular names, as the Grunter, Young 
 Drum, and Young Sheep^s-head, but is a fish of very small 
 estimation. 
 
 The larger species is rarely taken of less than three feet in 
 length, and fifteen or eighteen inches in depth ; they weigh from 
 twenty to eighty pounds, and although the large fish are very 
 coarse, the young are considered by some persons delicate eating. 
 They rarely go north of New York, but very rarely -sdsit the 
 coasts of ^Massachusetts. 
 
I'wiii.v (IF TiiK srAiuiu:. 277 
 
 srAKID.K. 
 
 TIIK SlIKKl'S.ilKAi). 
 
 This fine and delicate lisli must on no account be coufouiided 
 witli the fresh-water Corvinie, two of wliich jjass by the same 
 synonymc in the vernacular, and arc peculiar to the j^reat lakes. 
 This is, on the contrary, a purely salt-water species, uexcr as- 
 eendin<j^ rivers, althou;;h it enters all the shallow bays on the 
 coast, so far as Cape Cod. It is a sovitliern fish in its natural 
 state, although during' the heat of tlie summer it wauilers to the 
 northward, where it is taken alon^j the shores from .Funi' to 
 October. Its southern limit is the Mississippi, and the coasts 
 of Florida antl the ("arolinas are its breedin^'-irrounds. 
 
 As a delicacy, it holds "the same riink with .Vmcriean <^nn- 
 tronomers," .tays Dr. Dt-kay, " that the Tnrbot holds in Kurope. 
 I have frequently cntcn of both, under eipudly favourable eircum- 
 .stances, tliat i.** to say, witliin an hour after being taken out of 
 the water, an<l can assert that the Slieep's-head is the more 
 delicate and savoury fish. The Turbot, I nmy here state — though 
 I have heard the contrary frequently asserted — does not occur 
 on the shores of America.'" 
 
278 SPARID^. 
 
 I have quoted the above remarks for two reasons, first because 
 I desire to register my assertion as against Dr. Dekay's, although 
 such things are, after all, merely matters of opinion, that the 
 Sheep's-head, though a delicious fish, is not more delicate — 
 savoury neither of them are — than the Turbot, and that it is im- 
 measurably inferior to it in lacking what constitutes the Turbot's 
 chief excellence, the admirable gelatinous fins, which have been 
 famous the world over from the time of Domitian and Helioga- 
 balus, arch-epicures of old, to the palmy days of Ude and 
 Careme. 
 
 Secondly, I beg leave to state positively, that although the 
 Turbot of Europe does not exist on the shores of America, a 
 Turbot, — and a very admirable fish too, as far superior to the 
 Halibut as one fish can well be to another, — does exist, and is 
 constantly taken on the shores of Massachusetts, although, like 
 many other excellent species, it is strangely undervalued. 
 
 But to return to the Sheep's-head : it is a timid and wary fish, 
 very difficult to hook, and when hooked a fierce and bold battler, 
 exceeding difficult to land, and making a more desperate resist- 
 ance than infinitely larger species. It is considered the greatest 
 achievement of the salt-water fisherman to master this king of 
 the seas. 
 
 It is occasionally taken up to seventeen pounds, though seven 
 or eight pounds may be considered the average of large fish, but 
 like many, I might say most fishes, the smaller and middle-sized 
 run may be generally set down as the most choice. 
 
 The Sheep's-head has a deep compressed body, a head sloping 
 abruptly to the snout, and equally so to the chin and throat. 
 Scales large and oblong, smaller on the gill-covers and throat ; 
 
DESCRIITION OF Till: SIIHF.I" S-llKAlt. '219 
 
 the latorul line is parallel to the dorsal outline ; tUv jur-ajjcrrnlum 
 is broadly rouiuleil, the oprrcu/inn einar^iuate. in front of each 
 jaw it has several larj^e quadrilateral cuttinj; teeth, and inside of 
 these, both aliove and below, as well as on the pharvuf^eals, are 
 many series of larj,'i'-paved ^'riudiis. 
 
 Its dorsal tin has twelve spinous and eleven soft rays; its 
 pectorals, fifteen soft; ventrals, one spinous aud five soft ; its anal, 
 three spiuous aud teu soft; aud its caudal, seveutecu soft rays. 
 
 In colour it is of a didl silver, with copi)ery fleams on the 
 back, with tive slightly arched bands of a darker colour crossing 
 the back and tail. The irides are l;rown, the pupils black, 
 girdled with a golden ring. 
 
 The tins arc all deep brown or blackish ; the head and fore- 
 head black, with golden grecu rctlcctions; the chin marked witli 
 snuitty patches, from some fancied resemblance of which to a 
 Moorlaud sheep's face, its trivial name is derived. 
 
^80 sparidj:. 
 
 THE BIG PORGEE. 
 
 Pagriis Argyrops — Cuvier. 
 
 This is a good and a handsome fish, and would be more valued 
 if less common. It is a bold and free biter, and aflFords great 
 sport to the salt-water angler, being, with the Sea Bass, the prin- 
 cipal object of pursuit to those who affect steam-boat excursions 
 to the fishing banks. Its geographical range is from Charleston 
 southward, to Cape Cod on the north, beyond which it has been 
 found impossible to naturalise them. 
 
 The colour of the Porgee is a deep brownish black on the head 
 and back, with green and golden reflections, especially about the 
 neck and sides, which are silvery, with brazen gleams. A black 
 spot marks the upper corner of the gill-cover crossing the lateral 
 Hne, and there is another of the same kind at the base of the 
 pectoral fin. The dorsal, anal, and caudal fins are brown, the 
 ventrals bluish, the pectorals light yellow. The body of this 
 fish is much compressed, with a gibbons outline, nearly half as 
 deep as it is broad ; the face arched ; the scales are large, and the 
 lateral line corresponds with the curve of the back. 
 
 The jaws are largely furnished, as well as the pharyngeals, 
 with alternating series of acute and paved teeth. The dorsal fin 
 is compound, with one stout and twelve feeble spines, and twelve 
 soft rays ; the pectorals are unusually long, with sixteen soft 
 rays ; the ventrals have one spine and five soft ; the anal, three 
 spines and eleven soft ; and the caudal, seventeen soft rays. 
 
 There are two smaller fish of the same family, one well known 
 
DISTINCTIVK VAKIKTIKS. 281 
 
 to all fishermen, especially mi tlir T.oiit; Ishmd shores, as the 
 Sand I'orj^ee {S(ir(/iui .Ircnosii.t), and .uKithcr lar less common, 
 tlescrihed hy C'uvicr and otliers as the Khomhoidal Porgcc 
 {Sart/u.t Rhomboides), winch, thonf^h very similar to the IJij; 
 Porgec, arc clearly distinct. 
 
£82 FAMILY OF THE SCOMBRIDiE. 
 
 SCOMBRIDiE. 
 
 THE BLUE PISH. 
 
 HORSE MACKEREL.— GREEN FISH, IN VIRGINIA.— SKIPJACK, IN 
 CAROLINA.— SNAPPING MACKEREL. 
 
 Temnodon SaUator—CvviE,n. 
 
 A BOLD^ fierce, and well-known fish this, greatly sought after, 
 and affording fine sport to the fisherman, and right- royally good 
 to eat when quite fresh out of the water, split in two down the 
 back, nailed upon a shingle, and roasted before a quick fire. 
 
 It is a singularly erratic fish, sometimes swarming on the 
 coasts, and again almost entirely disappearing. It occasionally 
 runs far up rivers, and was taken in the Hudson, so high up as 
 the Highlands, in great quantities in the year 1841. It appears 
 to have been entirely unknown on the coasts of New York before 
 the year 1810, since which it has been, on the whole, gradually 
 on the increase, while in like proportion its \dctims, the Weak 
 Fish and King Fish, appear to be dying out. 
 
 The Blue Fish is said occasionally to reach the weight of thirty- 
 five poimds, but the average run is from three to eight. They 
 generally frequent the coasts of New York from May until late 
 m the autumn. Their geographical range is very wide, from 
 
DESCRIITION (»F THE BLUE FISH. 2S.*i 
 
 Brazil to Massachusetts on the coasts of America, from New 
 llollaiul to Madaf^ascar, and from Amboyna to Ei^ypt. 
 
 'I'lie young Hsh abound in the mouths of onr rivers from four 
 to six inches in length, and v\in thru they will take the bait 
 with avidity. 
 
 The ordinary mode of catching this finr (ish is with wliat is 
 technically termed a s(|ui(l, or piece of bright bom- or metal, 
 hurled out from the stern of a sailing boat, going with what is 
 known as a " mackerel bree/.e" in a sea-way, and drawn rajjidly 
 home by liand. 
 
 Tljcre are numy worse kinds of sport than this ; the swift 
 motion of the vessel, the dasliing spray, and the rapid 
 biting of the tish, cond)ining to create a highly pleasurable 
 excitement. 
 
 The colour of this fish is a light bluish grey, with deeper 
 tints on the back, and greenish reflections on the sides, becoming 
 silvery on the belly. Tlic pectorals, dorsal, and caudal fins, 
 greenish brown ; the ventrals and anal, bluish white. 
 
 The body is oblong, cylindrical, compressed, and sknder ; the 
 facial outline gently sloping; the scales, which cover the whole 
 body, the head, gill-covers, and much of the tins are of moderate 
 size nnd oblong oval form. 
 
 The lower jaw is longest, bf)th maxillaries are well armed 
 with sharp lancet -formed teeth; the palatines, vomer, and base 
 of tongue banded with card-like patches of teeth. The opcreulinn 
 terminates in two indistinct Hat points. 
 
 The first dorsal tin is composed of seven weak spinous rays; 
 the second of one short and twenty-five longer fiexible rays. 
 The pectorals have seventeen soft ; the ventrals, one spine and 
 
284 SCOMBRID^. 
 
 five soft ; the auals^ one spine and twenty-seven soft ■ and the 
 caudal, nineteen flexible rays. 
 
 Of the same family with the above are the well-known Spring 
 Mackerel {Scomber Vernalis), of Mitchil, and Fall Mackerel 
 [Scomber Grex), of the same author, as also the Spanish Mack- 
 erel [Scomber Colias), all of which species are excellent eating, 
 and give good sport in the bays and inlets. They are, however, 
 so common that they are rarely pursued for the sport, or taken 
 except as an article of food and commerce. I therefore pass 
 them without farther notice than this mere cursory mention. 
 
FAMILY OK TIIK l.AhlCID.i:. 2H5 
 
 i,.\ r. i; 1 \).E. 
 
 Tin; lAI Tod. 
 
 TIIH 1JLA( K FISH OF NKW VoUK. 
 Ta utog A nuricana — D k k a \ . 
 
 riii>, like :tll tlic fishes last described, is rather a pMieral 
 favourite aniouj; sportsnuu and i'|)icures, thouf^h I confess my 
 own opinion to l)e that he is j;enerally overrated in both capaci- 
 ties. As a game tish he is a dead, logg^', heavy puller on the 
 hook, offering little resistance beyond the vis itiert'ue and dead 
 weight, and on the table his excellence depends mainly on 
 the cook. 
 
 Tlie colour of the Bhick Fish is indicated by his name, but 
 varies considerably frnui deep (lull black to glossy blue black 
 with mctallii- reflections, and occa-sionally to (hi^ky bniwii. 
 
 His body is elongated and compressed, the outlines of the 
 back arched fonvard of the dorsal to the snout, straight poste- 
 riorly. The lateral \\\\v concurrent with the back. The eyes 
 arc mther .Hmall, the scales small, extending over the gill-covers, 
 which arc very large and rounded. The lips arc very thick and 
 fli-shy, the teeth stout The branchiostegous ravs are five in 
 number. 
 
286 LABRIDiE. 
 
 The dorsal fin has seventeen low spinous rays, and ten soft 
 rays ; the pectorals, seventeen soft; the ventrals, one spinous, five 
 soft ; the anal, three spinous and eight soft ; the caudal, fourteen 
 soft branched rays. 
 
 The Tautog ranges only from the capes of the Cheasapeake to 
 Massachusetts Bay. He is readily taken with the hook baited 
 Avith crabs, clams, or other small shell-fish, from April untU 
 late in the autumn, especially in the vicinity of rocks, reefs, hulls 
 of sunken wrecks, or old deserted docks, where he finds food in 
 abundance. It is well to bait the ground largely for several 
 days in advance of fishing for him. 
 
(JAMK FISH UF TllK SLA. 287 
 
 DEEP-SEA FISHING. 
 
 I iiAKPi.Y lu>ltl myself jiiNtitii'd in enumerating the Cod, 
 llmlduck, Whitiuj;, Halibut, and I'louiuk'r among Game Fishes, 
 l)iit as it is probable that some of my readers do regard them as 
 such, and pursue theui for the pleasure of the capture, indepen- 
 dent of profit, I shall proceed to describe- the first three briefly, 
 and shall devote a few pages in another portion of this work to 
 a consideration of tlie modes and methods of their capture. 
 
 The huge Halibut {Hippof/Zosxua Vuf(/arLi}, and the Flounder 
 \^Phuronectes Deiitatus), I shall content myself with naming, as 
 I cannot bring myself to regard them as fit for any but culinary 
 purposes. In like manner tlie Hake, the Cusk, the Pollock, 
 and many otliers of the Cod family, I shall pass in silence as 
 objects only of casual pursuit, except to the professionjd fisher- 
 man, who plies his daily toil to earn his daily l)read. 
 
288 
 
 FAMILY OF THE GADID^E. 
 
 GADID^. 
 
 THE COD. 
 
 Morvhua Vulgans. 
 
 This is the common Cod of Newfoundland, well-known as an 
 article of food the wide world over. There is an American 
 variety, Morrhua Americana, which is shghtly though perma- 
 nently distinct. 
 
 The fishes of this class are distinguished from the other soft- 
 rayed fishes by having the ventrals situate nearly vertical under 
 the pectorals, and ha\ing two or three dorsal and anal fins. 
 
 The colom' of this well-known species, which attains to a 
 A ast weight, sometimes seventy or eighty pounds, varies much 
 in individuals. It is generally greenish brown, fading into ash- 
 rolour M lien the fish is dead, with many reddish yellow spots. 
 
GENERA!. DESCRIPTION. 289 
 
 The belly silvery opaque white, the fins pale green, the lateral 
 line dead white. 
 
 Tlie body is long and cylindrical, the head sloping in an 
 arched line, the eyes large, the scales small and adhesive. It 
 has a cirrus or barbel at the extremity of the lower jaw. It has 
 four rows of teeth on the upper, and one on the lower jaw. 
 
 It has three dorsal fins, respectively of fifteen, twenty-two, 
 and nineteen rays; pectorals, nineteen rays; vcntrals, six rays. 
 Two anal fins respectively of twenty-two and nineteen rays; 
 caudal, forty rays. 
 
 It is a bold and voracious fish, ranging from New York 
 northwardly along all the coasts of America. 
 
290 
 
 GADID^. 
 
 THE AJUERICAX HADDOCK. 
 
 Morrhua jEglefinis — Cuvier. 
 
 The American Haddock. 
 
 The distinctive colouring of tliis fish is blackish brown above^ 
 and silvery grey below the lateral line, which is jet black. The 
 back and sides are varied by purplish and golden gleams ; there 
 is a large dark vertical patch posterior to the pectorals^ crossing 
 the lateral line. 
 
 The fins are dusky blue. 
 
 The body of the Haddock is stout anteriorly, and tapering 
 backward. The head lai'ge and arched. The eyes are large. 
 The lower jaw is the shortest ; the teeth small, in a single row 
 on each jaw ; a single small barbel on the chin. 
 
 It has three dorsals, the first and third triangular, the second 
 longest, respectively of fifteen, twenty-two, and twenty rays. 
 The pectorals have twenty-one ; the ventrals, sixteen ; the two 
 anals, respectively, twenty-five and twenty-one ; and the caudal, 
 thirty-four rays. 
 
 The range of the Haddock is similar to that of the Cod ; it is 
 very abundant, and is about equal in estimation as an article of 
 food with its congeners. 
 
(iKNKIfAL DESCKllTloN. 
 
 •.'-.•I 
 
 TIM. \\ll.l;l( \\ \\ 111 I l\( 
 
 Mtrlan;fM Amcniitniiji. 
 
 The American Whiilng. 
 
 This is, comparatively speaking, a rare and little-known lisji, 
 that which is commonly called llli'ttin;/ hein;.; in rc.ility :i Ilukc 
 [Mfrhiciuit). It ranj^es oidy from Massachusetts northward. 
 
 It is easily distinguished hy its long, tapering, cylindrical 
 Ijudy, and its high, triangular, wing-like dorsals. 
 
 Its colour is, above the lateral line, a bright nacrous bluish 
 grey, and below a silvery white, with tins nearly of the sanu' 
 colour. 
 
 The head of the ^^hiting is acutely pruli>n:_'((l ; th(* eyes 
 large and [)nimincnt ; the gill-cu\»'rs rounded ; tlic teeth Nliarp 
 and small. 
 
 The three dorsals have respectively tliirtccti, twenty, aiul 
 twenty rays; the pectorals, nineteen; the vcntrals, .six; the 
 anals, respectivj-Iy twenty-four and twenty-one ; and the caudal, 
 thirty-two. 
 
 The \Vliiting is a delicate fish. It is taken in the sanu- 
 mnnner and in the .«uimc waters with the Cod and IladdcMk 
 
292 GADID^. 
 
 andj like them^ has little or no game habits. My chief reason 
 for inserting him in this work is^ that his existence in American 
 waters has been doubted and denied. 
 
 With him ends the list of the fishes of America which come 
 within the scope of my work, and now away to the waters and 
 the woods, and all the calm and sweet accessories of the gentle 
 angler's craft. 
 
SALMON I.OCAI.ITIKS. £93 
 
 SALMON FISHING. 
 
 Ok all till' piscatory sports, this is the first and tiiicst ; and 
 althuugh it cannot now he pursued hy the American angler 
 except at the expense of some not inconsidcrahic time and 
 trouhlc, still there is no land on eartli in uhieh it exists in such 
 perfection as in this. 
 
 Time was, wlu-n e\ery river eastward of the Capes of the 
 Delaware swarmed with this noble tish, hut, year afti-r year, 
 like the Red Indian, they ha\i' passed farther and farther from 
 the sphere of the encroaching white man's boasted ci\ ilisation, 
 and perhaps will also ere long be lost from the natural world of 
 this era. 
 
 The Kennebec is now the ejistern limit of the Salmon's range, 
 and in that bright and limpid river he is yearly waxing Iiss and 
 less fre<iuent. 
 
 In the I'enob.HCot, even to this day, he al)ounds ; but for some 
 singular a«d inexplicable reason, whether it be from the .saw- 
 dusty turbidnes-s of its lower waters, or from some esjwcial habit 
 of the fish, it IS rarely t»r never known to take the bait or the 
 tly, \uthni ven.' numy nules of the mouth of that grand and 
 inijKrtuous stream. 
 
294 SALMON FISHING. 
 
 Far up the uorthern and northwestern branches of the river 
 it is speared constantly by the Penobscot Indians ; but the 
 wliite residents of that wild region, lumbermen for the most 
 part, and sparse agricultural settlers, are guiltless of the art of 
 fly-fishing— the only method, by-the-way, except the use of roe- 
 bait, whereof more anon, by Avhich much success can be expected 
 or obtained. 
 
 To the sportsman, that great track of grandly-timbered and 
 superbly-watered wilderness, which yet lies \drgin almost and 
 unbroken, from within a few leagues of the ocean to the great 
 St. Lawrence, and from the Upper Kennebec to the Aroostook 
 and St. John's, is yet well nigh terra incognita. 
 
 Yet well would it repay the fisherman or the hunter, to pack 
 his traps in the smallest compass, and set forth with rifle, shot- 
 gun, and long Salmon-rod, via Augusta, Norridgewock, and the 
 magnificent gorges of the Kennebec, for that land of the Moose, 
 the Deer, the Trout, and the lordly Salmon, there to encamp 
 for days or weeks, as his taste for excitement and his manly 
 hardihood should dictate, floating by day in the birch-bark 
 canoe over the bright transparent waters, sleeping by night on 
 the fragrant and elastic shoots of the green hemlock, winning 
 his food from the waters and the wilds by his own skill and 
 daring, and earning the appetite whereby to enjoy it, by the toil 
 which is to him a pleasure. 
 
 Such in fact is at present the only mode by which the angler 
 can enjoy truly fine Salmon fishing, unless indeed he be a man 
 of such liberally endowed leisure that he can fit his own 
 yacht, and visit the estuaries of those Salmon-freighted rivers, 
 which, from the St. John's, round all the eastern and north- 
 
SALMON LuCAl.ITIKS, 295 
 
 CiUitcru sliorcs ul New IWuiiswii-k, No\a Scotia, ami Prince 
 Etlwaril's Islaml, to the vast mouth of the St. Lawrence, and 
 up timt splcnilid river and its f^reat northern tributaries, the 
 Miuf^an and the Saj^nienay, as far ahnost as to the heij^hts of 
 Cape Diamond, otler the lar|^est temptations to the adven- 
 turous anj;hM-. 
 
 \N ithin a lew years, indeed, the rivers close around Quehec, 
 the Montmorcnci, the ("haudiere, and the .laccpies ('artier, 
 abounded with Sahnon ; and a drive of a few hours in the 
 morning from tiie Plains of Abraham, set the lislierman on 
 waters where he could confidently count on tilling his creel, 
 even to overflowing, before night-fall ; but latterly these streams 
 have failed almost entirely, and a sail of nuuiy miles down the 
 St. Law rencc to the mouth of the Saguenay or the lordship of 
 Mingan, has iu)w become necessary to ensure good sport. 
 
 In the uppir province of Canada, although Salmon run up 
 the river into Lake Ontario, and frequent many of the streams 
 falling into it from the northern shore, as the Credit and others, 
 they arc very rarely fished for or taken with the fly, and it is 
 said confidently that in the lake itself they will not take the fly 
 under any circumstauecs. 
 
 Within my own recollection, Salmon were wont to run up 
 the Oswego, and so find their way into all the lesser lakes of 
 the State of New York, but the dams on the river, erected, I 
 believe, in order to the construction of the canal, have com- 
 pletely sliut them out from these waters, I may here observe 
 that it is very greatly to be tlcplored that, a.s is compelled by 
 law in the Scottish and Irish Salmon rivers, a small aperture is 
 not left in the rivers and dams, if they be above twelve feet in 
 
'Zm SALMON FISHING. 
 
 height, by which the fish may ascend to the cool and gravelly 
 head- waters, in which they deposit their spawn. 
 
 Such an aperture or run-way, which need not be of more 
 than two or three feet square, would not occasion any material 
 waste of water in rivers of the vast volume and rapidity which 
 are characteristic of all the American Salmon rivers, and, there- 
 fore, would detract nothing from the utiHty of the works, while, 
 by suffering this most valuable fish to ascend the course, and so 
 to propagate its species, it would ensure to the inhabitants of 
 the inland shores a delicious variety of food, and create anew an 
 important article of commerce. 
 
 It is singular that the Salmon of the lakes are never known 
 to enter the Niagara River, although they are constantly taken 
 at its mouth. They might ascend it some sixteen or seventeen 
 miles, to the foot of the Falls, but I believe it to be a fact that 
 none have ever been taken within the stream. 
 
 The cause of this is probably to be found in the great depth 
 of the Niagara River, in its abrupt and wall-like shores, and in 
 the total absence of gravel beds, or pebbly shoals of any kind, 
 on which they can deposit their ova. 
 
 Again, I am not aware that Salmon are ever taken in the 
 Black River, the Rackett River, or any other of the fine streams, 
 all abounding with the finest Brook Trout, which make their 
 way from the romantic region of the Adirondack lakes and high- 
 lands, to the northward, into the basin of the St. Lawrence. 
 
 Everywhere to the northward of the great Canadian river, to 
 the extreme Arctic regions, the Salmon is found in vast num- 
 bers, and, together with the White Fish or Attihawmeg, the 
 delicious Arctic Grayling, Back's Charr, and the Common 
 
Tin: WKSTKIJN W A Tints. 2 'J 7 
 
 Trout, atlbrd tlieir principal subsistence to the Esquimaux, and 
 to the iulvcnturous I'lir-traders, whose posts arc dotted down, 
 hundrcils of liaj^ucs apart, throuj;hout those inhospitable 
 countries. 
 
 A^ain, throuj^hout the whole of that hut;e territory lately 
 won at the sword'^ i)()int, hy the Saxou ciicrj^y of vouii^ 
 America, from tlu> degenerate children of old Spain, throuj^h- 
 out the Mritish possessions, ami even in those far northern 
 shores \\hiih the Russian hohls upon this western continent, 
 the estuaries and courses of those waters which pour into the 
 Paeitic can boast not oidy the- true Sahnon, but many fine, 
 distinct varieties. Many years will not probably elapse, taking 
 into consideration the incessant stream of immigration which is 
 almost overflowing Northern California, and remendjcring the 
 restless, enterprising energy of the Anglo-American race, before 
 railroads, even to the Pacific, across the western prairie.«», and 
 through the gorges of the Rocky .Mountains, will open this new 
 world to the adventurous angler, and the dwellers of the 
 Atlantic cities \\ill make thiir trips to the Salmon rivers of the 
 Pacific with less trouble, and in less time, than it took their 
 sturdy Hutch forefathers to visit .\ll)any, now reached with ease 
 in a few hours. 
 
 For the present, however, it is needless to discourse of these 
 western waters, since time must pass before any species of ganie 
 will be pursm-d for sport on the shores of the I'acifir, or killed 
 except to alford subsistence to a population occupied wholly 
 in the greedy race for riches. To tlic fisherman, therefore, tin* 
 Eastern States and the north-ea.-^tern British provinces alTord 
 the only accc*sil)le Salmon fishing ; and I should strongly urge 
 
298 SALMON FISHING. 
 
 it upon those who are enthusiastic about this fine sport, not to 
 waste time even in the Kennebec or the Penobscot, but to pack 
 up their traps at any time between May and September, and 
 set forth at once for the city of St. John's, in New Brunswick. 
 
 This toAvn, which might be styled not inaptly the paradise of 
 American fly-fishers, may be reached with ease in a few days 
 via Boston, whence, if I am not mistaken, a stout and well- 
 found steamer, the Admiral, takes her departure every Wednes- 
 day for New Brunswick. In St. John's every requisite for the 
 prosecution of the sport can be obtained, every information 
 concerning the vast waters, and every facility for the procure- 
 ment of guides, boats, and the like will be gladly furnished, and 
 every thing that hospitality can efi'ect will be lavishly offered to 
 the gentle angler. 
 
 I venture here to mention the name of an enthusiastic and 
 thorough fisherman, Mr. Perley, her Majesty's emigration 
 officer in the city of St. John, as one certain to do whatever in 
 his power lies to forward the views and promote the pleasure of 
 any who shall \isit his part of the world, led by the love of the 
 gentle science ; and I take the same opportunity of thanking 
 him for the very valuable information he has afforded me con- 
 cerning the fisheries and fishing of the pro\dnce, and of 
 bespeaking his friendship and attention for any of my readers 
 who shall be induced by the perusal of these pages to wet a line 
 in the rapids of the St. John, the Obscache, the Chemenpeek, 
 or the Richibucto. 
 
 Before proceeding to describe the mere technical portions of 
 Salmon fishing, and the implements necessary for the prosecu- 
 tion of the sport, I shall take the liberty of quoting from myself 
 
JASl'KK ST. AlUYN. 2l>0 
 
 H chai)trr of n novelette now in conrse of pn1)licati()ii in 
 (Jrahani's e.vctlknt niaj^aziiie, entitled Jasper St. Aubyn. I do 
 this not e-joti.stically, nor altojjether to save time and troubli-, 
 init rather heeanse it contains as correct an account of the 
 mode to he pursued in easting for tlic Sahuon, hooking;, phiyin{^, 
 aiul killing him in an Iln^'lish river, as 1 am eapahh- of writ inj^; 
 and because the variety of the narrative style may possibly 
 prove a relief to the reader, after the drier routine of more 
 didactic writ in-;. 
 
 It is scarcely, perhaps, necessary to add that the mode of 
 tishin<j^ for the Salmon in England and America arc identical, 
 the tackle and implements the same, ami the same tlics the 
 most killing in all waters, i>f whieh singular fact, and other 
 nnitters connected with whieh, 1 shall say more hereafter. 
 Nor, I presume, need 1 apologise to my reader for the slight 
 anachronism which has attributed to an ideal personage sup- 
 posed to live in the age of the Second James all the modern 
 improvements and advantages possessed by the anglers of the 
 present day, and all tlu- skill and science whieh were et-itaiiily 
 not to be found at that time in any Srilmon-risher, not except- 
 ing even good (juaiut Father Izaak, whose maxims on Salmon- 
 tishing, and indeed on tly-fishing in general, savour far more of 
 nnticpiity than of utility. 
 
 " It was JUS fair a morning of July as ever ilawned in the blue 
 summer sky ; the sun ns yet had risen but n little way above 
 the waves of fresh green foliage which formed the liorizon of 
 the woodland scenery surrounding Widecomb Manor; and his 
 heat, which promised ere mid-day to become excessive, »as 
 
aOO SALMON FISHING. 
 
 tempered now by the exhalations of the copious night-dews, 
 and by the cool breath of the western breeze, which came down 
 through the leafy gorges, in long, soft swells from the open 
 moorlands. 
 
 " All nature was alive and joyous ; the air was vocal with the 
 piping melody of the blackbirds and thrushes, carolling in every 
 brake and bosky dingle ; the smooth, green lawn before the 
 windows of the old Hall was peopled with whole tribes of fat, 
 lazy hares, limping about the dewy herbage, fearless, as it would 
 seem, of man's aggression ; and to complete the picture, above a 
 score of splendid peacocks were strutting to and fro on the 
 paved terraces, or perched upon the carved stone balustrades, 
 displaying their gorgeous plumage to the early sunshine. 
 
 " The shadowy mists of the first morning twilight had not 
 been dispersed from the lower regions, and were suspended 
 still in the middle air in broad fleecy masses, though melting 
 rapidly away in the increasing warmth and brightness of the 
 day. 
 
 " And still a faint blue line hovered over the bed of the long 
 rocky gorge, which divided the chase from the open country, 
 floating about it like the steam of a seething cauldron, and 
 rising here and there into tall smoke-Hke columns, probably 
 where some steeper cataract of the mountain-stream sent its 
 foam skyward. 
 
 "So early, indeed, was the hour, that had my tale been 
 recited of these degenerate days, there would have been no 
 gentle eyes awake to look upon the loveliness of new-awakened 
 nature. 
 
 " In the good days of old, however, when daylight was still 
 
.'ASl'KK ST. Alin-N. .{01 
 
 ilcrmed to be the tittinj; time for lal)()ur and for pastime, and 
 nij^lit tlie appointed time for natural and healtlifnl sleep, the 
 dawn was wont to hrij;hten beheld by other eyes than those of 
 elowns anil milkmaids, and the u'ay son^s of the matntinal 
 birds were listened to by ears that could appreciate their 
 untaujcht melodies. 
 
 " And now, just as tin- stable eloek was strikin-; fmr, the 
 i;reat oaken door of the old Hall was ihiown open with a 
 vijjorons swinir that made it rattle on its hinges, and Jasper 
 St. Anbyn came bounding' out into the fresh morning air, with 
 n foot iiiJ chtstie as that of the mountain roe, sinj^inj; a snatch 
 uf soiue ((uaint old ballad. 
 
 " He was dressed simply in a close-fitting jacket and tight 
 hose of dark-green cloth, without any lace or cnd)roidery, light 
 boots of untanned leather, and a broad-leafed hat, with a single 
 eagle's feather thrust carelessly through the band, lie wore 
 neither cloak nor sword, thougli it was a period at which 
 gentlemen rarely went abroad without these, their distinctive 
 attributes; but in the broad black belt which girt his roundi'd 
 waist he carried a stout wood-knife with a buckhorn hilt ; and 
 over his shoulder there swunjx from a leathern thong a large 
 wicker Hshing-basket. 
 
 " Nothing, indee<l, could be simpler or less indicative of nny 
 particular rank or station in society than young St. Aubyn's 
 garb, yet it would have been a very didl and unobservant eve 
 which should take him fur aii_'ht !. s> than a high-born and 
 high-bred gentleman. 
 
 " His fine intellectual face, his bearing en'ct before heaven, 
 the gmccful ease of his every motion, a-* he hurried down tli< 
 
302 SALMON FISHING. 
 
 flagged steps of the terrace, and planted his light foot on 
 the dewy greensward, all betokened gentle birth and gentle 
 associations. 
 
 ''But he thought nothing of himself, nor cared for his 
 advantages, acquired or natural. The long and heavy salmon- 
 rod which he carried in his right hand, in three pieces as yet 
 unconnected, did not more clearly indicate his purpose than 
 the quick marking glance which he cast towards the half- 
 veiled sun and hazy sky, scanning the signs of the weather. 
 
 " ' It will do, it will do,' he said to himself, thinking as it 
 were aloud, ' for three or four hours at least ; the sun will not 
 shake ofl:' those vapours before eight o'clock at the earliest, and 
 if he do come out then hot and strong, I do not know but the 
 water is dark enough after the late rains to serve my turn a 
 while longer. It will blow up, too, I think, from the westward, 
 and there will be a brisk curl on the pools. But come, I must 
 be moving, if I would reach Darringford to breakfast.' 
 
 " And as he spoke he strode out rapidly across the park 
 toward the deep chasm of the stream, crushing a thousand 
 aromatic perfumes from the dewy wild-flowers with his heedless 
 foot, and thinking little of the beauties of nature, as he hastened 
 to the scene of his loved exercise. 
 
 " It was not long, accordingly, before he reached the brink 
 of the steep rocky bank above the stream, which he proposed 
 to fish that morning, and paused to select the best place for 
 descending to the water's edge. 
 
 " It was, indeed, a striking and romantic scene as ever met 
 the eye of painter or of poet. On the farther side of the gorge, 
 scarcely a hundred yards distant, the dark limestone rocks rose 
 
.lASPKU ST. Anns. .-io:; 
 
 sliccr ami precipitous tVoin tlu- very brink of the stream, rifted 
 and broken into anjjnlar blocks and tall colunuiar masses, from 
 the clefts of wliicli, wlierever tlu y coidd find soil cnotii;li to 
 support their scamty {growth, a few stunted oaks slu)t out almost 
 horizontally with their gnarled arms and dark-green foliage, and 
 here and there the silvery bark and <|uivcriiig tresses of the 
 bireli relieved tlu* monotony of colour by their gay briglitness. 
 Above, the clifts were crowned \^itb the beautiful purple 
 heather, now in its vi'ry glow of sunuuer bloom, about wliicii 
 were bu/zing myriads of wild bees, sipping their nectar from its 
 cups of amethyst. 
 
 " The hither side, though rough and steep and broken, was 
 not in the place where Jasper stood precipitous; indied it 
 seemed as if at some distant period a sort of landslip had 
 occurred, by which the summit of the rocky wail bad been 
 broken into massive fragments, and hurled down in an 
 inclined plane into the bed of the stream, on which it had 
 encroached with its shattered bh)cks and rounded boulders. 
 
 "Time, however, bad covered all this abrupt and broken 
 slope with a beautiful growth of oak and ha/.i-l coppice, among 
 which, only at distant intervals, coidd the dun wiather-beaten 
 Hanks of the great stones be discovered. 
 
 " At tljc hn.sc of this descent, a lunulri'd and fdty feet perhaps 
 below tljc stand of the young sportsman, Mowed tlie dark arrowy 
 stream — a wild and perilous water. As clear as crystal, yet as 
 dark as the brown cairn-gorm, it came pouring down among 
 the broken rocks with a rapidity and force which showed what 
 must be its fury when swollen by a storm among the mountains, 
 here breaking into wreaths of rippling foam where some uns( ( n 
 
804 SALMON FISHING. 
 
 ledge chafed its current, there roaring and surging white as 
 Decembei*'s snow among the great round-headed rocks, and 
 there again wheehng in sullen eddies, dark and deceitful, round 
 and round some deep rock-rimmed basin. 
 
 " Here and there, indeed, it spread out into wide, shallow, 
 rippling rapids, filling the whole bottom of the ravine from side 
 to side, but more generally it did not occupy above a fourth 
 part of the space below, leaving sometimes on this margin, 
 sometimes on that, broad pebbly banks, or slaty ledges, 
 affording an easy footing and a clear path to the angler in its 
 troubled waters. 
 
 "After a rapid glance over the well-known scene, Jasper 
 plunged into the coppice, and following a faint track worn by 
 the feet of the wild-deer in the first instance, and widened by 
 liis own bolder tread, soon reached the bottom of the chasm, 
 though not until he had flushed from the dense oak covert two 
 noble black cocks with their superb forked tails, and glossy 
 purple-lustred plumage, which soared away, crowing their bold 
 defiance, over the heathery moorlands. 
 
 " Once at the water's edge, the young man's tackle was 
 speedily made ready, and in a few minutes his long line went 
 whistling through the air, as he wielded the pow^erful two- 
 handed rod, as easily as if it had been a stripling's reed, and 
 the large gaudy peacock-fly alighted on the wheeling eddies, at 
 the tail of a long arrowy shoot, as gently as if it had settled 
 from too long a flight. Delicately, deftly, it was made to dance 
 and skim the clear, brown surface, until it had crossed the pool 
 and neared the hither bank ; then again, obedient to the pliant 
 wrist, it arose on glittering wing, circled half round the angler's 
 
JASPKH ST. AUnVN. 305 
 
 head, and was scut titU'fii yards aloof, strai<;lit as a wild bco's 
 Hif^ht, into a littji* niiniic whirlpool, scarce larj^cr than the hat 
 of the skilful fisherman, which spun round and round just to 
 Iccwnrd of a jjrey ledge of limestone. Scarce had it reached 
 its mark before the water broke all around it, and the gay 
 deceit vanished, the heavy swirl of the surface, as the break 
 was closing, indicating the great si/.e of the li-«li which had 
 risen. Just as the swirl was subsiding, and the forked tail of 
 the monarch of the stream was half seen as ]iv descended, that 
 indescribable but well-known turn of the angler's wrist, fixed 
 tlie barbed hook, and taught the scaly victim the nature of the 
 prey he had gorged so heedlessly. 
 
 " With a wild bound he threw himself three feet out of the 
 water, showing his silver sides, with the sea-lice yet clinging to 
 his scales, a fresh sea-run fish of fifteen, ay, eighteen pounds, 
 and perhaps over. 
 
 " On his broad back he strikes the water, but not as he meant 
 the tightened line; for as he leaped, the practised hand had 
 lowered the rod's tip, th.it it fell in a loose bight below him. 
 Again ! again ! again ! and yet a fourth tinu' he bounded into 
 the air with desperate and vigorous soubresaults, like an unbro- 
 ken steed that would dismount his rider, lashing the edilics of 
 the dark stream into bright bubbling strcak.s, and nuiking the 
 heart of his captor beat high with anticipation of the desperate 
 struggle that should follow, before the monster would lie 
 panting and exhausted on the yellow sand or moist greensward. 
 
 ''Away! with the rush of an eagle through the air, he is 
 gone like an arrow down the nipids — how the reel rings, and 
 the line whistles from the swift working wheel ; he is too swift, 
 
 X 
 
306 SALMON FISHING. 
 
 too headstrong to be checked as vet; tenfold the strength of 
 that slender tackle might not control him in his first fiery 
 
 rush. 
 
 " But Jasper, although young in years, Tvas old in the art, 
 and skilful as the craftiest of the gentle craftsmen. He gives 
 him the butt of his rod steadily, trying the strength of his 
 tackle -n-ith a delicate and gentle finger, giving him line at every 
 rush, yet firmly, cautiously, feeling his mouth all the while, 
 and moderating his speed even while he yields to his fury. 
 
 " Meanwhile, with the eye of intuition and the nerve of iron, 
 he bounds along the difficult shore, he leaps from rock to rock 
 alighting on their slippery tops with the firm agility of the 
 rope-dancer, he splashes knee deep through the slippery shal- 
 lows, keeping his line ever taut, inclining his rod over his 
 shoulder, bearing on his fish ever with a killing pull, steering 
 him clear of every rock or stump against which he would fain 
 smash the tackle, and landing him at length in a fine open 
 roomy pool, at the foot of a long stretch of white and foamy 
 rapids, down which he has just piloted him vnili the eye of 
 faith, and the foot of instinct. 
 
 " And now the great Salmon has turned sulky ; like a piece 
 of lead he has sunk to the bottom of the deep black pool, and 
 lies on the gravel bottom in the sullenness of despair. 
 
 " Jasper stooped, gathered up in his left hand a heavy pebble, 
 and pitched it into the pool, as nearly as he could guess to the 
 whereabout of his game— another— and another! Aha! that 
 last has roused him. Again he throws himself clear out of 
 water, and again foiled in his attempt to smash the tackle, 
 dashes away down stream impetuous. 
 
JASPER ST. ACHYN. :^07 
 
 " Hut his strenj;tl» is (leparting — the vijjour of his rush is 
 hrokoii. Thr anj,'U'r ^'ives him the hutt uhumhiutly, strains on 
 him uith a heavier pull, yet ever yii Ids a littkr as he exerts his 
 failing powers; see, his broad, silver side has thriec turned 
 up, even to tlic surfaee, and thou^'h eaeh time he has recovered 
 himself, eaeh time it has bien with a heavier and more sickly 
 motion. 
 
 " Hrave fellow ! his last raee is run, his last sprini; sprunt; — 
 no more shall he disport himself in the hritrht reaches of the 
 Tamar ; no more shall the Naiads wreathe his clear silver 
 scales with river-greens and flowery rushes. 
 
 "The crml iratf is in his side — his cold hlood stains the 
 eddies for a moment- —he flaps out his dt^ath-paug on the hard 
 limestone. 
 
 " ' Who-wiioop ! a nineteen pounder ! ' 
 
 " .Meantime the morning had worn onward, and ere the great 
 tish was brought to the l)asket, the sun had soared dear above 
 the mist-wreaths, and had risen so high into the summer 
 heaven that his slant rays poured down into the gorge of the 
 stream, and lighted up the clear depths with a lustre so trans- 
 parent that every pebble at the bottom might have been 
 discerned, with the large tish hen- and there floating mid depth, 
 with their heads up stream, their gills working with a (piiek 
 motion, and their broad tails vibrating at short intervals slowly 
 but powerfully, as they lay motionless in opposition to tlie vcrv 
 strongest of the swift current. 
 
 "The breeze had died avray, there was no iml ni.i.n the 
 water, and the heat was oppressive. 
 
 " I'nder such cirenmstanccs, to whip the stream was little 
 
 X 'J 
 
308 SALMON FISHING. 
 
 better than mere loss of time, yet as lie hurried with a 
 fleet foot down the gorge, perhaps with some ulterior object, 
 beyond the mere love of sport, Jasper at times cast his fly 
 across the stream, and drew it neatly, and, as he thought, 
 irresistibly, right over the recusant fish; but though once 
 or twice a large lazy Salmon would sail up slowly from the 
 depths, and almost touch the fly with his nose, he either 
 sunk down slowly in disgust, without breaking the water, or 
 flapped his broad tail over the shining fraud as if to mark his 
 contempt. 
 
 " It had now got to be near noon, for, in the ardour of his 
 success, the angler had forgotten all about his intended break- 
 fast; and, his first fish captured, had contented himself with 
 a slender meal furnished from out his fishing-basket and his 
 leathern bottle. 
 
 " Jasper had traversed by this time some ten miles in length, 
 following the sinuosities of the stream, and had reached a 
 favourite pool at the head of a long, straight, narrow trench, 
 cut by the waters themselves in the course of time, through the 
 hard schistous rock which walls the torrent on each hand, not 
 leaving the slightest ledge or margin between the rapids and 
 the precipice. 
 
 " Through this wild gorge of some fifty yards in length, the 
 river shoots like an arrow over a steep inclined plane of lime- 
 stone rock, the surface of which is polished by the action of the 
 water, till it is as slippery as ice, and at the extremity leaps 
 down a sheer descent of some twelve feet into a large, wide 
 basin, surrounded by softly swelling banks of greensward, and a 
 fair amphitheatre of woodland. 
 
JASrKK aT. AUbYN. •"^"•^ 
 
 " At the in»[ier ciitl this pool is so deep as to be vul^'jirly 
 ilccmcil uufjitliomuble; hrlow, however, it expands yet widiM- 
 into a shallow ripphn<; ford, where it is erossed hy the hi|^h- 
 roail, down stream of whieh a<;ain there is another h)nj^, sharp 
 rapid, and another fall, ovt-r the last steps of the hills; after 
 whieh the natnre of the stream becomes chauf^ed, and it 
 ninrnmrs -xcntiy onward tlnonj^h a green pastoral etmntry, 
 unripplrd and nnintrrrnpted. 
 
 " J list in tlu- inner angle of the high-road, on the right hand 
 of the stream, there stood an old-fashioned, low-hruwi-d, thatcli- 
 eovercd, stoue cottage, with a rnile portieo of rnstic wooilwork 
 (jvi-rrnn with jasmine and virgin-bower, and a pretty tlower- 
 garden sloping down in successive terraces to the edge of the 
 bjisin. Beside this, there was no other house in sight, unless it 
 were part of the roof of a mill which stood in the low ground 
 on the brink of the second fall, surroundeil with a mass of 
 willows. But the tall steeple of a country church, raising itself 
 heavenward above the brow of the hill, seemed to show that, 
 although concealed by the undulations of the ground, a village 
 was hard at hand. 
 
 "The morning had changed a second time, a hazy lilui had 
 crept up to the zenith, and the sun uas now roxtred with a pale 
 golden veil, ami a slight eurrcnt of air down the gorge rutUed 
 the water. 
 
 " It was a capital pool, famous for being the temporary haunt 
 of the very finest fish, whieh were wont to lie there awhile, jus if 
 to recruit themselves after the exertions of leaping the two falls 
 and stemming the double rapid, before attempting to ascend the 
 stream fartlur. 
 
310 SALMON FISHING. 
 
 " Few, however, even of the best and boldest fishermen, cared 
 to wet a line in its waters, in consequence of the supposed 
 impossibility of following a heavy fish through the gorge below, 
 or checking him at the brink of the fall. It is true, that, 
 throughout the length of the pass, the current was broken by 
 bare, slippery rocks peering above the waters, at intervals, 
 which might be cleared by an active cragsman; and it had 
 been in fact reconuoitered by Jasper and others in cool blood, 
 but the result of the examination was that it was deemed 
 impassable. 
 
 " Thinking, however, little of striking a large fish, and perhaps 
 desiring to waste a little time before scaling the banks and 
 emerging on the high-road, Jasper threw a favourite fiy of 
 peacock^s herl and gold tinsel lightly across the water ; and, 
 almost before he had time to think, had hooked a monstrous 
 fish, which, at the very first leap, he set down as weighing at 
 least thirty pounds. 
 
 " Thereupon followed a splendid display of piscatory skill. 
 Well knowing that his fish must be lost if he once should suc- 
 ceed in getting his head down the rapid, Jasper exerted every 
 nerve, and exhausted every art to humour, to meet, to restrain, 
 to check him. Four times the fish rushed for the pass, and four 
 times Jasper met him so stoutly with the butt, trying his tackle 
 to the very utmost, that he succeeded in forcing him from the 
 perilous spot. Round and round the pool he had piloted him, 
 and had taken post at length, hoping that the worst was already 
 over, close to the opening of the rocky chasm. 
 
 " And now i)crhaps waxing too confident, he checked his fish 
 too sharply. Stung into fury, the monster sprang five times in 
 
JASPKK ST. ALBYN. 31 1 
 
 succession iutu the mr, lushing the water with liis angrv tail^ 
 and then rushed like an arrow down the ehasni. 
 
 " He wa-s ^oue — but Jasper's hlood was up, and thinking of 
 nothing but his sport, he dashed torwjird, and embarked, with 
 a fearless foot, in the terrible descent. 
 
 " Lfup after leap lie took with beautiful precision, ali^htiufj 
 tirui and iTeet on the centre of each slippery l)h)ck, and bound- 
 ing thence to the next with uucrrini; instinct, j^uidiui;- bis fish 
 the whili' with ciuisuiuinatc skill tbrou<;h the intricacies of 
 the pass. 
 
 "There were now but three more leaps to be taken before he 
 would reach the flat table-rock above the fall, which once 
 attained, he would have tirni foot-hold and a fair field ; already 
 he rejoiced, triumphant in the success of his bold attainment, 
 and confident in victory, when a shrill fenude shriek reached 
 his cars from the pretty flower-garden ; eau};ht by the sound, he 
 diverted his eyes, just as he leaped, toward the place whence it 
 came; his foot slipped, and the ne\t instant he was Hat on his 
 back in the swift stream, where it shot the most furiously over 
 the ghussy roek. lie stru;,'|::led manfully, but in ^ain. The 
 smooth, slippery surface afforded no purchase to his griping 
 fingers, no hold tn his labouring feet. One fearful, agonising 
 contliet with the wild waters, and he was swept helplessly over 
 the edge of the fall, his head, as he glanced down foot foremost, 
 striking the rocky brink with fearful violence. 
 
 " He was plunged into the deep pool, and whirleil round and 
 round by the dark eddies long bcforc he rose, but still, though 
 stunned and half-disabled, he strove terribly to support himself, 
 but it was all in \ain. 
 
312 SALMON FISHING. 
 
 " Again he sunk and rose once more^ and as he rose that wild 
 shriek again reached his ears, and his last glance fell upon a 
 female form wringing her hands in despair on the bank, and a 
 voung man rushing down in wild haste from the cottage on 
 the hill. 
 
 " He felt that aid was at hand, and struck out again for life 
 — for dear life ! 
 
 " But the water seemed to fail beneath him. 
 
 " A slight flash sprang across his eyes, his brain reeled, and 
 all was blackness. 
 
 " He sunk to the bottom, spurned it with his feet, and rose 
 once more, but not to the surface. 
 
 " His quivering blue hands emerged alone above the relentless 
 waters, grasped for a little moment at empty space, and then 
 disappeared. 
 
 " The circling ripples closed over him, and subsided into 
 stillness. 
 
 " He felt, knew, suffered nothing more. 
 
 " His young, warm heart was cold and lifeless — his soul had 
 lost its consciousness — the vital spark had faded into darkness 
 — perhaps was quenched for ever.^' 
 
TlIK AKT OP TYIN(i FLIKS. M'.i 
 
 TIIK IMl'I.KMKXTS ol' SAi.MDX FTSI11N(;. 
 
 I'lMK. was when tviTV aiij^lfr was rc(|uirc(l to iiiakc liis own 
 iiistnmiiMits, t'iH)iii tin- rod itself to the artilicial lly, but now, so 
 gcucral has ht'comc the \o\r ot" this cahii and ;,'iMitle pursuit, 
 and so multiplied uud suhdivi(h(l arc all trades and professions, 
 that then' are few cities in tiie eivilisid world, of any magni- 
 tude, in whieh it is not easy, at any moment, to proenre any- 
 thing tliat is rc(iuisite for this pursuit. 
 
 Of consequence, the necessity for skill in nianul'acturc of 
 implements lias passed away, and, eonipaiativcly spcakin^^, hut 
 few anglers think it necessary any longer to he familiar t'ven 
 with the method »)f tying their own Hies, the tackle-shops lur- 
 nisliing every possible varii-ty, more neatly executed, it is pro- 
 bable, and conscipiently more killing, than any eouhl be of 
 private manufacture. 
 
 Still, to tic n neat and taking tly is a very useful accomplish- 
 ment to the enthusiiustic tisherman, especially when he is in 
 wild and remote districts, as frequently must be the case; and 
 at times some rare natural lly will be seen on the water, which 
 it may bo found e\|K>(lient to imitate without delay. 
 
 The art of tying Hies is attained with greater readiness, and, 
 m fact, IS far leas ditlicult, than is gent, rally tli(»nglit, or than 
 
314 IMPLEMENTS OF SALMON FISHING. 
 
 would be imagined from the beautiful delicacy of the manufac- 
 ture in its perfection. Most worlds on practical angling contain 
 long and elaborate directions how to hold, and how to tie the 
 feathers on the hook, but all these are, iu my opinion, utterly 
 valueless and futile ; nor do I believe that any person has ever 
 learned either to tie a fly, or to cast it when tied, from the 
 perusal of any printed explanation; any more than the young 
 sportsman has ever acquired the knack of shooting on the wing 
 except by practice and experience. 
 
 The best way to acquire the art of tying flies is to observe 
 carefully the manipulation of some skilful operator, and to 
 obtain from him, during the performance of the v.ork, oral 
 instructions on the subject. From any good tackle-maker, a 
 few lessons can be obtained at a very small expense, and these 
 will, in a very short space of time, render the novice au fait to 
 the trick. 
 
 The first thing to be considered in the angler's equipment is 
 the rod, and it is here well to observe that, for almost every sort 
 of fishing, some different and peculiar rod is essential. That 
 Avhich is commonly called a general fishing-rod, is, in fact, an 
 abomination, and is useful only to the bait-fisher, and even for 
 him is an awkward and ineff'ective instrument, it being impos- 
 sible so to regulate the arrangement of the lower joints as to 
 produce that regular and equable degree of pliancy needful alike 
 with a stiff baiting or with a pliant fly-top. 
 
 For the Salmon, the rod should not be of more than eighteen 
 or less than sixteen feet ; the longer is apt to be a little cum- 
 brous, and deftly to wield a double-handed Salmon-rod, during a 
 whole summer-day, requires no small practice of the muscles. 
 
SALMoN-l{(tl)S. .'il.') 
 
 The best wood lor tlu* Ijutt, wliicli should \)v very stout :iiid 
 solid, is well-sensoneil maple, which is l)oth lii^ht and strong; 
 the seconil joint of a-sh, the third of hickory, and the fourth or 
 top joint of ecpial parts of hmee-wood, bamboo, and whak'bone, 
 neatly spliced together. 
 
 -Many experienced anglers prefer to have their Salmon-rods 
 nianufacturi'd without nietai joints, hut with neatlv-eut ami 
 accurately fitting scan's, which arc adjusted and tlruily spliced 
 together with strong \\a\cd-rud when at the rivcr-sidc. 
 
 The supposed advantage of this method is the greater cer- 
 tainty of the rod's holding together during a severe struggle in 
 the course of which a joint will sometimes be disengaged from 
 the socket ; and a greater ciiuability of pliancy throughout the 
 whole length, from the butt to the end, which is supposed to be 
 iu some degree impaired by the metallic ferules into which the 
 heads of the feruled joints arc inserted. 
 
 In the present imjJroNcd state of the manufacture of all sport- 
 ing articles, I must however admit tliat these objections are, 
 in my opinion, very fanciful, and that tlic trouble of splicing 
 and unsplicing greatly exceeds the benefit derived from the 
 practice. 
 
 Nothing can be more benutifidly regular and eipial through- 
 out their whole length, than the springy bend nf the best 
 Knglisli, Irish, Se(»tch, and American Salmon-rods ; and I 
 may here record it as my deliberate opinion, that the best 
 ro<U in the world arc now nuinufactured in the city of New 
 York, and that Conroy is HU|>orior, ns a Hy-rod-maker, to either 
 Chevalier or Martin Kelly, of univcmul reputation. 
 
 The reel should be very large, capable of containing three 
 
316 
 
 IMPLEMENTS OF SALMON FISHING. 
 
 liundred yards of twisted line, composed of hair and silk inter- 
 mingled, and tapering gradually from the reel-end to the point, 
 where it should be neatly looped to a bottom of the best and 
 stoutest Spanish silk-worm gut, as thick, if possible, as the -jV 
 of an inch, to which the hook-links of the flies should be fastened 
 by a knot of the following part. The hook-links for Salmon 
 fishinsr should be of treblv-twisted s:ut : of the flies we will 
 speak auou. 
 
 It is very desirable that the gut should be dyed, in order to 
 deaden its silvery ghtter, which is too conspicuous in the water, 
 and ofter scares the fish. The best preparation for this purpose 
 is dark green tea, which brings it nearly to the colour of water 
 Avhen sHghtly discoloured by rain, at which time the fish are 
 most apt to bite freely. 
 
 Too much attention cannot be paid by the angler to the 
 quality and condition of his gut-lengths, or to the proper 
 adjustment of the knots and loops by which it is fastened. 
 These can scarcely, indeed, be too narrowly or jealously scruti- 
 nised, as gut is a material which is easily frayed and cut by its 
 own friction, and the slightest imperfection will often cause the 
 loss of a very heavy fish. 
 
TIIF. \IV.VA.. — FI-Y-II«M)KS. ;n 7 
 
 Tlic fjrrJit I)i'aiity of j;ut is to be CDrroctly round and pcrlcctly 
 ciiual in thickness, wliich enables it to stand a strain which if it 
 were unc(|ual wouUl cause it to pve way. 
 
 The rt'cl >houId be of' brass, whicli I prefer to (Icrnian silver, 
 bushed and rivt'ttitl \\ith sticl. It >hould liavc a balance 
 liandlr, and a click, which is of «;reat use, as privi-ntinj^ more 
 of the line than is rccjuircd from running oil" it whih' in the act of 
 casting, before a fish is struck ; but a catch or stop mu>t on no 
 account be used, as it will fVc([ucutly stop the liiu' at the very 
 moment when it should run the fastest. I had almost forgotten 
 to add, that the simple reel is va-stly preferred by all truly 
 scientific anglers to the multiplier, which in fact is now almost 
 exploded. 
 
 The fly-hooks should unqucstionahly be of the Limerick bend, 
 and even for spinning with the parr, or fi>hing \\ith the worm 
 or the deadly roc-bait, all of which are very killing to tin; 
 Salmon, the same form is the preferable. 
 
 The great size and weight of the Salmon renders the use of 
 the landing-net impossible, an<l it is, moreover, at the best, n 
 clumsy and unportable machine. For it, therefore, the angler 
 substitutes the gaff — a sharp, unbarbed hook, of convenient 
 size, which screws securely into the head of a stout ashen-shaft, 
 the butt of which may conveniently be hollowed so as to contain 
 spare tly-tops, as it is inadmissible to subtract from the wciirht 
 of the rod-butt by hollowing it. 
 
 With this h(M)k, so soon a.H the fish is suflicicntly exhaiistcd 
 U) be (ln\wn within striking, held in the right hand while the 
 rod is tmnsfcrre<l to the left, he gaffs the fish steadily and 
 shaq)ly in the solid jmrtion of the tail below the al)d<)minal 
 
318 IMPLEMENTS OF SALMON FISHING. 
 
 cadty, which gives it a firm hold, and enables the lucky sports- 
 man to pull out even a forty-pounder with but little trouble. 
 
 It is not a bad plan to have a stout knife-blade, with the 
 inner edge sharpened, hinged on the back of the gaff, which 
 will often be found of use in cutting away any twig or other 
 obstacle which may entangle the fly. 
 
 A creel is of little use to the Salmon fisher, as in order to 
 carry any number of these noble fish one would be requisite of 
 the size of a clothes-basket ; and such is the weight of the 
 fish, that, if you expect to be successful, an attendant is 
 indispensable. 
 
 With these instruments, then, a well-filled fly-book in his 
 pouch, and perhaps a spare gut foot-length round his hat, the 
 fisherman may deem his outfit perfect. 
 
 A suit of plain dark clothes, a pair of stout nailed shoes, and 
 heavy loose trowsers of the coarse Scotch plaid worn by the 
 shepherds, is the best attire for the sportsman. India-rubber 
 boots are an abomination, unwholesomely confining the per- 
 spii'ation, and excessively uncomfortable from the intense heat 
 which they create; besides, an angler is hardly the sort of 
 person to care much about wet feet or a soaked jacket. 
 
 Having now equipped and rigged him, we will conduct him 
 to the marge of limpid lake or rapid torrent, and see how best 
 his scaly prey he may ensnare. 
 
 In order to become a fly-fisher, I think that something of an 
 especial genius is necessary — I mean a fly-fisher in the highest 
 sense of the word, and regarded in the same light as the sports- 
 man whom we can deservedly term a crack-shot. 
 
 Still, although something of a natural and inherent aptitude 
 
CASTIN(i TMF, FI,Y. :il9 
 
 is necessary, practiei', experieiitv, and a lt)ve of the art, go so 
 far that no one who really desires to attain cniincnec in tliis 
 skill need despair, fur pt-rhaps no one veri' keenly (hvsires it who 
 has nut that aptitude, thouj^h perhaps latent, and even of him- 
 self unsuspeeted. 
 
 To teach a man, as I have said before, by writing' or even by 
 oral instruction, unless coupled with active practice and example, 
 how t(j uiakf a tly, how to cast a !ly, how to hook a tish, or how, 
 when hooked, to kill him, is to my apprehension impossible. 
 Yet without some instructions on this subject, a work on 
 Fishing would justly be deemed imperfect, and perhaps even 
 impertinent. 
 
 After the tii*st slight skill is attained which enables a fisher- 
 man to cast a fly at all without whipping it oft" the hook-length, 
 the great points to be acquired are, precision in cju>ting, and 
 neatness in delivering the fly. 
 
 In SiUmon Ashing with the double-handed rod, all these 
 things are somewhat more ditlii'ult than with the light twelve- 
 foot Trout-rod, and more practice is requisite before perfection 
 can be gained ; yet the mode is identical, ami the instructions 
 which alone can be given are alike few and simple. 
 
 The first thing to be observed is, that the rod must not be 
 firmly grasped, but lield with a loose and delicate play of the 
 thumb and fingers, as a cue shoidd in billiard playing, or a foil 
 in fencing. Secondly, that in throwing out the fly. nothing like 
 a jerk or snap should be |)orfonned, such as is done with a four- 
 horse whip in flanking a leader. It is very diflicult to explain, 
 except by comparison, what this movement is; l)ut it may 
 perhaps be described as by a sudden checking of the propelling 
 
320 IMPLEMENTS OF SALMON FISHING. 
 
 power^ or as almost a retroversion of it at the moment of its 
 greatest impetus, somewhat such as that which is termed 
 spinning, or Englishing, a ball at billiards. 
 
 The rod being held lightly in the fingers, the butt of it must 
 be so moved in front of the person, with all the muscles of the 
 arm relaxed, the elbow and the wrist free and pliant, that the 
 tip shall describe a complete circle above and something behind 
 the head, and it will be not amiss for the tyro to practise this 
 motion without attempting to cast as yet any line. 
 
 Secondly, it must be remembered, when the line and fly is 
 brought into play, that by the circular motion of the tip, the 
 whole line, with its cast of flies, must be made to stream out at 
 full length, and to describe a semicircle, so that at the instant 
 previous to propulsion, if we desire to throw directly forward, 
 the flies shall be at the whole length of the extended line, 
 exactly behind us ; when they must be thrown out by a direct 
 and even motion, without any jerk, and yet must be in some 
 sort checked rather by a gradual holding up or cessation of the 
 impelling force, than by any sudden stop or retrogression. 
 
 The mode of casting which I have endeavoured to describe 
 for a forward throw, must be used in all cases ; if to the right, 
 the line must stream out, and the flies be extended at full 
 length to the extreme left, and vice versa; and this is the 
 method by wliich accuracy and precision in casting can be 
 acquired, and by perseverance in which, with experience, the 
 fisherman will ultimately succeed in throwing his stretcher, or 
 last fly, with certainty into a smaller circumference than that of 
 his own hat. 
 
 Tliis it is which we call precision. 
 
PASTING TlIK FI.V. M\ 
 
 l\\ ncatuess, \\«- uitciul the knack of so (Iclivrrin*^ \\\c line 
 tliat each one of tlie oust of llies shall .ilij^lit upon liu- surface 
 of the water singly and severally, and as li<,'litly a^ tlie tliistle- 
 <lu\vn, \\itli()ut any |)orti«)n of the foot-length, iinuli less of the 
 line, haj^fjinj? or fallinf; in a hi^lit upon tlu^ stream. 
 
 This dili\erini; of the east at the end of a perfectly straifjht, 
 yet perfectly easy lim', is the first j^rcat thin<? to he ohtaincd. 
 If we attempt to throw the flies, except after ha\ini: made them 
 descrihe a full seiuicirele in tlu^ direction opposite to the pur- 
 posed cast, we shall throw thi-m nowhere. 
 
 If we tliui: '»»>t the \\ hole line loosely, it >\ill fall in a l)afr'_'V 
 bi^ht upon the watcM-, probably strikin*; the surface in advance 
 of the tlics, and certainly niakin;,' a splash and scaring; awav the 
 fish wliicii we desire to allure. 
 
 If we check it too suddenly, or jerk it back at all, we >hall 
 snap off all our flies with !» loud crack, and .so remain disarmed 
 and useless for the nonce. 
 
 Ill practising, the novice should use but a short lin(>, five or 
 six yards at the utmost, and a sinj;le fly — and when he can 
 throw that with certainty into a space of a few feet in circum- 
 ference, he may {gradually let ont his line till he has reached 
 fifteen yards, which I rcijard as the e.\treme length that can be 
 numaged with certainty, ncatnes.s, and jirecision, and add to the 
 stretcher his first and seeonil droj)pcrs, nutre than which are 
 wholly useless. 
 
 Having said thu.s mnch of the mode of casting the flies, we 
 will suppose our angler clad in the plainest and least obtrusive 
 colours, at the maigin of the stream, if it be such as he 
 can commanil with his double-handed rod, or wading it if 
 
 Y 
 
322 IMPLEMENTS OF SALMON FISHING. 
 
 not too deep, or in his boat if it be too broad to be cast over 
 successfully. 
 
 First he shall go down stream ; for the motion of the water 
 will so keep his line taut, the benefit of which hereafter ; and he 
 will also have fewer casts to make^ and find less trouble in 
 giving a natural and easy movement to the artificial insect 
 which he must keep ever floating on the surface. Furthermore, 
 the fish are wont to lie, especially in swift waters, with their 
 heads up stream, and will therefore perhaps take the fly most 
 readily when cast down, and drawn gently over them. 
 
 Secondly, he must on no account fish with the sun behind 
 his back, for, if he do, the shadow of his body, with his arms 
 thrashing the air, and the counterfeit presentment of his long 
 rod vibrating aloft, will be thrown on the bright surface of 
 the waters in such a manner as will undoubtedly alarm the 
 fish ; which, however much doubt there may exist as to their 
 powers of auscultation, no one will deny to be capable of quick 
 vision. 
 
 Thirdly, he shall not so draw his fly along the surface as to 
 give it the appearance or reality of floating up stream, for flies 
 do not in nature float up stream ; nor do the Trout or Salmon, 
 although they may never have studied logic, and are probably 
 incapable of deducing consequences from causes, lack the ability 
 to discern what is, from what is not natural. 
 
 Across the stream he may bring it gently and coquettishly 
 home, with a slow whirling rotatory motion, letting it swim 
 down in the swifter whirls of the stream, and float round and 
 round in the eddies, with this special observance, that he shall, 
 in so far as he can, keep it ever at the end of a tight line, for 
 
WIIKUK To CAST. 'M'\ 
 
 SO only will the fish hook itself, without nny inovoment of the 
 hand nil the auj^ler's part — lui cud most (irsirnhlc to ofl'crt. 
 
 liutli Salmon and Trout lie in wait for tluir priy, f«ir thf^ 
 most part, rather than swim in pursuit of it in scliuils or ro?M- 
 pnnios. They arc ol'tm. I would say irr-ncralh', found in pairs, 
 and tluM'i'forc after Killin;^ one in any favotM'ahlo pool or eddv, 
 it will he w»-ll not too soon to desert the spot, even althou«;h it 
 may have heen disturbed hy the l)n^tlr niid liiirh nf the lirst 
 enpture. 
 
 The tail of switt rapids, wlu're some larf^e stone hreaks the 
 force of the eurrent, and causes a lull, or, as one would sav of 
 wind, a lee, will always he tound a likely spot wlu rein to east ; 
 and in pools, between two rapids or cascades, the head and the 
 foot, immediately above the oiu' and Ix-Iom the other descent, 
 will generally each hold a tisli. 
 
 Still clear deep reaches \\ill aj^ain be found to ccuitain uuinv 
 times the larfTcr, and otten the larfjest fishes, especially of 
 IJrook Trout; and tiiese places reqiiire the neatest and the 
 finest fishin*;, for two very suflieient reasons; first, that the 
 transparency of the water enal)les the fish clearly to discern the 
 nnjjlcr, iinless he stand well back from the nuir<:in of the bank ; 
 and, secondly, that its stillness allows all the imjH'rfections of 
 the artificial fly, an<l perhaps the iriit to «hich it is appended, 
 to be discovered by the intended victim. 
 
 In nothing is piscatory skill more distinctly evKhneed, than 
 by the instinctive accuracy with which, in whippin;; a stream, 
 the practical anpler will discern what places to fish closclv, 
 accumtely, neatly ; which to pass over liphtly — in other words. 
 which are more and which are moat unlikely to hold the objeetH 
 
324 IMPLEMENTS OF SALMON" FISHING. 
 
 of his pursuit ; and this skill, this power, like that of casting 
 the flj*, or even in a greater degree than that, can be gained 
 only by dint of long practice and accurate observation. 
 
 As I had occasion to remark, not once, but many times, in 
 my " Field Sports," cateris paribtcs of eye, hand, and nerves, on 
 which almost everything depends, the closest observer of nature, 
 the most diligent inquirer into the actions, the habits, the prey, 
 the haunts, the every day life of the bird or beast which he is 
 pui'suing — ^in other words, the best naturalist — will be the best 
 and most successful sportsman ; and so it is, and perhaps even 
 more so, in the case of the angler. And, indeed, after years 
 spent in this exciting and yet gentle pursuit, the angler will 
 ever find that he has something still to learn, that he has gained 
 something daily, if he keep his ears, his eyes, his mind open to 
 the sounds, the sights, the beautiful provisions of nature. 
 
 In large lakes, which must be fished from boats, the vicinity 
 of the shores, the edges of shoals, and the holes in the close 
 neighbourhood of large rocks or boulders which cause eddies, 
 and above all, the entrances or outlets of streams, brooks, and 
 rivers, are the likeliest places in which to find Salmon, but not 
 reedy banks or weed beds, as is the case with the Pickerel and 
 Mascalonge ; and such spots as these deserve the utmost care and 
 attention of anglers. And now, I believe that I have said all 
 that I can say about the casting of the fly, and the places into 
 which it should be cast in order to ensure the first success, the 
 getting a rise, I mean, from this noblest of fishes. Little is done, 
 however, in getting this rise, unless we know how to strike, and 
 how to kill him when he has risen. On this head, perhaps, it 
 might be said that the art of striking a fish, or so handling the 
 
MuliK «»F STIMKINC;. A^'i 
 
 rod that the l)arl)i(l hook >hall he l)uiii'(l sciMiicly and (|iiickly, 
 or ere the tish has time to diseovcr that the gaudy hait is an 
 uureal mockery, without sul)stanee or >>avoiii-, consists in knowing 
 wliat is not, rather than what i.s to he done. 
 
 \ iry certain it is that the t\y must not l)e jerked or twitched 
 away (|uickly, as is (h)ne hy nini-ty-nine huiuhcdths of novices, 
 who thereby, instead of tixing the hait in, fUrt it out of tlie 
 mouth of the Sahaon, and [irohahly prii-k him in ihjin}^ so; 
 reiulerini: him therthy shy of again looking at thi- hait, and 
 teaching him a lesson, \\ hiih Ik- may not forget in many davs. 
 
 At two luonieut.s only, of the ordinary east of a tlv, is tin- (ish 
 nearly sure to hook himself — that is, when it first alights on the 
 surface of the stream, and wlu-n it is in the very act of being 
 withdrawn from it, for the purpose of making a fresh throw — for 
 at these two moments only is it necessary at the end of a taut 
 extended line. When a fish strikes boldly at either of these two 
 points of time, it is very sure to hook itself without any exer- 
 tion of the angler; but if the line is in the slightest degree 
 curAcd or baggy, unless there is a certain almost indescribable 
 movement of the wrist, the fly will often be rejected, owing t») 
 the discovery of its (juality, and the li>h will so escape scot-free. 
 
 This striking 1 have seen variously described, but ne\er, in 
 my opinion, comprehensibly. I consider that the great thing 
 in fly-fishing is to keep the line always iis stniight ns possible, 
 never jUlowing any jwrtion of it to flout on the water, and to 
 have the fly never submerged, nor yet skipi>ing, but trailed 
 evenly along the ripples, as if it were naturally floating down, at 
 the end of a straight extended line. Hy thi.s method the chances 
 of striking your Salmon^ without any cflbrt on your own part, 
 
a26 IMPLEMENTS OF SALMON FISHING. 
 
 will be liugely increased. If, however^ it be found necessary to 
 strike^ this must not be done by a jerk or backward whip move- 
 ment of the rod, but by the slightest possible turn of the wrist 
 inward and downward ; what that turn is, every angler knows, 
 but it certainly cannot be described in writing, nor can it be, I 
 think, very easily demonstrated — so exceedingly slight it is — by 
 example. 
 
 jNIore fish are, in my opinion, lost by clumsiness, and espe- 
 cially by over- violence at this moment, than at any other time ; 
 the utmost caution, therefore, and delicacy of manipulation are 
 indispensable; and at first, until he has killed some fish and 
 obtained some practical experience in the art, I confidently 
 advise the novice to beware of striking; to allow the fish, if 
 possible, to hook himself, and rather to lose him from his not 
 doing so, than from his own act by whipping the half-swallowed 
 fly out of his imperilled jaws. If strike he must, let him do it 
 with the least possible force or exertion. 
 
 When first a large and lively fish feels the hook, he will not 
 unfrequently, if checked suddenly, throw himself clear out of 
 the water to the height of several feet, and so endeavour to cast 
 himself across the tightened line, which, if he succeed in doing, 
 he shall break it surely, and escape. The counter-movement to 
 this dodge, which is often repeated many times in rapid succes- 
 sion, is to sink the top of the rod quickly, so as to slacken the 
 line, and suffer the fish to strike it only when lying in a bight 
 on the water ; but care must again be taken here to reel it in 
 again quickly, lest it may become entangled by the fish rushing 
 suddenly in towards the angler. 
 
 Beyond this there is not much to say on the score of playing 
 
l-LAVI.Nii A ll"M»KKl) FISM. '.VZl 
 
 a hooked tisli ; tlie f;reat cud and ulijcct is to ki-rp him, witli a.s 
 heavy a strain as yun can ventnre to sup[)t)rt ujiun his niuutli, 
 witli his luad down stream ; for in that position the water enters 
 his gills the wrong way, so tliat the vital principle of the oxygen 
 cannot he separated from it l)y tiic brijurliial a[)paratus, and the 
 ti>h naturiUly dies hy sullbcation, or l)y something analogous to 
 drowning. 
 
 To ellect this, very nuich delicacy and nicety of touch art; re- 
 quisite ; the rushes of the lish are sometimes of fearful impetus 
 and velocity and sustained for such a length of time as to take 
 nearly all the line oft' the reel, and to compel the angler to run 
 at full spccil, up or down the bank, as it may be, in order 
 to avoid siuaishing his tackle. It is well here to observe, 
 that it is in all cases the best plan to follow your tish as early 
 in the game and as rapidly as you can, rather than to let 
 oft' too much line, as you thereby keep so much in hand for an 
 emergency. 
 
 Tljc great principle is to make the fish pull as hard as possible 
 without ceding line, and never to give hini an inch that he does 
 not exact from you by force ; the knowledge of the exact amount 
 of resistance which you may oiler, and of the \\lieu exactly and 
 how much you must yield, is the grand proof of the Salmon- 
 fisher's science. If he run for a rock, against whicli to smash 
 your tackle, or for a cascade or cataract, over which you cannot 
 pilot him witli a hope of success, you must resist him to the last ; 
 which is done by advancing the butt, firmly grasped, toward 
 him, and bearing your rod backward over your right shoulder, 
 thereby compelling him to strain out the line, the velocity of 
 which you mu«t regulate with the ball of your thumb, inch by 
 
:i28 
 
 IMPLEMENTS OF SALMON FISHING. 
 
 iiicli from the reel, against the whole reluctance and spring of 
 the elastic rod. 
 
 When the fish runs in, the rod must be held nearly erect, 
 and the line reeled in as quickly as possible. If the fish turn 
 sulky, as he will sometimes, and plunge down to the bottom, 
 lying there like a stone or a lump of lead, he must be aroused 
 and forced to run again by a pebble cast in as closely as may 
 be to the spot where he lies, and then his run must be alter- 
 nately humovired and controlled, like the whims of a pretty 
 woman, until his resistance is overpowered, and, like her, he 
 yields him to your will. 
 
 The fly is, as I have before observed, by far the most effective 
 and killing bait for the Salmon, although it is very doubtful for 
 what the animal mistakes it, since it has no resemblance in 
 nature. The best are, in my opinion, combinations of peacock's 
 herl and jay's wing, with body of pink, blue or green silk 
 
 twined with gold or silver tinsel ; there are, however, many 
 other gay and gaudy feathers which are nearly equally killing, 
 
BAIT. Wii) 
 
 and every fisluinum 1ms his own favourites. The aceonipanyiiif; 
 eut eontains at No. 1, reprtsentations of several varieties of 
 Sahnon-tlies, and at No. 2 of Lake-tlies for great Trout, whieh 
 1 kiiDw to be killing, as 1 know them to be beautiful — and 
 whieh uiiv prepared espeeially for this work, to my order, by 
 Mr. Coiiroy of Fulton-street, New York, of whom I have 
 already spoken as, in my opinion, the best rod and taekle 
 maker in America, if not perhaps in the world. 
 
 The Salmon, especially when (piite fresh-run from the sea. 
 will take tlu- worm at times greedily ; for whieh mode he must 
 be tislud for with a stiller rod, similar to that usi-d for Hass 
 angling, \uth a (juill-Hoat, and enough of slot on the gut to 
 carry the bait di)wn close to the bottom. The best worms are 
 the hu'ge lufj or f/fi/'-worms, and they should be cleansed or 
 scoured by keeping them for several days previous to using 
 them in a pot fidl of moistened moss. Two worms should be 
 used, and they should be baited thus : 
 
 Knter the barb of a large sized No. U, or No. 1 Limerick 
 Salmon-hook at the lu'ad of your first worm, imd bring it out 
 at the middle; run the worm (juite up on the gut above the 
 arming of the hook ; again enter the barb at the middle of the 
 second worm, and bring it up very nearly to the head. l)raw 
 down tljc first worm to meet the second, and the bait will mo\e 
 on the bottom with a natural motion. 
 
 Paste compo.Hcd of roc of the Salmon, taken out when freshly 
 killed, waslied carefully, and cleansed of all the impurities, the 
 blood and filamentous matter, thoroughly dried in the air, 
 salted with two ounces of rock-salt, and a (juarter of an ounce 
 of saltpetre to n pound of Hpawn, <lried gently before a slow 
 
'330 IMPLEMENTS OF SALMON FISHING. 
 
 fire, or iu an oven at a low heat, and then potted down and 
 covered with melted lard or suet in earthen pots, is a most 
 murderous bait both for Trout or Salmon. When a few weeks 
 old it will cut out of the pots like stiff cheese, and will adhere 
 readily to the hook, though it is not amiss to bind it on with a 
 slip of Salmon-coloured floss silk. This will be found as 
 effective for Brook Trout as for Salmon ; and it is not unworthy 
 of remark that the roe of the milter will most surely take the 
 female, and that of the spawner the male fish. It has been 
 hence suggested that if people will fish on the spaAvning beds 
 when the fish are in the act of breeding, by using the female 
 spawn or roe, they will do much less mischief than by any 
 other mode, though it is little probable that the gothic savages 
 who resort to these practices at all will trouble themselves so 
 far as even to endeavour to do a minimum of mischief. 
 
 Lastly, the Minnow, the Shiner, the Smelt, the Sparling or 
 Atherine, and above all, the young Parr, are very killing baits, 
 especially when there is a freshet in the stream for the Salmon, 
 upon spinning-tackle. 
 
 A powerful long rod should be used for this mode of fishing ; 
 the line and reel as before, but there should be at least two 
 swivels on the line, and a small funnel-shaped piece of lead 
 sliding upon the line. 
 
 There should be one large No. 1 Limerick hook at the end 
 of the gut, and two smaller, about 10 and 5, tied back to back 
 of the larger one. The smallest above, at the full length of the 
 bait, to hook into the lip, when the funnel will slide down upon 
 the nose. The second hook should be passed through the back 
 below the first dorsal fin, and the large hook entered in the 
 
HOOKS. :?:U 
 
 solid part of the body beside the anal tin, and bronj;ht out at 
 the fork of the tail, ^ivin«; n eurve to the fish, whieh eauscs it, 
 when drawn rapidly through swift water, to spin and glanee 
 beautifully, in a manner most attractive to this noble fish. All 
 the fins should l)e rut otV t'\eei)t the peetoral du tlu' outer .side 
 of the eurve, wiiic-h will rause it to spin more certainly. 
 
 Some persons use a second hook-lcugth with thne No. 7 
 hooks tied back to back triangularly, not entered in the bait, 
 but suft'ered to play loosely around it ; but I see no advantage 
 in the addition. 
 
 With any of these baits, with the art to boot, and a clear eye, 
 a steady nerve and true hand, anywhere almost eastward of the 
 Kcunebcc, and thence northward to the grand St. Lawrence, 
 the adventurous fisherman is certain of such sport, as, once 
 tried, makes all other fishing for evermore stale, weary, and 
 unprofitable. 
 
332 LOCALITIES OF TROUT. 
 
 TROUT FISHING. 
 
 This cliarming sport, second only in its excitement to the 
 skill which it requires, and in the quality of the captive, to its 
 elder sister, Salmon-fishing, cannot be enjoyed in any part of 
 the known world in greater perfection than on the northern 
 continent of America. 
 
 Everywhere from the Arctic Circle to somewhere about the 
 forty-fourth degree of north latitude, everywhere from the 
 mouth of the St. Lawrence and the wild shores of Gaspe and 
 Chaleurs to the far coasts of the Pacific, and the swift streams 
 of Oregon, this beautiful and active fish is found abundant, in 
 every spring-stream and fountain-nourished lakelet. 
 
 Everywhere he is pursued eagerly, and esteemed a prize 
 worthy of the sportsman's skill and the epicure's idolatry. To 
 the northward and eastward he is, however, both the finest and 
 the most plentiful. The rivers of New Brunswick and Nova 
 Scotia swarm with Brook Trout ranging from half a pound to 
 five pounds in weight. In the streams of Maine and New 
 England they are equally abundant, although they are generally 
 smaller in size, and are for the most part taken in the small 
 mountain streams from which they rarely run down to salt 
 
I.MI'I.K.Ml'NTS <>K Tltol'T hMSIIINC. :\:\:\ 
 
 water; ulicnci- tlu-ir i-oIdui-s arc li-ss brilliant, and their tlcsli 
 inferior in tiavitnr. 
 
 In the Staite of New \i»rk they are of luirivalled excclienee, 
 anil arc found in vast nnnd)crs, especially in the streams of the 
 south side of Lonej Island, in the lakes and rivers of the north- 
 eastern conntit-s which di-hont-h into the l):isiii of the St. Law- 
 rence, and in all the streams of the sonth-western tier of counties 
 wliich find their way southwardly into the Delaware, the Sus- 
 quchana, and the Alleghany. 
 
 All the waters of Nortlu'rn and West(>rn Penn>\ Ivania are 
 likewise admirably stocked with this delicious and j,'anu* fish, 
 nor has any one need to seek better sport than he can find at 
 Carman's or Snedecor's on Lonj; Island. In the Marshpee 
 river, on ("ape Cod, fanu)us as being the favourite fishing-ground 
 of that good sportsnnm and great statcsnuin, Daniel Webster; 
 in the Callikoon and Bcaverkill on the east, and the fine Penn- 
 .sylvanian streams on the west of the Delaware; in the net -work 
 of lakes and rivers which renders I lainilton County in New 
 V»>rk the angler's earthly paradise, or in the swift Canadian 
 streams which >well the St. Lawrence, from the .Michigan west- 
 ward to the Sault St. Marie, and upward to the head of Lake 
 Superior, sport is certain. 
 
 The implements of the Trout-fisher are sinular except in size 
 and power, to those used in the capture of the Salmon ; but Jts 
 less strength is necessary to subdue, so is, perhaps, even greater 
 delicacy retjui.sitc to ensnare hinj. 
 
 The Trout-rocl should be twelve feet long, and as pliant, 
 almost, as a coaichwhip, etpudly bending from the butt to the 
 tip. It should be comj)0!wd of hickor}*, lanccwoo<l, and baml)oo, 
 
3:^4 TROUT FISHING. 
 
 with a solid butt of ash, at tlie extreme lower end of which 
 should be attached a simple click-reel with a balance handle, 
 but without a stop, capable of containing thirty yards of London - 
 made hair and silk line, tapering equally from the reel to the 
 point. The bottom, or leader, as it is called generally in 
 America, should consist of about five yards of round tapering 
 silkworm gut, and the flies should be three in number. Plain 
 rings should be used on a fly-rod, and not the new tubular 
 metallic guides, which stiffen it too much, and prevent its equal 
 curvature under a strain. 
 
 For bait -fishing, spinning a minnow, or daping with a grass- 
 hopper, a stouter rod may be adopted, similar to that used for 
 ordinary fresh-water, or shoal salt-water fishing. 
 
 The best baits are the Salmon-roe prepared as I have described 
 it, common brandlings or dew-worms, and any small fish, and 
 especially its own young fry, which may be used either dead on 
 spinning tackle such as is described above, or alive, hooked 
 through the back under the first dorsal fin, and sunk with shot 
 to within a few inches of the bottom. In this mode, the 
 slightest possible quill float should be adopted. The spinning 
 is by far the more sporting and exciting method ; and in large 
 streams running directly into salt water, where the finest and 
 greatest Trout are found, and where they do not willingly rise 
 to the fly, none is much more killing. In addition to these, a 
 grasshopper dropped deftly on the surface just before the nose 
 of a fat, basking, lazy Trout, at the end of a short line, which 
 is eaUed daping, will oftentimes kill when all other plans fail ; 
 shrimps will be found efifective in salt-water creeks and river 
 mouths, and in those sea-bavs which the fish haunts when in its 
 
TROUT-FLIKS. 385 
 
 greatest perfection, and very frcqncntly in the same localities it 
 will bite at a small white cnib, a muscle, or the throat, with the 
 two pectoral fins attached, of one of its own species. 
 
 All of these, however, pale before the artificial lly, whu li is 
 the most lejjitimate, tlie most scientific, the most excitinjj, 
 because most difficult, and last I v, not U-astiv, the most killinjr, 
 in nine wiitcrs of ten, of all tlit; nittliods used to capture 
 him. 
 
 Then^ lias long been a grand debate between fly-fishcrs, as to 
 whether those arc the most killing flies accurately copied from 
 natnrr, or fancy flies similar to nothinir in cxisti ncc, composed 
 of any gay and taking colours. It was formerly the general 
 belief that the first were the most taking, and in the old books 
 we find regidar rules laid down, and particular flies ordered for 
 every particular month of the year. Hut the former opinion 
 has now been generally, and 1 think justly, discarded by the 
 best anglers, while the practice of such a regular arrangement 
 is now very generally exploded. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that for the most part the same 
 flies are the most killing in all waters, the world over, in 
 Scotland, Ireland, Norway, and in the waters of America; 
 nor is there any fly found more excellent for general use, or 
 wliich possesses more ardent votaries than the red hackle, 
 which has probably killeil more and larger tish than any that 
 can l)e named. 
 
 In America, Trout-flies an* used of a mneh larger size, and 
 that more cfTcctively than in Kurope, and the small Knglish fly 
 is justly less estimated in these western waters. The colours of 
 the American fiie« are likewiMO much brighter on the whole 
 
336 TROUT FISHING. 
 
 than is approved by British anglers, and fish will not unfre- 
 quently here take a gaudy scarlet ibis feather with a gold tinsel 
 body, which a person who should use in Europe would not 
 improperly be thought raving mad. 
 
 The flies which I hold the best are the red hackle, the ginger 
 hackle, the black hackle, occasionally varied with bodies of gold 
 or silver tinsel, the March-brown or dun- drake, the pale yellow 
 duu and the blue dun — both very killing flies — the cow-dung 
 fly, the stone fly, alder fly, the green and grey drakes ; and for 
 night and twilight fishing, any of the grey, cream-coloured, or 
 mealy moths ; of these I prefer a large white- winged moth with 
 a black body. In many waters some of the coppery-golden 
 and green peacock herls are found to kill well, and last season 
 — 1848 — nothing was so successful on Long Island as the scarlet 
 ibis with a gold tinsel body. For my own fancy, however, I 
 decidedly prefer the hackles of almost every colour and variety, 
 from the ginger, through all the shades of cock, grouse, par- 
 tridge, woodcock, up to jet black ; and my favourite cast is a 
 coch-a-bondu or soldier palmer for my stretcher, a ginger hackle 
 or blue dun for my second, and a black palmer or a dottrel 
 hackle for my first dropper. 
 
 All these, as also the large gaudy lake flies, marked No. 2 
 on the cut at page 328, which very nearly resembles the 
 Salmon-fly except in size only, and are deadly indeed to the 
 Trout of the Adirondack waters, were all prepared expressly 
 for representation in this work by Mr. Conroy, and are not 
 in my opinion to be surpassed. 
 
 Beyond this I shall say nothing on the score of flies, nor shall 
 I enter into any minute and elaborate description of these or 
 
LONG ISLAND Ti;"i r I'l^iiiNu. 3:57 
 
 other varieties, with whicli most l)ot)ks on lly-fishinj; ahoinid, 
 iistjiif ml ntmscdui : for 1 uin sutisfinl that sueh (h'scriptioiis 
 muNt he entirely imsatisfaetory and useless to the fishennaii, 
 who should attempt to tie Hies hy their aid, without other and 
 more praetienl instruetion ; and they an- >o well known to all 
 anj;lers, ami to i\ll taekle-makers, hy their names, that they eaii 
 he reaulily ami uiimistakeahly ordered hy letter, ami olitaiurd at. 
 any distanee, tVon» any of the lar;xe eities. 
 
 In pro-^ress (jf this >ul)ji'et, I take the lihrily of (lUotiiij,', from 
 l>r. Ihtluim's very heautiful edition of Walton's Angler, the 
 tollowin^ paper, ^\ hii'h «as drawn up ami eontrihutcd to that 
 work hy my.selt", on the Trout-hshing of Loii}^ Island, at the 
 request of the aeeomplislu-d author. It eoutains everything 
 that 1 know or could collect at that time on this hranch of the 
 suhjcct ; and as I rest well aissured that my horrowiu;; it will in 
 nowise injure or interfere with thait heautilul and admirahle 
 work, while I feel that it would he useless and ahsurd to rc-word 
 the same ideas and opinions, and so reiidrr it pseudo-original, I 
 do not hesitate to extract it entire: — 
 
 " 'I'lu- principal distinctions that strike the careful ohservcr 
 hctween the Trout of Long Island, or, indeed, I might say North 
 America iu general, and thost- of tlu' British Isles, is, first, th«- 
 great uniformity of size on the part of the former, which rarely 
 exceed two or three |K)und» in weight, and never, so far as 1 
 liave Ihhmi ahle to ascertain, fivt- or six ; and, secondly, the fact 
 that in the Inited States, Trout are never taken iu the hirgi* 
 rivers, or, if ever, so rarely as to prove the rule hy the womhr 
 arising from the exception. 
 
 " On Long Island there are some half dozen instances on 
 
 z 
 
338 TROUT FISHING, 
 
 record, within three times as many years, of fish, varying in 
 weight from four to six pounds, taken with the rod and line. 
 Two of these instances occur to me, as connected with circum- 
 stances which may render the relation acceptable, as of anecdotes 
 very unusual, and almost, but that they are proved beyond the 
 possibility of doubt, incredible. 
 
 " Both these instances occurred at Stump Pond, on the north 
 side ; one in the pond itself, the other in the mill-pond, at the 
 outlet. 
 
 " A gentleman from New York, thus runs the first story, who 
 had never thrown a line, or taken a Trout in his life, and who 
 had come out lately equipped with a complete outfit of Conroy's 
 best and strongest tackle, all spick-and-span new, and poifit 
 device, on throwing his hook, baited with a common lob-worm, 
 into the water, was greeted with an immediate bite and bob 
 of the float, which incontinently disappeared beneath the 
 surface, carried away by the hard pull of a heavy fish. The 
 novice, ignorant of all the soft and shrewd seductions of the 
 angler's art, hauled in his prize, main force, and actually, 
 without the aid of gafi" or landing-net, brought to basket a five- 
 pounder ! 
 
 " The fact is remarkable ; the example decidedly unworthy of 
 imitation ! 
 
 " The other instance to which I have referred is, in all 
 respects, except the size of the fish, the very opposite of the 
 former ; as, in it, the success of the fortunate fisherman is due 
 as much to superior science in his craft, as his, in the former, is 
 attributable to blind and unmerited good luck. 
 
 "The hero of this anecdote is a gentleman, known by the 
 
I.M\(i isi.vM) TIJ'HT l'l-lllN<i. :5:V.> 
 
 noin-de-t/iifn'f of Cominodort' Linibrirk, a I'liaractcr in wliicli 
 lie liiis lijiurctl nmuy a day in the (.-olinnns of the " Spirit 
 of the Times," and who is universally allowed to be one of 
 the best anil most experienced, as well as the oldest fisherman 
 of that city. 
 
 "After havinj; fished all the niorniu};, with \arious sueeess, 
 in the pond, he ascertained, it seems, that \n the pool below the 
 mill there was a li>h of extraordinary size, whieh Lad lieiii 
 observed repeatedly, and tished for constantly, at all hours of 
 the day and evcuin;.'. with evi'ry diflerent variety of bait, to no 
 purpose, llearinj; this, he betook himself to the miller, and 
 there having verified the information which he had received, 
 and Imving satisfied himself that neither fly ni>r minnow, 
 gentle nor red-worm, would attract the great Trout, he pro- 
 cured, horrtsco reffrens, a mou.te from the miller's trap, and 
 proceeding to troll therewith, took, at the first cast of that 
 inordinate dainty, a fish tl^d wciirhed four pounds and three- 
 (juarters ! 
 
 ■' Another fish or two of the like dimensions havi* been taken 
 in Liff. Snedecor's and in Carman's streams ; and it is on ret-ord 
 that, at Fireplace, many years since, a Trout was taken of eleven 
 pounds. A rough drawing of this fish is still to be Keen on the 
 wall of the tavern bar-room, but it has every appearance of 
 being the sketch of a Sailmon ; and I am iidormed by a 
 thorough sp<jrt»man, who renuMnl)ers the time and the occur- 
 rence, although he did not hcc the fish, that no doubt was 
 entertained by experienced anglers who did sec it, of its being 
 in truth n Salmon. 
 
 " In the double pond aiuoiig the Mu.«iconetcong lldls, on the 
 
 / 2 
 
340 TROUT FISHING. 
 
 confines of New York and New Jersey, in the Greenwood Lake 
 in the same region, and in some other ponds in Orange County, 
 Brook Trout have been occasionally taken of the same unusual 
 size— one fish I saw myself on last New Year's Day, which, 
 shameful to tell ! had been caught through the ice, near New- 
 burgh. This fish ATcighed an ounce or two above five pounds, 
 and was well-fed, and apparently in good condition— but, as I 
 said before, all these must be taken as exceptions, proving the 
 rule, that Trout in American waters rarely exceed two or three 
 pounds in weight, and never compare in size with the fish 
 taken in England, and still less with those of the Scotch 
 and Irish waters, in all of which the regular, red-spotted, 
 yellow-finned Brook Trout are constantly taken, with the fly, 
 of ten pounds weight and upward ; and sometimes, in the 
 lakes of Ireland and Cumberland, in the Blackwater, Coquet, 
 and Stour rivers, attain to the enormous bulk of twenty-six 
 and thirty pounds. 
 
 " With regard to the second point of distinction, I have never 
 heard of a Trout being taken at all in the Hudson ; never in 
 the Delaware, even so far up as Milford, where the tributaries 
 of that river abound in large and well-fed fish ; never in the 
 lower waters of the Connecticut, or any Eastern river, so far as 
 the Penobscot, although the head waters of all these fine and 
 limpid rivers teem with fish of high colour and flavour. In 
 Great Britain, on the contrary, it is to the larger, if not to the 
 largest, rivers that the angler looks altogether for good sport 
 and large fish ; and it is there as rare a thing to take a fish a 
 pound weight in a rivulet or brook, as it is here to catch a Trout 
 at all in a large river. 
 
I.oNt; ISl.AN'n TKiiI-r FlslllN(i. .ill 
 
 '" In Canada, an<l in tin- Hrilisli I'rovincrs to tlio ea.stwanl ot 
 Maim-, it is true that Sea 'iVoiit, or Sahiioii Pool, are taken of 
 large size in the St. Lawrence, and in tlu> rivers fallinj; into tlie 
 bays of Ciaspe ami Chaleurs ; l)ut alth()u;^'h oecasionally con- 
 founded with the Trout proper, this is in truth a totally dill'erent 
 fish, and one, so far as I know, which is never taken in anv of 
 the waters of the I'nitcd States. 
 
 ** In ap[)i'araiUH', the Hrook Trout of America and (Jrcat 
 Britain are to luy eye almost identical ; both prcsentin;.r, in well- 
 fed and wi'll-conditioned fish, the same smalluess of head, (le|)th 
 of belly, and breadth of back ; the same silvery lustre of the 
 scales, the same brij^^ht crimson spots. The tlesh of the Ameri- 
 can fish, when in i)rimc order, and taken in the best waters, is, 
 I must confess, of a <lecpcr red hue, and of a higher llavour, 
 than that of any which it has been my fortune to taste at home 
 — and I have often eati'u the Thames Trout, which, rarely taken 
 below ten pounds in wi-ij^^ht, are esteemed by epicures the very 
 best of the species. 
 
 '• We travel now. be it observed, by railroad to om- fi>hiiiir 
 stations, but for the convenience of reviewing the country, and 
 scannin;; the waters, in rej;ular succession as we pass castwaird, 
 I will suppose that, as in the pleasant days of old, we are rol- 
 ling along iu our light wagon, over the level roads, on a mild 
 afternoon in the latter days of March, or the first of .\pril. 
 
 " We have started from Williamsbnrgh or Brooklyn, after an 
 early dinner ; pa-ssed through Jamaica; rolled over the plains 
 towards llemiMtead ; and, paA.sing through it without stoppa;:e, 
 have turned suddenly t«> the right towards the bays, beyond 
 which lies the Ijcach, with the incc»»ant surge of the Atlantic 
 
,342 TROUT FISHING. 
 
 moauing in tlie deep monotony of its calm^ or thundering in 
 the hoarse fury of its storm, against its pebbly barrier. 
 
 "Now we are in the land of Trout streams, baymen, and 
 wild fowl, 
 
 '' The rippling dash of falling waters catches our ear, at every 
 half-mile as we roll along, and every here and there, the raised 
 bank on our left hand with its line of stunted willows bent 
 landward by the strong sea-breeze, the sluice-gate, and the little 
 bridge, with the clear stream rushing seaward under it, tell us 
 that we are passing a Trout pond, 
 
 " On the right hand, the salt meadows stretch away, a wide, 
 waste, desolate expanse, to the bays, which glitter afar off under 
 the declining sun, whence you hear at times the bellowing roar 
 of a hea^y gun, telling of decimated flocks of brant and 
 broadbill. 
 
 " Now we pass by a larger pond than any we have yet se.en, 
 with a mill at its outlet, and in a mile farther, pull up at the 
 door of Jem Smith's tavern. 
 
 " And there we will halt to-night, although it be a better 
 station for fowling than fishing, for we are sure of neat 
 though homely accommodation, and of a kindly welcome ; 
 and here it is that the first essay is to be made of Long 
 Island waters. 
 
 " On this stream there are two ponds, both of which were 
 formerly private property, and closed against all persons except 
 those who were furnished with a permit ; they are now open to 
 all persons indiscriminately, and I believe without restriction as 
 to the number that may be taken by each individual, or by a 
 party. The consequence of this is, that these ponds have 
 
I,t>N(; ISLAND TKOUT KISIIIM;. 'M'.\ 
 
 ilt'tcrioiiiteil very riipidly, and that, altliuiifxli wt-ll-slockrcl witli 
 small tisli 1)1" fair tlavoiir ami nuality, Tiuiit are rari'ly tukLii ul 
 such a si/.e as to riMuuiu'ratc the I'M'rtions of a good iishcnnan. 
 Haifa [)i)uiiil may be taken as n r/uod avern«»e of the fisli killed 
 here, liia i-reek below, w here the tide makes, there are, of 
 course, tish, but 1 iievi'r have heard of much work beiiit; done 
 ill it ; and in truth, e\ee[)t that this is the first southern pond 
 of any note, 1 would hardly advise the angler to pause here. 
 
 " About a mile ami a half further eastward is a large pond, 
 and a fine house, both recently constructed at a great expense 
 by Judge Jones — the former exclusively designed as a Hsh-pond. 
 The place has, however, passed out of his hands, ami the house 
 is kept as a hotel by one of the Snedecors. The pond has 
 hitherto been private, but is now open, though with a limita- 
 tion. It is well stocked with fish of a fair size. \Vhcn I was last 
 there, a fornight since, a gentleman had taken eight lish, 
 weighing as many pounds, \\ith the lly that morning. Tin- 
 largest did not exceed a pound and a half, l)iit they were hand- 
 some, clean, well-fed fish, and, as the day was anything but 
 propitious, easterly winds, and very raw and ei»ld, I considered 
 it fair sport. He had not been tishing above a couple of hours. 
 I understand, however, that there are many Pike in this pond, 
 and in the stream that supplies it ; and I mueh fear that this 
 must ultimately prove destructive to all the fish in the water, 
 although those resident on the spot a.ssert that the Pike never 
 grows in that region to above half a pound, and nux-ly to that 
 weight, and that little, if any, detriment is observed to arise 
 from hi.s presence. 
 
 '* This, however, I cannot believe, for the growth of the Pike 
 
344 TROUT FISHING. 
 
 is usually almost as rapid as his voracity is excessive; and I 
 am aware of many instances^ both in the United States and in 
 England^ where ponds and streams, excellently stocked with 
 Trout, have been utterly devastated and rendered worthless by 
 the introduction of this shark of the fresh waters. 
 
 " The house is well kept, as is almost invariably the case on 
 Long Island ; and I have no doubt that the angler may pass 
 some days here with pleasure. 
 
 " Some miles beyond this, still keeping the southside road, 
 we come to Babylon, where there is an excellent house, under 
 the management of Mr. Concklin, of whom all accommodation 
 may be obtained, both as regards fowl-shooting in the bays and 
 Trout-fishing in the neighbourhood. There are several ponds 
 and streams more or less well-stocked in this vicinity, but 
 none of any particular note, either for the size or flavour of 
 the fish. 
 
 " Such, however, is not the case with the next station at 
 which we arrive, Lifl". Snedecor's — in whose pond the fish run 
 to a larger size than in any Avater we have yet noted. The 
 Trout here, both in the pond and in the stream below, are noted 
 for their great beauty, both of form and colour ; and although 
 there is some debate among connoisseurs as to the comparative 
 flavour of Snedecor's fish and those taken at Carman's, eighteen 
 miles further east, the judgment of the best sportsmen inclines 
 to the former. 
 
 " The pond is of the same character with those which I have 
 described heretofore, and can be fished only from boats. It is 
 open to all anglers, but the number of fish to be basketed by 
 each person in one day is limited to a dozen. In the stream 
 
Ll»N<. Kl.Wh TIMI T ri>;iiiN«.i. .-U.'i 
 
 tlicrc is no limit, imr iiulittl ciui tluii' be, as the tide-waters 
 cannot hv prcscrvi'il, or tlu- I'vvv ri:;lit ni' fishint; tlit'ni |)ruliil)itc(l. 
 The Tront here are not only very minierous and of tlie first 
 (|nality of cxcellenee — their llesh bcin;; redder th;ui that of the 
 Salmon — hut very larj^e; the avera;^e prohahly exeeids a |)(ttiiid, 
 and fish of two and two and a half [xmnds' weit,'lit are taken so 
 frcijuently as to he no rarity. 
 
 "The outlet of this pond, after runniiiu' a few luindri'd vards, 
 opens upon the sail meadows, where there is no ohstaeie wliat- 
 evi'r to throwini: a lonij line. It is broader and lonu't'r than 
 any stream we have hitherto eneoiuitered, and is ineomparahlv 
 the best, etMitainiuLC hsh i-ven larirer than those of the pond 
 above, and, in my opinion, of a finer flavoiu*. I believe it, 
 indeed, to be an indis|)utable fact, that Trout, w hieh have aeeess 
 to salt water, are invariably more highly coloured and flavoured 
 than those which are confined to frcsli streams by natiwal or 
 artificial obstacles. 
 
 "There is no distinction, of which 1 am aware, in favour of 
 pond or stream, for the use of the Hy. the fish takint; it readily 
 in cither, althon^;h as a general rule they \\ill rise to it earlier 
 in the fresh, than ni the tide-\>ater. 
 
 " At some distance* down this stream there is a ranj;e of 
 willowM on the bank, nearly opposite to a place owned by 
 Mrs. Ludlow ; and under tin* trees are some holes famous for 
 bcin}» the rcsort.s of the Iar|;cst fish, which affect here the 
 deepest water and the principal channel. Here, as in the pond, 
 fish of two and a half pounds are no rarity, and, in fact, 
 such are taken here more fre<|uently than above. I should say 
 that one would nirelv hook a Trout in this stream under one 
 
34.6 TROUT FISHING. 
 
 and a half pounds ; and the true angler well knows that a well- 
 conditioned fresh-run fish, from this size to a pound larger, on 
 the finest and most delicate tackle, will give him nothing of 
 which to complain in the way of exercise or excitement. 
 
 " At a short distance from Snedecor's is another stream, 
 known as Green's Creek, which contains a peculiar and distinct 
 variety of Trout, which is called in that district the Silver Trout. 
 I have not seen this fish, but learn from good sportsmen that it 
 is of a much lighter and more pearly hue than the common 
 Trout, the bright and silvery lustre of the scales prevailing over 
 the back and shoulders. It is crimson spotted, but the fins are 
 less strongly yellow, and it is perhaps a slenderer fish in form. 
 The flesh is said to be firm and well-flavoured. The Silver Trout 
 is rarely taken much over or much under a pound in weight, 
 and rises to the fly or takes the bait indiscriminately. This 
 stream has, I know not wherefore, of late years lost much of its 
 celebrity, and is rarely visited by the best sportsmen. 
 
 At Patchogue, yet a few miles further, there is a very large 
 pond, which was formerly perhaps the most famous on the 
 island, both for the abundance and the size of the fish which it 
 contained. They have, however, become latterly so scarce, that 
 few persons from a distance think it worth while to pause there, 
 but proceed at once to Sam Carman's, at Fireplace, eighteen 
 miles eastward from Lifl". Snedecor's; these two being in fact 
 the par excellence fishing grounds of the Island, and the difi'er- 
 ence between the two rather a matter of individual prejudice and 
 fancy, than of any real or well-grounded opinion. 
 
 " The character of the fishing at Fireplace is nearly similar 
 to that at Islip ; the stream flowing from the pond is larger, and 
 
U>SC, ISLAND TKOlT FlSlllNi;. 'Ml 
 
 fontiiiiis imicli lar<;t'i- ti>li, tin- u\os\ hf.-mtitul, hotli in sli:i])c ami 
 bri^litiu'ss ut colour, ot any (»ii the Inland. In this .stream, two 
 pounds is a \try conunou size; perhaps, tish arc as freijuently 
 taken of this wei-^ht as uu(hr it, and ujjwards to tour ])oun(ls. 
 Their tlesli is very hij;hly coloured, and their llavour, as 1 have 
 observed before, second to none. Indeed, it is but a few years 
 Carman's tish were estimated l)y old sportsmen the on/if fish 
 worth eatin:; ; of late, however, fashion — w Inch ndcs in i^astro- 
 nomic tastes, as otlierwise — lias veereil a little in favour of tlu' 
 Islip '['rout, and it remains at present a debateable point between 
 the two. Tlie course of Carman's stream lies chiefly throuj^h 
 open salt meadows, and the banks are entin-ly di'st it ute of covert, 
 so that very careful and delicate tishinj? is necessary in order to 
 fill a basket. Even with j;round l)ait it is desirable to keep 
 completely out of sijj^ht, walkin«;; as far from the l)ank as pos- 
 sible, and to avoid jarrinj; the water, so wary and shy arc the 
 larj'cr fish. It is also advisable to fish d(»\\n wind. Trollinir is 
 very successful in this water, the same precautions bciu}; taken, 
 and the bait-tisb being dropped as lif,'htly on the surface, as if 
 it were a fly, so as to create neither splash nor sound. The 
 pond above is likewise desenedly celebrated, the fish avernr/inf/ 
 at least a pound in wei;;ht, and e(iual in all respects to anv 
 pond Trout in this or any other region. The tly-fishiu}? here in 
 sK'ason is probably the best on Lonj; Island, althon^'h of late, 
 here, as everywhere else, Trout arc becoming comparatively few 
 in number; mo that it luus bet'n found necessary to impose a 
 limit to sjwrtsmcn. 
 
 " Not many years ago, a celebrated En-jlish slujt and angler, 
 who has since left this country, and who, I believe, was among 
 
348 TROUT FISHING. 
 
 the first, if not the very first, to use the fly ou Long Island 
 waters, took between forty and fifty good fish in this pond before 
 dinner, and in the afternoon basketed above a dozen of yet 
 larger size in the stream below. 
 
 " This feat, the like of which will not, I fear, be soon heard 
 of again, was performed with a fly, the body of which was com- 
 posed of hare^s-ear fur, and the hackle of a woodcock's wings, — 
 a very killing fly, be it observed, for all waters, especially early 
 in the season. 
 
 " On the same stream with Carman's pond, and at but a short 
 distance above it, is another called Middle Island Pond, with a 
 saw and flour-mill at the outlet, which contains a great number of 
 fish, of very large and very uniform size, running from one and 
 a half to two pounds weight. It is remarkable, however, that 
 the Trout in the lower pond being esteemed the best, those in 
 the upper should be the worst of any taken on the south side of 
 the island. Such, notwithstanding, is the case ; they are long, 
 shallow, ill-fed fish, dingy-coloured, and woody -flavoured. They 
 are not, however, black -mouthed, as are the fish of a pond which 
 I shall have occasion to mention hereafter. 
 
 " I remember that a fact of the same sort is recorded of two 
 lakes, I think in the noi'th of Ireland, connected by a short 
 stream running through a bog meadow. In the upper of these 
 lakes the fish, as here, are worthless, — in the lower superlative ; 
 and they are never known to intermingle. How this should 
 be, cannot well be explained ; for, granting that the excellence 
 of the fish arises from the soil and food, and that the inferior 
 fish improves on coming to the superior water, still there must 
 be a transition state. 
 
l.oN(; ISLAND TKnIT KISllINt;. :\\:) 
 
 ''^^'itll tliis pond 1 >liall cIksc my notirc of tlu- south side 
 waters, mcrrly iul(liiif» that at Moiitchi's, and ytt t'lirthcr east, 
 there arc many streams and lakelets ahoundin-; in lish, thontrh 
 interior to tliose of the waters 1 liave enumerati-d, both in size 
 and (jnality ; and these ari', I hcliivc, all oiuii without limit to 
 all persons wiio desire to ti>li tluni. 
 
 " It may l)i' worth while here to mention, for the henefit of 
 straufijcrs, that tlie liouscs kept by Snedeeor and Carman are l)\ 
 no means eountry ta\»'rns, at whieh nothing ean he obtained, 
 as is often the case in the interitir, but hard salt ham and touirh 
 hens just shiujihtered. Hciuj; frc(iuentc(l by ji^entlemcn entirely, 
 they arc admirable hotels in every respect. 
 
 ■'1 uill now turji for a monu-nt to the north side, on wliieh 
 there are also many streams containing Trout, but none, with a 
 sin«;lc exception, whieh can show size or numbers aj^ainst the 
 southern waters. That exception is Stump Pond, near Smith- 
 town, now rented to a company of «^entlcmen, and of course 
 shut to the pul)lic in fjcneral. The Hsli in this larjje sheet of 
 water are very numerous, and very lar^'e, but are for the most 
 part ill-shaped, ill-conditioned, and inferior in lla\our, — lon<;, 
 lank tish, with \('ry larj^e black mouths. I have been informed 
 that in latter years the lish in this water ha\e bi-en j^radually 
 improving:, but of this I cannot speak from personal experience; 
 it is, however, notorious, that occasionally Trout of vi-ry tini' 
 quality, both in npjK'amncc ami flavour, have been cauj;ht here ; 
 which is sonicwijat remarkable, inasmuch i\s the same feeding 
 grounds nirely produce two ditVcrent (|ualities of ti»h. 
 
 " With regard to weather, a darkish daiy, with a moderateK 
 brisk breeze, sutlicicut tu luakc a strung ripple on the water, is 
 
350 TROUT FISHING. 
 
 the most favourable. It is somewhat singular that^ in spite of 
 the generally received opinion that southerly or south-westei'ly 
 weather is the only weather for Trout-fishing, few old Long 
 Island anglers are to be found who cannot state that they have 
 taken as many, some say more, fish during the prevalence of 
 easterly winds, as in any weather. A friend of mine, on whose 
 authority I can perfectly rely, and to whom I gladly record my 
 indebtedness for many facts stated in this paper, assures me that 
 he has never known Trout to take the fly more freely than 
 during a north-easterly snow-storm. Still, I must consider 
 these as exceptions to the general rule ; and I at least would 
 select, if I had my choice, ' a southerly wind and a cloudy sky,' 
 — always barring thunder, — and no objection to a slight 
 sprinkling of warm rain. 
 
 " There is another peculiarity to observe in the Long Island 
 waters — and, as far as I know, in them only — that Trout bite 
 decidedly better and more freely, when the water is very fine 
 and clear, than when it is in flood and turbid. Indeed, if 
 there be a good ripple on the surface, the water can hardly be 
 too transparent. 
 
 " It has been suggested to me, that this may be accounted 
 for by the fact that in flood the waters are so well filled with 
 natural bait, that the fish become gorged and* lazy. I cannot 
 say, however, that this is perfectly satisfactory to me; as the 
 same must be the case, more or less, in all waters ; whereas it 
 is unquestionably the case, wherever I have fished, except on 
 Long Island, that Trout are more easily taken in turbid than 
 in fine water. 
 
 "As connected with the foregoing remarks, I will here add, 
 
F,OX(; ISLAND TH<»IT FISHINi;. :ir,l 
 
 that, as a general ruli', i\\c minnow, with spinninj^ or troUinj; 
 tackle, is found to hi- more killinj; than j^round l)ait in tlir 
 ponds, and vice rfi\sii, in thr tidi- streams — pruhahly tVoni tlic 
 mere faet that the minnow is the rart-r in the one water, the 
 red-worm in the other, and that each hy its rarity becomes the 
 greater dainty." 
 
 lUyond this I ha\c nothin;; t(» add, with ri'spect to Troiit- 
 fishinjr, with the exception of a fi-w vi-ry <;i'iicral ohscrNations 
 on the most likrly times, seasons, and places in wiiicli to tish 
 for the Trout, since the mode of takin;; tlicm with the fiv is in 
 all respects the same as that already ^i\('n uiuhr the head of 
 Salmon-fishing, the modes of cisting for, striking and playing 
 these kindred fishes being in all respects identical. 
 
 In tlie first place, 1 am clearly of o|)inion that for xcry early 
 fishing in March and April there is no place on this continent 
 at all comj)arable to Long Island, where all along the south 
 shore they can he taken in numbers almost innumcrahh-, in 
 every pond, stream, and salt creek, until the end of July, 
 when they cease to bite freely. It is worthy of observation 
 that very early in the season the bait is more killing than 
 the fly, ))ut that from May to the end of the season the fly- 
 fisher will till his creel when the baittisher will go empty- 
 handed home. 
 
 In the salt creeks the tish takes the tly far less willingly than 
 the bait ; and in Carman's Creek, which is yen.' decidedly the 
 beat Trout river on I.iong Island, it is saitl there is but one 
 example of a fish being killed with the fly. by an old friend of 
 my own, Mr. Luxford, fornu'rly of II. M.'^ Iui\al Dragoons, in 
 whose eye, should this meet it, thcs** words n»ay awaken not 
 
352 TEOUT FISHING. 
 
 unpleasant reminiscences of his visit to the United States, and 
 of his many, many sporting rambles with Frank Forrester. 
 
 In Carman's River the largest fish in America are, I think it 
 will be allowed, mostly caught, running often quite iip to five 
 pounds weight, and I fully believe that if it were fished patiently 
 and resolutely, especially at the grey twilight, or in the shim- 
 mering moonshine quite down to the bay, through the salt 
 meadows, with a small Trout on good spinning-tackle, with 
 three swivels, or with a very large gaudy fly, sunk, by means of 
 a shot, to several inches below the surface, fish might be taken 
 of seven or eight pounds weight. After Long Island fishing is 
 neai'ly at an end, commences, and continues quite until Sep- 
 tember, that in the crystal streams of the Southern New York 
 counties, in the Pennsylvanian streams, and, even later, in the 
 waters of the Adirondack Highlands. 
 
 The Juniata, the Wyoming, the Upper Delaware, the Upper 
 Alleghany, and the Upper Susquehana swarm with fish, as 
 well as all their tributaries. The former rivers, and many other 
 equally fine streams in the Alleghany and Blue Hidges, are 
 within easy striking distance of Philadelphia ; all the waters of 
 the Delaware and Susquehana rivers can be reached in a day 
 from New York, by the Morris and Erie Railroad ; nor is 
 there any lovelier or more romantic region, nor any waters 
 dearer to the angler, than those which are now opened to the 
 world by that noble avenue which is already complete so far as 
 to Oswego, and which will soon link with its iron chain, Erie, 
 and all the Upper Lakes to the Atlantic sea-board. 
 
 Hamilton County and its splendid fishing-grounds may be 
 reached in many ways from New York, via Albany. From 
 
MAI" NTS OF Tin: UHOnK TUUlT. 1553 
 
 Caldwell's on Lake (ieor-^e, from Lake Clmmplain by the 
 Saranae, from Schenectady l)y the fish-honsc, and from the 
 St. Lawrence, it is accessible to the Canadians by the Hl.irk 
 River or the Racket. 
 
 These waters abound in the Brook Trout, and the (Ireat Lake 
 Trout, whereof a word more hereafter, thont:h he very little 
 merits a word ; and ^ood aeeoinniodation <':in now be obtained 
 in many phuis throuj^h that of late inhospitable rej^ion ; but 
 much of the |tli'a.suit' of a tri[) thither is dotroM'd l)y tlir 
 swarms of mo8(iuitocs, and yet worse, of venomous .icupuncturin^j; 
 black and saiul-llics, which phlebotomise almost beyond ciuhir- 
 anee the hapless unacclimated stranp;er who ventures into 
 their demesnes, between May and the latter days of August. 
 
 Beyond this, I will only add, that the haunts of the I'rook 
 Trout closely resend)le those of the Salmon ; that they lie 
 lurkin*; for their passin;^ prey iinder great stones, at the liead 
 or tail of swift-glancing rapids, in the small deep pools between, 
 beneath the roots of great trees which protrude from banks 
 over swirls and whirl|)ools, in hohs, under weirs and shiiees, 
 ami in no placi; more fre(piently than at tlu' tail of null-races. 
 
 The best and heaviest fish do not Ix gin to I'wd until twilight, 
 after which, for about three hours, they are exceedingly vora- 
 cious, reposing again after that, until daybreak is at hand, uhen 
 they ngjiiu feed for an hour or two, lying (pnte still, and often- 
 times refusing the most tempting baits during the whole of the 
 day-time. 
 
 I have been told lately, and see no reason for doubt nig the 
 accumcy of the information, that great s|K)rt nuiy be had by 
 baiting any wcU-asccrt«incU haunt in a ntrcam with the Common 
 
 A A 
 
354 TROUT FISHI^T^ 
 
 cray-fish, his shell being cracked to pieces for several days 
 in succession, previous to fishing it with a fly. 
 
 From the Brook Trout I pass on to his degenerate relations, 
 the various kinds of Lake Trout, Mackinaw Salmon, Siskawitz, 
 and, as it is called erroneously, Salmon Trout of the Lakes. 
 
 Before closing this article, I have judged it well to quote 
 a few remarks on Trout-fishing, from that admirable work, 
 Hofland's "Angler's Manual," inasmuch as they are in the 
 highest degree appropriate to the Trout-fishing of America 
 generally, while the observation on bush-fishing, dipping or 
 daping, will be found of great advantage to the angler for 
 small Trout in the beautiful tumbling mountain-streams far 
 inland, in our northern and north-eastern States. 
 
 "THE ARTIFICIAL FLY. 
 " Fly-fishing is certainly the most gentlemanly and pleasant 
 kind of angling, and it has many advantages over every other 
 mode of fishing. In the first place, your apparatus is light and 
 portable ; for a slight rod, twelve feet long, — or, if wanted for a 
 narrow and wooded stream, one of ten feet only would be more 
 convenient, — a reel containing thirty yards of line, a book of 
 artificial flies, and a landing-net, and you are fully equipped for 
 the sport. In the second place, it is the most cleanly and the 
 least cruel mode of angling, as you are not obliged to soil your 
 hands by ground bait, or live baits, nor to torture a lining fish, 
 or insect, on your hook. Another charm in fly-fishing is, that 
 you are never fixed to one spot, but continue to rove along the 
 banks of the stream, enjoying, in your devious path, all the 
 varieties of its scenery ; the exercise induced is constant, and 
 
AKTIhMCI Al, FI.IKS. 355 
 
 not too vioU-nt, and is i>(|imlly coiulucivc to hcaltli nnd pli-asurr. 
 1 have alrnuly said tlint a onc-handcd rod sliould he. ten or 
 twelve feet long, and a two-liandcd rod from sixteen to ei},'hteen 
 feet; to either of which must he attached a reel containing 
 thirty yju'da of twisted silk and hair line, tapering from a 
 modcrnte thickness to a few hairs, at the end of which you are, 
 by a loop, to attach the bottom tackle. This should he made 
 of round, even gut, and three- yards long; some persons prefer 
 four yards ; but 1 think too great a length of gut increases the 
 dillieidty in casting the line. Those bottom tackles may be 
 purchased at the shops in two, three, or four-yard lengths. 
 These lines shouhl also taper gradually, the gut lieing nnich 
 stronger at the end which is to be attached to the line on the 
 reel, than at the end to which the stretcher-tly is to be ti.xed. 
 \Vhen you fish with oidy two flies, the second — or drop-fly — 
 should be at a distance of thirty-six or fcu'ty inches from the 
 bottom, or stretcher-fly ; but, if you use three flics, the first 
 drop should be only thirty-four inches from the stretcher, and 
 the second drop thirty inches from the first. These drop-flics 
 arc attached to the line by loo[)-<. and should not be more than 
 three inches long; and, by ha\ing the gut rather stronger than 
 for the end-lly, tlicy \\\\\ stand nearly at a right angle from the 
 line. 1 recommend the beginner to comnu-nct- with one fly 
 only ; bu^ at most, he must not u.se more than two; and, as for 
 his mode of casting, or throwing his fly, now his tackle is pre- 
 pared, I fear little useful instruction can be given, as skill and 
 dexterity, in this |)oint, must dei)cn(l upon prncticc. 1 may, 
 however, advise him not to attempt to cast a long line at first, 
 but to tn- his strength, and gain facility by degrees. He must 
 
856 TROUT FISHING. 
 
 make up his mind to hear many a cracky like a coachman's 
 whip, and find the consequent loss of his flies, before he can 
 direct his stretcher to a given point, and let it fall on the water 
 lightly as a gossamer. When I come to speak of the different 
 Trout streams in the neighbourhood of London, and elsewhere, 
 I shall recommend the flies to be used for the place and season ; 
 in the meantime, I shall attempt to describe the haunts of the 
 Trout. 
 
 " He is fond of swift, clear streams, running over chalky, 
 limestone, or gravelly bottoms ; but he is more frequently in 
 the eddies, by the side of the stream, than in the midst of it. 
 A mill-tail is a favourite haunt of the Trout ; for he finds pro- 
 tection under the apron, which is generally hollow, and has the 
 advantage of being in the eddy, by the side of the mill-race, 
 awaiting his food. He delights also in cascades, tumbling bays, 
 and weirs. The larger Trout generally have their hold under 
 roots of overhanging trees, and beneath hollow banks, in the 
 deepest parts of the river. The junction of little rapids, formed 
 by water passing round an obstruction, in the midst of the 
 general current, is a likely point at which to raise a Trout ; also 
 at the roots of trees, or in other places where the froth of the 
 stream collects. All such places are favourable for sport, as 
 insects follow the same course as the bubbles, and are there 
 sought by the fish. After sunset, in summer, the large fish 
 leave their haunts, and may be found on the scowers, and at the 
 tails of streams ; and during this time, so long as the angler 
 can see his fly on the water, he may expect sport. Unfortu- 
 nately, when the deepening shades of twilight diive the sports- 
 man home, he is succeeded, on dark nights, by the poacher, 
 
HINTS To YUUNCJ ANULKItS. .157 
 
 with liis ui^lit-liiifs ; imd T am sorry to siiy tluit tin- iiortli- 
 country nnj^lcr gives too tuithtiil a ijictun- of thi^ iii^'lit-lisliin^', 
 which hi" himself practised. 
 
 " Aiul now, liaviiig tohl the young angh-r wliere to search for 
 tish, I must strongly impress upon him the necessity of keeping 
 out of sight of the fish, for, if once seen, not any kind oi' l)ait 
 he can otlcr will tein|>t a 'rrt)Ut to take it ; therefore, approach 
 the stream \\ith caution, keeping as far fioni it as possihlc : first, 
 lish the side nearest to \ on, ami then cast your line so as to 
 i!ro[) just undir the hank on t hi- op[)ositt' side of the stream, 
 drawing it, hy gentle smitches, towards you, always continuing 
 careful to show yourself as little as possihlc. 
 
 " Some persons recommend fishing up stream, and throwing 
 tlie lly hcfore them; others walk down the river, anil east the 
 rty before them. For my own part, — after much experience, — 
 wheucver I can do so with couvenience, I cast my lly a little 
 abu\e me, and across the stream, drawing it gently towards me. 
 If the wind should be against you, you will be constrained to 
 stand close to the watei*^s edge, and make your cast close to the 
 bank on which you stand, either up or down the stream, as the 
 wind may serve. A\oid, if possible, fishing with the sun hi-hiiid 
 you, as the moving shadow of yourself and rod will alarm the 
 fisli. The finer the tackle, — particularly the bottom taikle, — 
 and the lighter the fly falls on the water, the greater will be 
 yoiir sport ; indeed, some anglers use only a single hair for their 
 buttuiu tackle ; but when the water you fish is weedy, or much 
 wooded, a single hair is very diflicult to manage ; but in ponds, 
 or streams, free from impcdimentH, it may be used by a skilful 
 hand with great advantage. The winds nn>st favourable to the 
 
358 TROUT FISHING. 
 
 angler are south, south-east, south-west, and north-west ; but 
 in March and April this latter wind is generally too cold. A 
 fresh breeze is favourable, especially for lake-fishing, mill-dams, 
 or the still deeps of rivers ; as the ripple on the water, caused 
 by the breeze, has the same effect as a rapid stream, in pre- 
 venting the sharp -sighted Trout from discovering the deception 
 of the artificial fly. 
 
 " In lake-fishing you can hardly have too much wind, if you 
 can manage your boat comfortably, and keep your fly on the 
 water. There are very few lakes, with which I am acquainted, 
 where good sport can be had from the shore ; to ensure success, 
 a boat is indispensable ; and if you can procure a boatman well 
 acquainted with the water, and the management of his boat, 
 the battle is half won. After sunset the fish seek the shallow 
 water, and a lake may then be fished from the shore. I have 
 found, from long experience in lake-fishing, that it is better to 
 cast your line towards the shore, rather than from the shore, 
 or up or down the lake. The boat should be maintained, as 
 far as possible, at a proper distance from the shore — that is, so 
 that your flies may fall where the water begins to deepen 
 from the shore. The boat should be allowed to drift with the 
 wind, and the oars used as seldom as possible, and merely to 
 keep it in a proper position and distance from the shore. The 
 flies used in lake-fishing are larger than those for rivers; and 
 I have frequently observed that the winged flies answer better 
 than palmers. Perhaps the cause of this may be, that many 
 rivers and small Trout streams are bordered with trees, which 
 overhang them, and from which drop the insects that the 
 palmers imitate ; whereas the shores of the lake are generally 
 
nusn-FisiiiNu, KTf. 359 
 
 rocky, or stony, aiid mostly denuded ol" trees, and eouac- 
 quently ilo not produce tliis kind ul' food for tlieir finny 
 inhahitunt.s." 
 
 " BUSH-FISHING, DUM'INC, (»Il DAl'ING. 
 
 "One great recommendation t(t hush-fishing is, tliat it can 
 bo practised with success in tlu' months of June, July, and 
 August, when the river is low, and the sunshine bright, and in 
 the middle of the day ; at a time and season when no other 
 circumstance wouUl stir a fish, the largest Trout arc taken by 
 this method. The angler must be provided with a fourtecn-feet 
 rod, with a stiff top, and strong running tackle; he will seldom 
 have to use more than a yard of line, the bottom of which 
 should be of strong silkworm gut. 1 recommcud strong tackle, 
 because, in confined situations, overhung with wood, you will 
 not have room to play your li>li, l)ut must hold him tight, and 
 de{)cnd ou the strength of the tackle. 
 
 "The size of your hook must depend on the size of your fly, 
 from No. 7 to '.' for snudl flics and grubs, ami, for beetles, 
 No, 1 or "). For bush-fishing, you should be provided with 
 well-scoured brandlings and red worm, cad-baits, clock-baits, 
 earth-grubs, beetles, gnisshoppcrs, and a horn of flies, or, at 
 least, as many of the above as you can procure. A small green 
 grub, or caterpillar, which may be got in June and July, by 
 shaking, over a sheet or tablecloth, the boughs of an oak-tree, 
 is a most killing bait for this kind of fishing. 
 
 " Great caution is nectrssary in using your ro<l and line ; for, 
 if there arc few bushes or brambles to conceal you, the water 
 must l>c approached warily, a.s the large Trout often lie near 
 
360 TROUT FISHING, 
 
 the surface, and, if you are once seen, they will fly from you. 
 If the water should be deep, dark, and overhung with thick 
 foliage, so that you can scarcely find an open space for your 
 bait, your line must be shortened to half a yard, and sometimes 
 less. 
 
 " If your flies are small, use two of them at once, as they 
 frequently fall into the water in couples ; when daping with the 
 fly, if you see your fish, drop the fly gently on to the water, 
 about a foot before him, and if you are not seen, he will eagerly 
 take it. When your fish is struck, do not allow him to get down 
 his head, for fear of roots and weeds, but keep him to the top 
 of the water, where his fins and strength will be of little use to 
 him; and in this situation, with good tackle, you may soon 
 exhaust him, and make him your own by a landing-net, the 
 handle of which should be two yards long; or he may be landed 
 by a hook or gaflF, with a long handle ; and this, in some situa- 
 tions, amidst close, thorny brambles, will be found more useful 
 than a landing-net, which is liable to be caught in the bushes. 
 
 "When you use the worm, the caddis, or any other grub, 
 you will require a single shot, No. 6, to sink your bait, for it 
 cannot sink too slowly, or cause too little disturbance in the 
 water.^' 
 
U.MTS FOK THK l,AKK TIKtl'T. W 
 
 LAKI-: TKOUT FLsHLXG. 
 
 Thkse great, ])a(l, coarse luul unsporting fisli, of all tin- thrco 
 varieties, arc very nearly similar in their habits, '}'"& *'^'' ^''•' 
 most part in the deepest i)arts of the ^reat lakes, seeking their 
 fooil in the depths, and very rarely risiii"; to the siu'faee, either 
 for tbod or play. Of these the {^reat Mackinaw Salmon is pcr- 
 liaps the liveliest, and the Common Lake Trout {Su/mu Conjinit, 
 of Dekay), tlie heaviest and most worthless. 
 
 They will scarce ever rise to a lly, and can rarely he taken 
 even with a spinning minnow; with a live bait, however, or a 
 peacock-fly, submerged to a considerable depth, witlj a bullet at 
 the end of two hundred yards of line, played from a still' rod at 
 the stern of a light skilf or canoe moved rapidly through the 
 water by sails or oars, tliey can be eatight with considerable 
 certainty. Win ii ho<iked, however, they are but a heavy, torpid 
 fisli, bearing down with a sullen dead weight, and offering litth 
 more than a pa-ssivc resistance. My friend William T. Porter, 
 wlio constantly fishes in the waters of Hamilton C'uuntv, 
 infomis nie that he has been exceedingly and almost invariabh 
 successful with what seems a very strange and unsiM)rting com- 
 bination, a small fish namely, and a lar^e fly on the same lim . 
 at about a vard's distance iununder. 
 
36^ LAKE TROUT FISHING. 
 
 The commonest way, by far, of angling for the Common Lake 
 Trout is with a stout drop-line and a Cod-hook baited with a 
 piece of salt pork, or the belly of a Yellow Perch or Brook 
 Trout, let down into ten or fifteen fathom water. The fish 
 bites, gorges his bait, for which you may allow him a few 
 seconds' time, after which he is hauled in by main force. He 
 is very indifferent eating, but perhaps the best way of preparing 
 him when quite fresh out of water, is to crimp him to the bone 
 after stunning him with a heavy blow on the head, wrap him 
 up in a cover of thick greased paper, and roast him without 
 removing the entrails, which will come away at a touch when 
 he is cooked, under the ashes of a wood fire. 
 
 The Greatest Mackinaw Salmon, or Namaycush, and the 
 Masamacush, or Arctic Charr, the latter a delicious and very 
 voracious fish, are both taken in the same manner, in very deep 
 water, in the summer, and through holes cut in the ice in the 
 dead of winter. The favourite bait for both these fishes, is the 
 belly of the yellow or grey Sucking Carp, or a piece of the raAv 
 heart or liver of a deer. 
 
 The Mackinaw fish is, however, a far bolder fish than any of 
 his race, and occasionally follows any shining bait or squid up 
 to the very surface of the water, if it is sunk by means of a 
 weight, and then trolled sharply upward and onward to the 
 surface. A piece of bright tin, with a rag of scarlet cloth 
 attached to it, is, I am informed, found to be very successful 
 and killing in the hands of the Indians. If this be the case, of 
 which I am well assured, there can be little or no doubt that 
 the deadly spoon, as it is called, an implement shaped precisely 
 like the bowl of a table spoon, of bright metal, silver-washed 
 
rm; dkadlv sruuN. ;jt'.:j 
 
 within, :uul l)ra/.C(l without, iittac-hi-il hy u swivel at th(^ h)Wi'r 
 I'xtriMnity to a stout tripU' htjuk, aiul at the upper to a piece of 
 stroni; gimp — which is so murderously destructive to the Hhnk 
 Hass of the St. Lawrence, and the Mascalougc — would he louiul 
 no less cflcctivc with the (Jrcat Lake Trout ; nor if auv oue 
 should think it worth tiic while, would any harm he thouj^ht of 
 his ap[>lying any invention, however slaughtering; and poacher- 
 like, to so base and caitiff a tish as the Lake Salmon. 
 
 Of Hack's (Jrayling it is almost unnecessary here to speak, so 
 far north an- his customary haunts, and s(j viry (iiHieidt and 
 expensive is it to reach the di>triets in which oidy he exists. 
 This is the more to be regretted for that he is one (»f the linest, 
 if not the very finest, of all the Sporting Fishes of America, lie 
 is the boldest of biters at a fly, taking all those flies which are 
 most preferred by the Brook Trout, leaping many times out of 
 the water in his efforts to extricate himself from the hook, nor 
 ever succuml>ing to his captor's will without a desperate resist- 
 ance and a severe conflict. His flesh is no less delicious, and 
 his excellence at the board in no wise inferior to his spirit, or 
 the beauty of his colouring. 
 
 Of till- Attihawnu'u' or White Fish of the great lakes, of the 
 Otsego Bass, or as I should desire to have it hereafter called, 
 the Otsego Lavaret, and of the little Smelt, which arc all mcm- 
 l)crs of this same noble family, it needs not to make farther 
 mention. They all have been occasionally taken with the fly, 
 and will all undoubtedly be oftentimes again so captured, but 
 the certainty of their rising is by no means suflicient to warrant 
 the fisherman in wiisting much time in their pursuit. 
 
 I n>ay here, Ijcforc finishing this head of my subject, obscrxe 
 
364 LAKE TROUT FISHING. 
 
 that in fact there is scarcely any fish, which will not apparently, 
 from some whim or other, take the fly on the surface. I have 
 myself so caught the Striped Bass, the Shad, the Herring, and 
 the Northern Pickerel, with the Salmon-fly. All the family of 
 the small Cyprinidce, as the Roach, Dace, Bream, and Chub, 
 will at times bite freely. In the Black River a species of this 
 family rises very freely, and gives good sport. It is there called 
 the Chub, and is, I believe, identical with another of the same 
 division, known as the Wind Fish, in some of the streams of 
 Duchess County, in the State of New York ; and a thoroughly 
 good fisherman of the city informed me yesterday that he had 
 even caught Suckers with a Trout- fly, a fact which, but for the 
 very great respectability of the source whence I derived the 
 information, I should hardly have been inclined to credit. 
 
 None of these unimportant little fish, however, give sport 
 enough, or are sufliciently good on the table, to make them 
 worthy the pursuit of other than boys, snobs, and the ladies, 
 who must pardon me for the company into which I have intro- 
 duced them, certainly not according to then* merits, or my 
 estimation of them. 
 
l<x:alities op salmon troit. .jOo 
 
 SALMON TROUT FlslIIXO. 
 
 TiiKRK is l)ut one rcfi^ion on tliis continent in wliich this 
 a(1niini))le sport can he enjoyed at all ; for, singnlar to say, the 
 Hsh is only found in those rivers of New Brunswick which flow 
 rastwardly into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the Hays of Gaspe 
 and Chalenrs. 
 
 As if to make amends, however, for the narrow limits of theii' 
 {geographical range, they ahsolutely swarm during their season, 
 in all the rivers which they freipient, traversing the sea hays in 
 enormous schulU, and running up all the rivers to the head of 
 tide-water, beyond which tliey do not ascend on these coasts. 
 Why this should be the case it is not easy to conjecture, since it 
 would appear to indicate a variation in the species from one of 
 the normal habits of the race — that, I mean, \\hi(h dictates to 
 the parent fish that they must run up into the aerated waters of 
 pure fresh rivers, in order to deposit their ova. 
 
 It may be, though I am not prepared to state that it is, the 
 fact, that the ascent of all these rivers beyond a certain point is 
 rendered im|>os.Hiblc to the fish, by long rnpid.s, or impassable 
 cataracts, and that, perceiving the impossibility of arri\ing at 
 the place of their pro|)cr antl natural destination, the fish them- 
 selves cease to attempt it, and merely run up from the brackish 
 
366 SALMON TROUT FISHING. 
 
 into the fresh water^ in order to enjoy those alternations of tem- 
 peratnre and food^ in which all this family would appear espe- 
 cially to rejoice. 
 
 In the Scottish and Enghsh waters, the Salmon Trout, like 
 the true Salmon, ascend quite to the head waters of the streams 
 which they frequent, and deposit their ova precisely in the same 
 manner as the other of their congeners. Here, it is evident, 
 from Mr. Perley's reports to the British Parliament on the 
 Fisheries of the Pro\ince, that they do nothing of the kind. 
 
 In the St. Lawrence, I have never heard of their being taken 
 above Montreal, and rarely above Quebec, although there is no 
 obstruction of any sort to hinder their running quite up to the 
 mouth of Niagara, as is the case with the true Salmon. 
 
 One thing, however, it may be observed in this connexion, is 
 very evident — that we know, comparatively speaking, almost 
 nothing of the nature of fishes' instincts. 
 
 That they possess exceedingly tenacious memories, I cannot 
 in the least doubt ; and I have more almost than strong suspi- 
 cion that these memories become hereditary, and are so trans- 
 mitted from generation to generation. 
 
 In no other way can we account for that extraordinary 
 instinct which leads back the young bii'd to the nest in which 
 it was hatched, the Grilse to the river in Avhich it had its bii'th — 
 since the young birds are deserted by their parents at a period 
 long antecedent to their return from their migration, and the 
 fish never have the protection of their progenitors. 
 
 Nor in any other way can we explain the fact that the true 
 Salmon never enter the Niagara River, although they run quite 
 up to its mouth ; even if we admit that its waters are entirelv 
 
WON'nKRFn. INSTINCT IN I'ISII. ;}G7 
 
 unfitted for the purposes of the fish, juul tlmt it contains no 
 shoals suiti'd tor spawning; j;rounds ; for, otherwise, we should 
 expect that every iudiviilual tish would visit it at least once, in 
 «)rder to <»et a taste of its ([uality, and then, fiudin;; it unsuit- 
 ahle, desert it ; whereas it is not on record that any lish has 
 ever heen taken of this species within its eniljouchiire. 
 
 It may he that this wonderful power is an esj)ic'ial ^itt oi" 
 Providence, preventing tlie tish from wastin<^ too nuich tinu' in 
 seekini; ovit a haunt, and so losing the season for the propaga- 
 tion of its species, hy conducting it, tndy as the needle to the 
 nuignetic pole, to the stream in which it was hrcd. 
 
 He this, however, as it may, certain it is that in all the rivers 
 which flow eastwardly from the provinces into the Northern 
 Atlantic, with every flood-tide a horde of these beautiful fishes 
 run up until they strike the junction of the salt and fresh 
 water, usually at the foot (»f a fall or ra[)id, and there remain 
 disporting themselvi-s in the bright eddies, and throwing them- 
 selves quite out of their native element, in pursuit of their scaly 
 prey. 
 
 In these places they will take very greedily any of the Scottisli 
 or Irish gaudy lake flies, leaping out of the water to take and seize 
 them, and rising so voraciously aiul rapidly, thai it is found im- 
 possible to fish with above one, or at the most, two flies ; as it 
 is not at all an unusual thing, if fishing with three, to hook at 
 the same moment three several fishes. 
 
 In the Obscnche, several yeani since, Mr. Pcrley, who visited 
 those waters in his official capacity, accompanied by Captain 
 Egcrton, of II. M. 1.1(1 Light Infantry, killed thni- hnnilrcd ol 
 these fine fish at the junction of the fresh and salt water, at the 
 
368 SALMON" TROUT FISHING. 
 
 foot of a long glancing rapid^ in a single tide ; and the former 
 gentleman writes me word, that one morning in last season he 
 killed, in an hour or two, eight fish, which weighed forty 
 pounds. 
 
 This must be regarded, however, as an unusual run of luck ; 
 for the average size of the Salmon Trout does not appear to 
 exceed four pounds, although they are taken up to seven and 
 eight. 
 
 In the fresh water, within the rivers, they are taken exactly 
 as the Salmon or Brook Trout, with a double or single-handed 
 rod indifferently, and with any of the baits or flies which arc 
 killing to the others of the family; but best of all, with a scarlet 
 ibis fly, with a gold tinsel body, which it prefers, even in bright 
 water, to the best peacock herl and gay feather lake-flies. 
 Although a fine game fish, a strong fighter, and hard dier, the 
 Salmon Trout often comes in for a share of the Salmon Fisher's 
 maledictions, jumping incessantly at the deceits intended to 
 fascinate a larger and more potent ^-ictim, and, in fact, for 
 insisting on being taken in lieu of its great congener. 
 
 In the sea bays, quite out of sight of land, while roving along 
 the coasts, in search probably of its favourite estuary, the 
 Salmon Trout is caught nearly as we catch Mackerel or Blue 
 Fish, by troUing with the ibis fly, above described, at the end 
 of thirty or forty yards of line, from the stern of a sailing-boat, 
 under all canvas, in a stiff Mackerel breeze. 
 
 For this sport it is necessary to use a reel, with not less than 
 a hundred yards of line — as the largest fish are taken by this 
 method, and make a very violent resistance before they can be 
 brought home. 
 
KXCITE.MKNT oF TllK >I'<)|;T. ;i(l'.) 
 
 The fly is ki'[)t ski|)[)iiij^ fri)in \\n\c to wave, as tlu* boat 
 lavccrs, or beats to wiiuhvanl, and the fish throwing itself out 
 of the sea to secure it \\'\\h its beautiful l)ri;,'ht sides flasluug 
 like virj^in silver in the sunlight, and when struek, constantly 
 dashing away with the wliole of the line from the whizzing 
 reel, and giving a King run down wind, tlicrc is perhaps no 
 sport in existence more full of plejusant excitement and 
 adventure. 
 
 Nor when taken is the prisoner unworthy of the pains it has 
 cost to kill him ; for although smaller, he is in all other respects 
 nearly of etpial excellence with the true Salmon, and occupies a 
 place second to him alone, with the judicious epicure. 
 
 Right well woidd it repay some of our gallant yachters to 
 turn the heads of their tight crafts easterly, and bi'ar away, as 
 the old song has it, with a wet slieet and a flowing sail, for tlie 
 rock-bound shores of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, for once 
 there, right hospitable would they find their welcome, and their 
 sport right royal. 
 
 n II 
 
370 MODES OF TAKING PICKEREL. 
 
 PICKEREL FISHING. 
 
 From the gigantic Mascalouge and its nearly equal congener, 
 the Great Northern Pickerel, to the small barred variety, which 
 is found only in the waters of Long Island, the whole of this 
 fierce and ferocious family affords great sport to the fresh-water 
 angler ; and where the Trout and Salmon do not obtain, they 
 are considered as the kings of the waters. There are many 
 modes of fishing for them, and the baits which they will take 
 are almost innumerable, comprehending in their range almost 
 the whole animal creation, fish, flesh, fowl, and reptile. 
 
 When of great size they are excessively destructive — not to 
 other fish only, of which they are the tyrants, but to frogs, 
 water-rats, and even the young of wild-fowl. 
 
 They are taken either with trimmers, that is to say, small 
 floating buoys with a rude reel attached, and a dependent live 
 bait, with long set-lines ; or again, by roving with the live, or 
 trolling with the dead bait. In the former mode, it is the 
 better way to use two moderate-sized hooks, one passed 
 through the hp, and the other through the dorsal fin of the 
 bait, which should be sunk about two feet below the surface, 
 with a large float on the Hue, and sufi'ered to swim about at his 
 pleasure. 
 
TKoLMNi;. 371 
 
 Hv this method, howrvor, hiij,'r Pinh jut (tthii taken instead 
 ot' the proper tish, and t rolling; with the gorge-hook, or lishin;; 
 with the snap-hook, is by tar better sport — especially the former 
 — more ii'gitinnite, \unrc exeiting, and last, not h-ast, more 
 killing. 
 
 Of these methods, Mr. liotland, in Ins • Mriti.sh Angler's 
 Manual," thus discourses — and although he is speaking of the 
 English Pike {Esor Lucius), not of the Mascalongc or Piekerel, 
 as tlie fishes are of the same family, and the modes to he i)nr- 
 sned in eaptnring them in all respects identical, 1 have not 
 hesitated to extract liis able and well- written description. I 
 must premise, however, that where he speaks of dace, bleak or 
 giidgeou for bait, we must substitute tlic roach, the minnow, 
 the small bream, the New York shiner, or, wliieh is deciiledly 
 the best and most killing of all, the young fry, or |)arr, of the 
 Hrook Trout. 
 
 Like Mr. Holland, 1 inlinitely prefer trolling with the gorge- 
 hook to fishing eitlier with the common snap, or with what is 
 here called the sockdollager-liook ; which last 1 regard as a 
 great and dangerous humbug. 
 
 The rod for I'ike trolling is well described below by Mr. 
 Hotland, but one of Conroy^s best general rods with spare tops — 
 wliich is, in fact, the best for evenk'thing except (ly-fishing — 
 such a.s is used for Ha-ss or Weak Fish, though with rather a 
 stronger or stiftcr top, will be found all-suftieieut. In my 
 opinion, a large click-reel, such as we use for Salmon, and a 
 stout silken line of a hundred yards or better, will be found 
 preferable to the contrivances of which Mr. IIoHand discourses. 
 
 In casting the bait, the butt of the nxl should be set against 
 
 H li 2 
 
372 PICKEREL FISHIKG. 
 
 the right hip, with the point inclined to the left; the bait 
 should hang at the end of some ten or fifteen yards of line, and 
 as many more should be drawn off the reel and held loosely in 
 the left hand, the right hand grasping the butt about a yard 
 above its extremity. 
 
 The body should then be turned slowly to the left, and 
 brought round again, with a quick jerk, to its original position ; 
 the rod, as described before, will follow the same motion, and 
 deliver its bait with great velocity and accuracy, the left hand 
 pla\dng out the line and checking its motion gently, so as to 
 drop the bait upon the surface almost without creating a ripple, 
 certainly without a splash. 
 
 A little practice will soon enable the merest tyro to deliver a 
 dead bait on a leaded gorge into the circumference of his hat at 
 twenty-five or thirty yards; and let him remember, that the 
 longer his casts, the better and more like to kill. 
 
 The bait, after being cast, should be drawn gently and 
 gradually home, the left hand constantly giving out and 
 retracting the line ; which, with the aid of one or two swivels 
 above the gimp arming of the gorge-hook, will cause the fish to 
 spin and glance beautifully in the water, and will render it a 
 most attractive bait. 
 
 Hofland's instructions for striking and playing this fine fish 
 cannot be surpassed ; and paying due attention to the above, 
 and giving heed to his instructions, the young angler will 
 hardly fail of sport in any of the inland lakes or rivers of this 
 country from Maine to Lake Superior and La Belle Riviere, as 
 the French designate the Ohio, and from tlie Atlantic coasts to 
 the Arctic Circle. 
 
BAITS. 373 
 
 " 1 must lit're inform tin- mt\icr in trollin^:, that little .sport 
 can 1)1' expecteil without a tt)lfral)ly clrar watrr. 
 
 '* Xobbs, the fatlier of thr art of trolliiiir. s[)i'aks of April 
 anil Mayas the host months; l)ut, with tiur dcfcrcnre to so 
 grrat an authority, I should say Soptembrr, Octohir, and 
 NoveuibcT, arc the best months, as tin- lish are thru in prinjc 
 season, and arc \\orth takinir, whcn-as in April and May they 
 have not rccovcrcil from s|)a\\nin^', and although tlicy may feed 
 frcdy, they will be lank and thin, and in bad condition. 
 
 " Early in March the Pike are often taken lull of sj)a\\n, but 
 at tins season tluy will seldom gorge the liait, and are gcnendly 
 taken by the snap. In tin- autumn, rivers and ponds begin to 
 lose tlicir weeds, which, in sprin;4 and sununcr, are so trouble- 
 some to the troUcr, and the fish then take to the deep holes, 
 aiid their haunts are more easily found. The troller cannot be 
 too early or too late at his sport, for during the middle of the 
 day the lish seldom feed, unless it be cloudy anil the breeze 
 fresh., 
 
 "The best baits for Jack ami Pike are roach, dace, bleak, 
 gudgeon, minnow, small chub, and trout, or the skegger or 
 brandling; when none of these can be procured, a small perch, 
 by cutting away the back tin, may be used. Indeed, in the 
 lakes of Derwcntwater and Bassenthwaite, and various places 
 where other tish are scarce, and the small Biuss or Perch plen- 
 tiful, it is the bait in general use. It is of the utmost couse- 
 queucc that the bait* should be perfectly fresh and sweet ; 
 although a Pike might run at a stale bait, he will rarely pouch 
 it, even at the snap: your l)aita cannot be too bright or fresli. 
 
 " Man\ writers hiiNc recommended Inrds, mice, frogs, ice, as 
 
374 PICKEREL FISHING. 
 
 baits, but Avhere small fish can be procured, no other will be 
 wanted : of all the baits mentioned, I prefer a moderate-sized 
 gudgeon, more especially for the gorge-hook, as the sweetness 
 of the fish makes the Pike more eager to pouch it. 
 
 " On a dark day, and when the water is not very clear, T 
 should prefer a clean, bright, small roach, dace, or bleak, parti- 
 cularly when fishing at the snap. When your fish are not kept 
 alive in a bait-can, they should be carried in a tin box, and laid 
 in a little fine bran, or pollard, and carefully washed before you 
 bait with them. 
 
 "TROLLING TACKLE. 
 
 " The rod should be of strong bamboo cane, and from ten to 
 twelve feet long, with a tolerably stiff top of whalebone or 
 hickory ; the rings should be five in number and not less than 
 three-eighths of an inch in diameter in the opening, that the 
 line may run freely. 
 
 " A strong winch will be required, which must hold at least 
 forty yards of line, that is not subject to kink. Mr. Jesse 
 recommends a trolling-line sold by Mr. Barth, of Cockspur- 
 street, and I have seen a very good sort of line for this purpose, 
 manufactured by Mr. Bazin, Duncan-place, Hackney. Some 
 trollers prefer a rod twenty feet long, in Avhich case your cast on 
 the water is made in the same manner as in spinning the 
 minnow for Trout, but with a longer line; and the lighter 
 your bait falls upon the water the greater your success. Mr. 
 Jesse strongly recommends the use of a wooden reel, one of 
 about four inches and a half across, having the rim grooved for 
 the reception of the line. 
 
TiiK (;oi:(ii:-iit>(iK. ;i75 
 
 " 'These reels turn round with jjreat rapidity wlien the east is 
 made, Icttiii:^ out a suflieient len{:jth of line, and are wound up 
 a^ain hy turning them with the fore-linger. They are mueh to 
 he preferred to the eonnnon hrass reel, especially in finhinj; from 
 a l)oat ; they a\»)id the noi>(' and much of the trouble of winding 
 up, and till- lini' ni'\fi- kinks.' 
 
 "A reel similar to this is used t)y salmon-Ushers in Sc-otland, 
 and is tiiere eallfd a pirn. It \\ill ntniirc nnicli practice to 
 enable the novice to cast a long linr wluii the river is widi-, but 
 in small streams he will find little ilillieidty. Some anglers 
 prefer fishing with the gorge-hooks, others with snap-hooks; 
 hut my own experience induces me to prefer the former as the 
 best general mode of trolling; and this kind of fisiiing 1 shall 
 first describe. 
 
 «T1IE GORGE-HOOK 
 " Is either a double or single hook, fixed on twisted brass wire, 
 and loaded on the shank with lead, to which is attached a piece 
 of gimp, eight or ten inches long, at the cud of which is a small 
 loop. To bait this hook you must have a brass needle, about 
 seven inches long; put the loop of the gimp on the eye, or small 
 curve, of the needle; then put the point of the needle in at the 
 mouth of the fish, and bring it out at his tail ; bring the gimp 
 and wire along with it, the lead being fixed in the belly of the 
 bait-fish, and the liook or h(M)ks lying close to the outside of his 
 mouth; then turn the points of the hooks towards his eyes, if a 
 double hook, but if a single one, directly in a line with his 
 belly ; next tie the fish's tail to the arming wire very neatly, 
 with strong thread. To tin- hue nn your reel yon must attaeh a 
 
37G PICKEKEL FISHING. 
 
 gimp-trace, twenty-four inches long, having a swivel at each 
 end, and one in tlie middle. The spring swivel, at the end of 
 your line, is to be hooked on the loop of your baited trace, and 
 you are ready for sport. 
 
 "When you are thus prepared, drop in your bait lightly 
 before you, then cast it on each side, and let the third throw be 
 across the river, or as far as you can reach — still letting the bait 
 fall lightly on the water. In each case let your bait fall nearly 
 to the bottom ; then draw it up gently towards you, and again 
 let it sink and rise till you draw it out of the water for another 
 cast. 
 
 " I have before named the favourite haunts of the Pike, but 
 Avhen you are in a good water you should carefully fish every 
 part of it, for you may often have a run where you least expect 
 it : — weeds are a great annoyance to the troller, and he will 
 often bruise his bait, and injure his tackle, unless he is very 
 cautious. At every new cast be careful to examine the bait, and 
 clear it from leaves and weeds, as the Pike is very dainty, and 
 will not touch a soiled bait. 
 
 " The farther you throw your bait, if the water be broad — 
 provided always that it falls lightly — the greater your chance of 
 success, so that you are not interrupted by w^eeds, roots of trees, 
 &c.; and if the water should be very weedy, you will be com- 
 pelled to drop your bait into deep clear openings. 
 
 "When you feel, a run, let your line be perfectly free, and 
 allow the fish to make for his haunt without check ; and when 
 he stops give out a little slack line. By your watch, give him 
 ten minutes to pouch the bait before you strike, which you may 
 then do, by first gently drawing in your slack line, and then 
 
A.\t;LlN(; AT TllK S.NAl". 'Ml 
 
 strikinf; {^nitly ; Imt sljoulil your tisli move soon alter lie lias 
 been to his haunt, ^'ivr him line, and he will stop a>^aiii ; hut 
 after this, if he move a second time before tlu> ten minutes are 
 expired, strike, and you will most likely sieuri- hiui ; but if lie 
 lias only been playinj; with the bait, you will have lo>t him. 
 
 " \N hen 1 have been so served once or twice, I generally 
 resort to my snap-taekle. 
 
 " If you have fairly hooked your fish, he cannot easily break 
 away, and as your tackle is stroni;, unless lie is very larj^e, you 
 need not jjivc out much lini-, but lujld him fast and eh-ar of the 
 weeds ; givinj; him but a short struggle for his life. The gaff 
 is better than a net for landing a larije I'ike, lor he is dangerous 
 to handle, and his bite is mueh to be dreaded. 
 
 " ^Vhen you are without either gaff or landing-net, seize the 
 tish by putting your finger and thumb into his eyes. Half-a- 
 dozen gorge-hooks may be carried in a tin box, with a little 
 luan, ready baited, which will generally serve for a morning's 
 sport. 
 
 ".V.NT.LING .\T THE SN.\P. 
 
 "I sliall first describe the old-fashiom-d mode, although it is 
 now rart ly pnictised. 
 
 " The spring-snap was formerly much in use, and may be 
 purchased at any of the tackle sliops. It consists of three 
 hooks, the upper one small, and the two lower hooks large. 
 The spring confines the lower hooks, but the spring gives way, 
 and the hook.H spread out when the fish is struck, and hold him 
 securely. 
 
 " It is baited by introducing the point of the small hook 
 
378 PICKEEEL FISHING. 
 
 under the skin of the bait, on the side, and bringing it out at 
 the back fin. Mr. Salter gives the following directions for the 
 double hook-snap, which may be used either with a dead or 
 live bait : 
 
 " ' This snap-hook is a double hook, or two single hooks, 
 No. 6, tied back to back, on gimp ; to bait this snap, use the 
 baiting-needle, having first placed the loop of the gimp to which 
 the hooks are tied in the eye of the needle. Enter the point 
 of the needle just above the gills of the fish, near the back, 
 avoiding to pierce the flesh as much as possible, as it is only 
 intended that the gimp should lie just behind the skin. 
 Bring the needle and the loop of the gimp out near the tail, and 
 draw till the hooks lie close to the part your needle entered, 
 and are some^vhat hid by the gills. The bait will live a long 
 time after being thus hooked, and may be used in fishing with 
 a float, by putting three swan shots on the gimp to keep it 
 down : — always prefer a gudgeon for this baiting. I call this 
 a snap, because, when fishing this way for Jack, I strike imme- 
 diately I perceive a run, and have met great success this way 
 of snap-fishing. This snap may be baited with dead fish, and 
 trolled with.' 
 
 " Although I have quoted this mode of keeping a bait ' a long 
 time alive on the hook,' I by no means recommend the practice 
 to my young brothers of the angle, for I have long confined 
 myself to the use of the dead bait ; and with the gorge-hook, 
 and the snap used in the manner I am about to describe, the 
 Pike-fisher will never want sport in a M^ell-stored water. 
 
 " I have before said, that by spinning the minnow with the 
 same kind of tackle as that used in spinning the bleak for 
 
TIIK IJKST WATKUS. ;i7«) 
 
 TImmcs Trout, I Imvc tjiken many Jack, Pcrcli, and Trout; 
 hut 1 have also tVcciucntly lost my tackle, by the gut hciuj; 
 hitteu through hy the sharp teeth of tlie Pike. To remedy this 
 evil, gimp may be employed instead of gut ; indeed, the snap- 
 taeklc now generally sold at the shops is of this description, 
 but with larger hooks than 1 use, and coarser gimp. 
 
 '' The angler must now make his casts in the manner recom- 
 mended in trolling with the gorge-hook, letting the iiait j)artly 
 sink, and then drawing it towards liiin by gentle touches, by 
 uhieh means the bait will >pin freely, and look bright and 
 glittering in tli(> water. When you feel or sie a bite, let 
 the tisli turn, aiul then strike gently, but still with sufficient 
 tpiickness and force to make your hooks hold ; and now, with 
 patience and perseverance added to these instructions, a com- 
 plete disregard of cold and wind, and a determination never to 
 lose his temper at tritliug disappointments, the tyro may soon 
 become a master." 
 
 The best waters for Pickerel of all kinds are deep, slow, 
 sullen, shadowy streams, uith dark, creeping waters, and shores 
 fringed witii Piekcnl-wi-cd, water-lilies, and marsh gra.ss ; and 
 the best places in which to cast for them are the edges and 
 openings of the floating weed-patches, under tin- cuvir of which 
 they arc wont to lie expecting their prey. 
 
 When the fish has taken the bait, the great thing is to give 
 him time enough to gorge it, and not to mar all by impatience 
 in striking before it is time. Once ho«jked, a steady hand, and 
 cool temiKT, will soon ensure his capture ; for though he is 
 strong and fierce, his boldness and incautious way of biting 
 |>crmit.H the use of very strong tackle; and though ht fights 
 
380 PICKEREL FISHING. 
 
 liard for a while^ lie has neither the arrowy rush uor the innu- 
 merable artful resources of the true Salmon. 
 
 Pickerel fishing with trimmers on large lakes, as described 
 under the head of Eel fishing, is by no means bad sport ; and if 
 several large fish chance, as is very often the case, to be hooked 
 at once, the sinking and reappearance of the gaily-painted 
 buoys, and their rapid motion through the water as the terrified 
 fish rush away with them, offer an amusing spectacle, while the 
 rapid chase with swiftly-rowed boats is full of gay excitement. 
 
 For this sport all the limped ponds and lakelets of this 
 abundantly-watered land are most admirably adapted, from 
 the farthest regions of New England through all the Eastern 
 States to the fine inland lakes of Northern Pennsylvania. But 
 to enjoy this sport, or that of trolling, in perfection, the angler 
 should visit the Great Lakes and the streams of the great basin 
 of St. Lawrence, and that stupendous river itself; in which, 
 from the Thousand Islands, among which swarm both the Mas- 
 calonge and the Great Northern Pickerel, up to the farthest 
 tributaries of Lake Superior, he will find sport, how gluttonous 
 soever he may be of killing, which will not disappoint his 
 wildest wishes. 
 
 In the same manner as the Pike is the Pike Perch or 
 Sandre {Lucioperca Americana), erroneously called the Ohio 
 Salmon, and other absurd provincial nicknames, which is a very 
 fine and delicate fish, as well as a very sporting one, to be 
 taken. 
 
 In the western waters he is the most abundant, and his 
 favourite haunts are the tails of mill-races and whirling eddies 
 under shady banks. 
 
srUK MKTHol) HK TAKINt;. ;iSl 
 
 lliiii shall you surt'ly take hy trolling with the Nliiiicr, or 
 bottoiu-tishiiit; with thr iVesh-watrr cray-fisli : nor will yim 
 (k'^pise him takin and sinokiiij; on your hoard. 
 
 The Hhic-k l\:\s^, and the llork Hass, and tlii' lar^a- Yellow 
 Percli, may also he taken hy trollinj; ; hnt there are for these 
 tish other and nmre appropnati' methods^ ot" wliieh I .shall treat 
 under tluir jjrojur heads. 
 
382 LOCALITIES OF THE PERCH. 
 
 PEUCH FISHING. 
 
 In every pond and river of America is this fish found, and 
 none of the smaller and less vigorous biters are greater favourites 
 with the angler. 
 
 There is, in my opinion, but one distinct species of the Yellow 
 Perch in America, although there are several strongly marked, 
 but I think casual varieties. In the salt-water bays, however, 
 and the estuaries of tide rivers, there are two small and distinct 
 species of the Bass, the little "White Bass [Labrax Pallidus), and 
 the Ruddy Bass [Labrax Rufus), both of which are constantly 
 confounded with the Perch, to which they bear a strong resem- 
 blance, being members of one and the same familj^, and are 
 called by the New York fishermen Sea Perch, White Perch, and 
 Salt-water Perch. 
 
 These brave and hardy little fish run from a few ounces up 
 to a quarter, and occasionally half a pound weight, which may 
 be considered their maximum. They swim in large shoals, near 
 the surface of the water, and are a most delicious fish. The 
 Yellow Perch is found occasionally in company with them, 
 although he rather affects fresher water, and I have thought 
 that when taken in tide-streams he wears a greener garb than 
 his ordinary dress. 
 
HA ITS. 3S8 
 
 The minnow, tlic red worm, nm\ at times small shriin|) will 
 take all these varieties in the salt water; and from the verv 
 earliest dawn of spring to the setting in of severe eold weather, 
 it is rare but the angler ran liiid some sjiDrt with these (piick 
 and lively biters. 
 
 In almost every lakelet and pond, from the sea-board to Lake 
 Huron, the Perch abounds, swinnuing in eompanv with tjie 
 Sun Fish {Pomotis Vuh/ari.t), and the New York Shiner {Sfi///r 
 Chriso/ineu.H); tliey run from half a pound up to three, four, and 
 occasionally even five pounds' weight. 
 
 Saratoga Lake, the Greenwood Lake, in Orange Coimty, New- 
 York, Ilopathong, in Sussex County, New Jersey, Cayuga Lake, 
 and the Nortliern lakes, Huron more especially, contain these 
 fish of the largest size, and in the greatest perfection, but everv 
 where they may be caught almost at any time. 
 
 In pond fishing, the common ground-worm, or a spotted line 
 with a quill-float, is perhaps the commonest bait ; in America 
 pajitcs are but little used as bait, nor ni truth have I any great 
 faith in them, although they are recommended by many good 
 anglers. Of late years, however, I think they have lost 
 repute. In the days of old Naak they were esteemed almost 
 sovereign. 
 
 The minnow, shiner, or small trout is, m this country, by all 
 odds, the most taking bait. It should be allixed to the line bv 
 one or two small hooks, t;ither through the lip or inider the 
 dorsal fin as lightly tm |H).saible, and being sunk with a shotted 
 gat to within a foot or so of the bottom, should be allowed to 
 swim about at his own will. 
 
 I do not approve of the frog for Ferch fishing, although when 
 
384 PERCH FISHING. 
 
 in the humoiu' they will take this, or indeed almost any fish or 
 reptile bait. The following is Hofland^s advice as to the mode 
 of fishing for him ; and although the English and American 
 species are distinct, their habits are identical, and the rules laid 
 down below cannot be improved upon. 
 
 The general rod will do well for taking Perch, but a heavy one 
 is not required. A reel and silk or grass-line with a gut bottom, 
 or gimp, if Pike haunt the same waters, as is apt to be the case, 
 will produce the desired effect. 
 
 The same tackle and mode of fishing will capture, at times, 
 the Pickerel, the Pike Perch, the Rock Bass, and even the Trout, 
 and it is therefore well, in Perch fishing, always to be provided 
 with the tackle necessary to secure larger fish than those which 
 you actually expect to take, and to be prepared and on the look- 
 out that you be not surprised unawares. 
 
 " The Perch loves to lie by the side of the stream, and under 
 deep banks, or near beds of the water-lily, the eddies at mill •■ 
 tails, and tumbling bays, near the old piles of wooden bridges, 
 or old kemp sheetings the best baits for a Perch are, the min- 
 now, the gudgeon, the red-worm, and the brandling. 
 
 "A minnow may be used by fixing a No. 9 hook under the 
 back fin, or by passing it through his lips, with a cork-float, 
 carrying shot according to the depth of the water. You should 
 fish within a few inches of the bottom, and when a fish bites, a 
 little time should be given before you strike, as the Perch is 
 tender-mouthed, and, if not well hooked, is apt to break his 
 hold. The paternoster is much used for minnow fishing ; it 
 may be had at all the tackle shops ; it is sunk by a small bullet, 
 and has three hooks at different distances, which may be baited 
 
TACK I, K. .'JSr» 
 
 iu the manner above ilescribed ; hut my favourite mode of INrch 
 Ashing is, by spinning the deail minnow, whieh gives me a 
 chance, at the same time, of taking Jack and Trout. 
 
 "The gudgeon or the bleak may of course be used in tbe 
 same manner when hirgc I'crcb arc c\|)tcti(l. 
 
 "In worm-tishing. the braudUng and the red-worm are tbe 
 best; a No. "^ or '.> book may l)i' employed, and llu- Moat must 
 be suitable for the water. Some anglers [jrefer roving for I'ereli 
 in tlu" following manner : 
 
 " Use a reel on your rod, and have bottom-tackle of three 
 yards of gut, \>itb a book No. ^ or '.', with one i)r two shot- 
 corns to sink the bait, which should be one or two well-scoured 
 red-worms, and you nnist then cast your line across the stream, 
 letting it sink, and drawing it towards you alternately, till you 
 feel a bite, then allow a few seconds before you strike. You nniy 
 also drop this bait into still, deep holes, as in Trout fishing ; 
 iiuleed, a practical angler — especially an old Trout fisher — will 
 prefer this mode of worm-fishing to the use of the fioat." 
 
 After these apposite instructions tlicrc is little more to be 
 said ; but I cannot refrain from (|U(jtiug a few lines in relation 
 to the habits of the Yellow I'crch in tbe West, from tbe pen of 
 an admirable writer, who has contributed very largely to our 
 stock of information conceniing tbe fishes of tlu- great lak(^ 
 and western riven* of New York, by bis admirable articles 
 formerly published in the ButTalo Commercial Advertiser. 
 I shall have occasion to quote from liim again, in relation to the 
 Black Hass, tbe Oswego Bass, and the liake Sheep's-head, 
 conceniing which he ha.s furnished us with tlic best information 
 that we pos«K*sa : 
 
386 PERCH FISHING. 
 
 " In the spring, as soon as the ice has left the streams, the 
 Perch begins running up our streams to spawn. He is ^then 
 caught in them in great plenty. About the middle of May, 
 however, he seems to prefer the Niagara's clear current, and 
 almost entirely deserts the Tonawanda, and other amber waters. 
 You will then find him in the eddies, on the edge of swift 
 ripples, and often in the swift waters, watching for the minnow. 
 As the water-weeds increase in height, he ensconces himself 
 among them, and, in mid-summer, comes out to seek his prey 
 only in the morning and towards night. He seems to delight 
 especially in a grassy bottom ; and when the black frost has cut 
 down the tall water-weeds, and the more delicate herbage that 
 never attains the surface is withered, he disappears until spring, 
 probably secluding himself in the depths of the river. 
 
 " The back fin of the Perch is large, and armed with strong 
 spines. He is bold and ravenous. He will not give way to the 
 Pike or to the Black Bass ; and though he may sometimes be 
 eaten by them, his comrades will retaliate upon the young of his 
 destroyers. 
 
 " The proper bait for the Perch is the minnow. He will 
 take that all seasons. In mid-summer, however, he prefers the 
 worm, at which he generally bites freely. He is often taken 
 with the grub, or with small pieces of fish of any kind." 
 
 I may here observe that the Perch, like his congeners, the 
 various tribes of Bass, will occasionally take the fly, though not 
 so boldly or freely as to justify its use largely. 
 
LOCAI.ITIKS OF THE CWiV. 387 
 
 ("AIM* risilING. 
 
 Tins, I confess, I rcfijurd us wry iiiiserablo sport ; lor tlioufjli 
 the fish is shy and wary, the dilliculty in takiiiir liiiii arises only 
 from his timidity and nnwilliniiucss to hite, and he is as h\zy 
 when hooked us he is sU)\v to biti". 
 
 His proper haunts are deep, staj^uant, slow-fh)\vin}; streams, 
 or ponds with muddy bottoms; and he lies under weeds, and 
 among the stcujs and Mat leaves of water-lilies, tlafrs, and 
 marsh-}; rasses. 
 
 Not indigenous to this country, he has been naturalised in 
 the waters of the Hudson, where he is, for the present, protected 
 by severe legislative enactments. 
 
 He will doubtless, ere long, become very plentiful ; and as he 
 is a rich tish when cooked secundum artvin, and by many 
 esteemed a great delicacy, lie is likely enou^'h to beeume a 
 favourite with the angler. 
 
 Ilotland thus describes the method of baiting the ground and 
 tiMhing for Carp in England, and his directions are the best I 
 have seen ; they may be followed with implicit confidence : 
 
 '* In rivers, the Carp prefer those parts where the current is 
 not too strong, and where the bottom is marly, or muddy ; and 
 in lakes or ponds arc to he found near beds of water-lilies, and 
 
 I- c i 
 
388 CARP FISHING. 
 
 other aquatic plants. Old Carp are very crafty and wary, 
 and will not easily be taken by the angler; but young ones, 
 when a pond is well stocked, may be easily taken in gi-eat 
 quantities. 
 
 "Notwithstanding these instances of familiarity, it is by no 
 means easy to make a large Carp familiar with your bait : to do 
 this, the greatest nicety and caution must be observed ; but if 
 the young angler, who has been often foiled in his attempts, will 
 patiently and implicitly follow my instructions, he will become 
 a match for this cunning fish. 
 
 " Use a strong rod with running-tackle, and have a bottom of 
 three yards of fineish gut, and a hook No. 9 or 10 ; use a very 
 light quill-float, that will carry two small shot, and bait with a 
 well-scoured red worm. 
 
 '* Now plumb the depth with the greatest nicety, and let your 
 bait just touch, or all but touch, the bottom ; but you are not 
 yet prepared -, for a forked stick must be fixed into the bank, 
 on which you must let your rod rest, so that the float will fall 
 over the exact spot you have plumbed. Now throw in a sufii- 
 cient quantity of ground-bait, of bread and bran worked into a 
 paste, and made into little balls ; or, in want of these, throw in 
 the garbage of chickens or ducks ; and all this is to be done on 
 the evening of the day before you intend to fish. 
 
 " The next morning, if in summer, be at the pond-side where 
 you have baited and plumbed your depth, by four o'clock at 
 least, and, taking your rod and line, which is already fixed to 
 the exact depth, bait with a small, bright, red worm; then 
 approach the Avater cautiously, keeping out of sight as much as 
 possible, and drop your bait exactly over the spot you plumbed 
 
BAITS. 889 
 
 owv iiij^ht ; tl;'ii rest [)!irt of yniir rod on tlu' forked stick, iiud 
 the bottom oi' it on the i^ronnd. 
 
 " Vou mnst now ictiri' :i few paces, keeping entirely ont of 
 sight, bnt still near enough , to observe your lloat ; when you 
 perceive a bite, give a little time ; indeed, it is better to wait 
 till you see the float begin to move oil", Ijctbre you striki", which 
 you may tlien do smai'tly ; and, as the Carp is a leather-mouthed 
 fish, il' you n\:inage him well, there is no fear of losing him, 
 unless the pond is very weedy. He careful to have your line 
 free, that, if a large tish, he may run out sonu- of your line 
 before you attempt to turn him ; as he is a \eiv strong fish, 
 and your tackle rather light, you must give him careful play 
 before you laiid him. 
 
 "The extreme shyness of the large Carp make all this some- 
 what tedious process necessary to insure success ; but 1 can 
 safely assert, that I scarcely ever took this trouble in vain. 
 A arious baits are recommended for Carp, — such as green peas 
 parboiled, pastes of all descriptions, gentles, caterpillars, &c. ; 
 but I have found the red worm the best, and next to this, the 
 gentle, and plain bread-paste. Those who {)rcfer a sweet paste 
 may di[) the bread in honey. I'asti- and gentle will answer 
 better in autumn than spring. April ami May are, in my opi- 
 nion, the best months for Carp fishing; and very early in the 
 nioniing, or late in the evening, is the hot time ft)r pursuing 
 your sport." 
 
 The above mode of baiting bottom-grounds, and of fishing 
 with the worm, in all its particulars, may be pursued with per- 
 fect success in all ponds and slow-running streams, for all the 
 many species of the Carp family, which are, for the most part. 
 
390 CARP FISHING. 
 
 the least carnivorous of fislies, and consequently the most diffi- 
 cult to allure^ as the Bream, Roach, Dace, Chub, and Shiner, 
 as they are proviucially termed, though by no means identical 
 with the European fishes of the. same names. The Suckers 
 {Catastomi), a sub-genus of the same family, will hardly take 
 any bait whatsoever. 
 
 AYliile fishing, as above described, both small river Perch and 
 Eels of all sizes are likely to be hooked, as the baited bottom- 
 ground allures all those species which seek their food at the 
 bottom to its vicinitv. 
 
I,«"( .\|,1T1E.S UK THE STKirKl" liASS. 391 
 
 STKll'KD liA.^s I'l.^IllNC. 
 
 \\ 1 1 II tlu- sole exception of Salinun tishiii«;^, this is the finest 
 of the scabourd varieties of piscatorial sport. The Striped Bass 
 is the boldest, bravest, strongest, and most active lish th;it visits 
 the waters of the .Miillaiid States, iuul is, as I have before ob- 
 sencd, to be snrpassed only by the Salmon. 
 
 Everywhere, from the capes of the Chesapeake to the St. Law- 
 rence, they rnn np the rivers to spawn in the early spring, and 
 shelter themselves in the shallow lagoons within the outer bars 
 during the winter. 
 
 Everj'where they arc fished for eagerly, and esteemed alike a 
 prize by the angler and the epicure. 
 
 In every nianiicr they are fished for with success, iiiul with 
 almost ever}- bait. 
 
 The fly will take them brilliantly, and at the en<l of three 
 hundred yards of Salmon-line a twelve pound Bass will be found 
 quite sullicient to keep even the most skilful angler's hands as 
 full as he can possibly desire. 
 
 The fly to be used is any of the large Salmon flies, the larger 
 and gaudier the better. None is niore taking than an omnge 
 body with peacock and blue jay wings aiul black hackle legs; 
 but an\ of the well-kaowu Salmon flics will secure him, as will 
 
39iJ STKIPED BASS FISHING. 
 
 the scarlet bodied fly Avith scarlet ibis and silver pheasant wings, 
 which is so killing to the Black Bass of the lakes. 
 
 With the fly, he is to be fished for with the double-handed 
 rod, precisely as the Salmon ; and when hooked, though he has 
 not all the artifice and resource of that monarch of the deep, 
 he is hardly inferior to him in agility, strength, and vigour of 
 resistance. 
 
 It is singular that more recourse is not had to this mode of 
 taking him, as in waters where the Salmon is not, there is no 
 sport equal to it. 
 
 Those who try this method will not, I dare to assert, regret 
 the trial ; they must, however, fish from a boat, as the width of 
 the streams which Bass frequent do not permit them to be com- 
 manded from the shores, even with the double-handed rod. 
 
 Again, the Striped Bass may be caught either with the gorge- 
 hook and the trolling tackle described under the head of Pike 
 fishing, or with the spinning-fish and swivel-traces recommended 
 for taking the Salmon. Almost any small fish will answer for 
 the bait, but the New York shiner, the real smelt, or the 
 atherine — alias sand smelt or spearling — especially the latter, 
 will the most readily allure him. This method of fishing, second 
 only to the use of the fly, is the most exciting, as it requires 
 finer tackle, and consequently calls forth far more skill, than the 
 ordinary modes of fishing for him at the bottom. 
 
 For boat fishing, a strong ash or hickory, and lance-wood, rod, 
 with patent guides and the new agate funnel-top, which can be 
 procured at Conroy^s, and is one of the most perfect improve- 
 ments of the day, with a Salmon-reel and two hundred yards of 
 silk or grass line, will be found the best ; of course, for Salmon 
 
VAKIULS MKTIIUDS. .J'.ia 
 
 fisliinj;, the hair iiiid silk line tiikcs the precedriict' ot" all others. 
 A rod of twelve or fourteen feet will sulViee from u bo.'it, but for 
 bunk or bridjje tishiui: oiu* of about cifxhtecn feet is prcfc ired by 
 the best fishers. 
 
 Companitivi'ly fi-w persons troll for Hums as deseribcd above; 
 for, in faet, the <,'reat majority, even of our pood fishernuMi, are 
 in some sort pot-anglers, aiul prefer takin;,' iiioiistrons ;,'iaiits of 
 the water \^ ith coarse tackle, to tlu' far ;,'reater excitement of 
 skilfidly and delicately conqiicrini; a moderate-sized tish with 
 the finest tackle. The Striped Bass, it is said, is known to attain 
 till' weight of a liundred pounds; but such giants arc rare, 
 though up to forty or fifty pounds tlicy arc no rarities. The 
 largest fish arc taken in deep, rapid tide-ways, such as Ilellgatc 
 or the Ilacrlcm River, by trolling from the stern of a row-boat 
 \>ith a strong hanil-linc and a large hook baited with that 
 hideous piscine reptile, or insect rather, the real scjuid, or with 
 the artificial squid of tin or pewter. A good deal of skill is re- 
 ([uircd for this mode of fishing, but yet more strength than 
 skill, and it is a very wearisome pursuit. 
 
 Still more fatiguing is the exercise of squidding for them with 
 the artificial bait in the ocean surfs of the outer beaches, in which 
 the toil of tlirowini; out and drairging in the s(|uiil becomes a 
 real labour. 
 
 Neither of these mcthoils, anymore than taking them on set- 
 lines baited witli spearling or tom-cod, as is very successfully 
 practised in the Hudson, do I regard as legitimate or honest 
 fishing ; and they arc resorted to rather by the professional 
 fisherman than by the amateur for sport. 
 
 Nor can I say that 1 look with nuuh sympathy on those who 
 
394 STRIPED BASS FISHING. 
 
 fish for them as is the usual practice at Macomb^s Dam, King's 
 Bridge, or Belleville Bridge on the Passaic, and similar places, 
 with floats and sinkers and the bottom baits ; though I confess 
 that the size and vigour of the fish, when hooked, render this 
 the finest of all the kinds of bait-fishing. 
 
 The rule is, to fish as near the bottom as possible, with a 
 sinker light enough to move with the tide. The hook should be 
 large, and I believe the Kirby form is generally preferred to the 
 Limerick. Some anglers recommend the use of double, others 
 of single gut ; and some fish with, others without the float ; both 
 plans have their own advantages, and probably there is little 
 difference in reality between the two. 
 
 In rivers frequented by Shad, the Shad-roe, either fresh, or 
 preserved and potted, as described above in reference to Salmon, 
 is the most killing bait that can be used in the Spring-time, and 
 is especially the favourite bait of the Passaic anglers at the 
 Belleville Bridge and the reefs near Acquackanonck. I have 
 no doubt of its success in the Upper Delaware so high as 
 Milford, where the Bass, there called Rock Fish, is taken of rare 
 excellence. In tide-ways it is obviously useless, since the Shad 
 never spawn in such places, and as animals in a state of nature 
 feed naturally, the Bass never looks for, nor will take, such a 
 bait, except in spots where it abounds naturally. 
 
 The Bass may be fished for with success from early in April, 
 sometimes even in March, until late in October and September. 
 On his first appearance, and up to the latter part of June, the 
 shrimp is the best bait; and it should be used with a float, 
 suspended at ten or eleven inches distant from the bottom. 
 From June, thoughout the summer, the shedder crab attracts 
 
TACKLE. ;5<l5 
 
 tlic Striped Bass rather than any otlior bait. A sliding' sinker 
 should be used iu this instance, which rests on tlie •ground, and 
 allows the crab to move on the bottom. No float is nquiied 
 for this method. 
 
 So soon as the season is so far athauced that the shedder has 
 recovered his scaly panoply, which sets his eneniies' assaults at 
 defiance, the shrimp again conu's into play, aiid.uith the \arious 
 kinds of small salt-water fishes, constitutes the best river baits. 
 
 For boat fishini; in the hay, with sinkers — as for the Weak 
 Fish, Kin;: Fish, and others, am(ni|j; wliieh the Striped Bass is 
 taken, the soft clam is the t'axourite appliance; and fur this kind 
 of sport, full and neap tides, and a wind off shore, are the best 
 periods. 
 
 In killing the Biiss, after he is hooked, great skill, great per- 
 sevenince, and incessant vigilance arc necessary. It is a .<*inf' 
 (/ltd non to keep him up, frustrating liis efforts to rush to the 
 bottom, and to hold him ever in hand, with a taut line, ceding 
 nothing to his wildest efforts, except on absolute compulsion. 
 
 Excellent tackle is recjuisite, and to preserve it excellent, 
 constant attention to it must hi- had, or all will he in vain. 
 Nothing is more provoking than to lose a fine fish, wi-ll [ilayed, 
 and pi-rhaps all but kilhd, owing to sonic slight imperfection in 
 the gut bottom or the arming of the hooks, which care, before 
 coming to the water's edge, would have easily and surely 
 prevented. 
 
 Whether the Striped 15;ujs haa ever been killed by the fatal 
 spoon, I know not ; but 1 cannot doubt that it would be found 
 nearly n-s cfTective a.s with its congi iut, the splendid Black Bass 
 of the Si. Lawrence, to which I .shall nu« proceiil. 
 
396 BLACK BASS. OSWEGO BASS. 
 
 BLACK BASS FISHING 
 
 IN THE ST. LAWRENCE, 
 
 From the Files of the "Buffalo CommerciaP* I borrow the 
 following description of the habits, haunts, and modes of 
 taking the Black and Oswego Bass — if different they be, as I 
 believe they are — in the Niagara River. It is by the same dis- 
 tinguished sportsman and sound naturalist to whom I have 
 before alluded in my article on the Perch. 
 
 I prefer quoting him to writing of the fish myself; as although 
 not unacquainted with his habits, I have never yet myself 
 enjoyed the pleasure of catching him either with the fly, the 
 spoon, or the shiner : 
 
 " The Oswego Bass and Black Bass bear so strong a resem- 
 blance to each other, that no one fisherman in ten knows them 
 as distinct entities. In form, colour, weight, and habits, the 
 two are almost perfectly identical; and yet their differences, 
 though minute, are striking and essential. An Oswego Bass, 
 when placed by a Black Bass of the same size, is readily dis- 
 tinguished by his more forked tail, his greater thickness of 
 shoulder, his coarser scales, and, above all, by his mouth, which, 
 when open, is nearly twice as large as that of the Black Bass. 
 In Lake Ontario, the Oswego Bass is abundant, and the Black 
 
lAMAl.lTlKS. 'M)^ 
 
 Bass coniparatiM'ly rnrf. Tn T.akc V.vw, the Hlaik Mass greatly 
 prcdoniiimtcs, uud it may be tloubtcd whether the Oswcgonian 
 — like certain citizens of the Ontario shore — is not an inter- 
 loper in onr waters, who has t'uund his way to ns tVoni Ijelow, 
 throngh some canal. However this may he, he is certainly 
 right welcome ! 
 
 "The Hlaek Hass is our chief object of pnrsuit — his captnre 
 is ojir dearest trinmph — his captive form our proudest trophy. 
 When word lirst conies, iu .luiic, that the Hlaek Hass bites in 
 onr river, what a stir there is auion;^ onr anglers! — what 
 questioning as to the wlu-n, and the where, and l)y whom, and 
 with what bait, and thi- nund)er and size! — what an anxiniis 
 imjniry after big minnows ! — what a raking and scraping of 
 pond-holes for soft lobsters ! — what a watching of the skies! — 
 aiul, if there be no wind, or a zephyr from the south or west, 
 what bright and hopeful faces ! — but if the storm rage, or an 
 easterly w ind, however gentle, fan onr sleeping bay, what rueful 
 countenances! — what half-suppressed repining! — what a woeful 
 spiritless attempting to be busy about our ordinary avocations ! 
 Anil why this commotion? Because this is the very i)rinec of 
 onr (Jame Fishes. His capture is a less easy task, and in\()l\is, 
 or is supposed to involve, more science, and to in- a truer proof 
 of merit as an angler, than any other temint of our crystal 
 waters. But — let me whisper in thy car, my friend! — tlicrc is 
 much of fancy in all this. He is a noble fish, and stniggles 
 vigorously and most pertinaciously for liberty ; but no art nor 
 skill, unattainable by thee, or any one, is recinisitc to hook or 
 draw liim from liis element. 
 
 "This fish beds in onr .«.tre.im.s and rivers, ami jtrobaldv, 
 
398 BLACK BASS FISHING. 
 
 too, on the bars and shoals of our bay. Numbers run up the 
 larger streams in May, and bite freely at the worm, in the 
 middle and latter part of the month, in the Tonawanda. His 
 appearance is too familiar to need description. His colour 
 varies, though it generally approaches black. I think only the 
 smaller Bass run up the creeks. Those taken in Tonawanda 
 seldom overweigh two or two and a half pounds, and have a 
 greenish hue. In the river they attain a weight of four and 
 four and a half, and even five pounds ; and occasionally heavier 
 ones have been taken, weighing even eight pounds. The river 
 fish when fresh from the water is frequently banded, like the 
 Perch, with broad bars of a darker hue, which disappear, 
 however, and fade into the general colour of the fish as he 
 becomes dry. He seldom takes the hook, in the Niagara, 
 until June, He is always fine eating, but is fattest and best in 
 autumn.^' 
 
 He is angled for in the usual way, and with the same arrange- 
 ment of tackle as the Striped Bass or Salmon ; and with some 
 enthusiastic Western sportsmen, is thought to give more amuse- 
 ment than either. But the most active and exciting mode of 
 pursuit is with the trolling rod and boat. We are indebted to 
 a friend who has frequented Lake George, for the folloTvdug 
 interesting communication : 
 
 " This is a game fish, aff'ording the angler the very highest 
 enjoyment. These fishes are taken in various ways. When 
 collected on their feeding grounds, in August and the succeed- 
 ing fall months, they are sometimes taken in considerable 
 numbers. The usual mode of angling for them at this time, 
 is either with or without a float, and with live bait — a small 
 
BAITS. :V^r) 
 
 fish taken for the jnirposo, alonj; i]\c lake shores or in hrooks. 
 Thcv are exceed iufjiy stronj? and aetive — (pudities which (h-h<^ht 
 tlie aiif^h^r. When first hooked, tliey run very wild, and 
 ahnost invariahly rise to the surfaee, and h-ap one, two, and 
 even tlirec feet in tlic air, shaking; the head violently, cvi(h'ntly 
 witli a view to dislod'^e the fatal hook. Krecjnently, whih* 
 making their rnns, they will snddcnly tnrn and eonie with all 
 their power directly towards tlieir enemy, and hy thns slaekinj; 
 the line, will succeed in shaking: the hook U)Osc ; this often 
 happens with inexperienced fisljcrmen, hut more rarely with the 
 angler who holds a i^ood reel and winds rapidly. The most 
 beautiful mode of an;;lin«; for them, is trolling, cither with live 
 hait or an artificial My of large size and gay appearance. The 
 writer ha-s succeeded remarkaldy well with a fly made on alargc- 
 si/e I.imeriek hook, such as are used for Stripid Bass when 
 fishing with crab hait. The lly is made as follows: — Body of a 
 peacock feather, wings of a scarlet kerseymere and white pigeon 
 feathers; or, the feather stripped from a white goose-cinill, and 
 wound round like the liackle, and surmounted with thin strips of 
 scarlet forewings. For trolling pleasantly and comfortably, the 
 angler should provide a moveable seat, which he can place across 
 the gunwale of Ids boat, in order that he may sit with his back 
 to the oarsman, and facing the stern. Thus he will Ikim- lull 
 command of his rod and line, and not be sitting in the cramp- 
 ing attitude which the lowness of the scats would cause. He 
 should reel otT fifty to sixty, or even one liundred or niore feet 
 of line, and in going over shallow rccfa of seven or eight feet 
 depth, two hundred feet, as the fish feeding on the reefs usually 
 dart aside :\s the boat passes, and (h) not return immediatelv to 
 
400 BLACK BASS FISHING. 
 
 their harbouring spot, which is one reason why those who do 
 not use the reel are not as successful as those who employ it. 
 After a few moments they glide back to their favourite spot, 
 and as the fly comes along, dart at and seize it. A strong tug 
 is felt by the angler, who has only to draw gently, and his prey 
 is fastened. The oarsman rests on his oars, to give the angler 
 full command of his line. The noble fish after one or two runs 
 to right and left suddenly rises and makes his splendid leap, 
 and plunging again seeks the bottom, again rises, and then 
 tries his last experiment of dashing right towards the boat. 
 He struggles long and vigorously, but his strength is at last 
 exhausted, and you trail your unresisting captive to the landing 
 net. I have taken them of various weights, the largest weigh- 
 ing five pounds nine ounces : this was done last summer, 1844, 
 in Lake George. I believe they are sometimes taken much 
 higher in the St. Lawrence River, and upper lakes ; but my 
 acquaintance with them is limited to the beautiful lake just 
 mentioned. 
 
 "At Sherrill's capital hotel at Caldwell, every facility for 
 enjoying this delightful sport can be had, though the best 
 fishing grounds are down the lake. 
 
 "An excellent house is kept by Mr. Garfield, twenty- two 
 miles down the lake, where the best fishing stations for Salmon 
 Trout are situated. There is a good deal of fine ground for the 
 Bass in the neighbourhood. 
 
 " About ten miles from Caldwell, there is a place called the 
 Narrows, where there are numerous small islands, with shelving 
 rocky shores, and fine trolling ground. 
 
 " Anglers will find good plain accommodation at a house kept 
 
TRol.l.lNi; tOl 
 
 hy Nfr. Lyman, who is \i>ry kind and attentive to liis f^ucst.s, 
 and tnniishcs baits, {juiiU's, \'c. 
 
 " III trolling for the Hlaek Mass in Lake Cieovjjo, you will 
 fre(|uently strike those ot" one-halt" to three-lonrths ot' a pound 
 wcif^ht, even with the very hirge lly whieh I have ticscrihcd. 
 There is so j;reat a ditVerenee, hoth in shape and colour, 
 between the tish of tliis size and those of two cm- more pounds' 
 weight, that a stranger would never take them to he of the 
 same species. These small lish are very similar in shape to tlie 
 Blue Fish of the salt water, while those of tlu- larger size spread 
 in widtli as they increase in size, so that a fisli of two and a 
 half to three pounds, is of a shape between a Hlaek Fish, or 
 Taiitog, and the famous Sheep's-head. Li colour they diU'er 
 also greatly; the small Hass being of a light dull greenisji 
 colour, while the larger grow darker as they increase in size, 
 the largest being nearly black on the back, and of a very dark 
 brownish green on the sides. The younger gentry, above 
 described, are not to be despised on account of their size, for 
 when taken with a light Trout-rod, they will be found to be a 
 fine vigorous fish ; and when in their temerity they seize the 
 large fly, on feeling the hook, they will, true to their luiture, 
 make the Icaj), in imitation of their sires, thus showing them- 
 selves to be game fish. I have known them to leap thri'e times 
 while reeling in the long tndling line, whereas the larger gentry 
 rarely leap more than once." 
 
 In addition to this I will only add — for all that is said here 
 is correct and clear — that in the St. Lawrence, among the 
 Thousand Islands, this admirable (ish is taken in um ipialh d 
 numbers, and of unrivalled e\eellctu-e That in the Hlaek 
 
402 BLACK BASS FISHING. 
 
 River they are likewise very abundant, and rise in it very freely 
 to any gaudy fly. A friend of my own has killed many of this 
 fine Bass with a large red hackle, with a gold tinsel body, and 
 also with a green-tailed grannam. The best fly, however, is 
 decidedly one manufactured by Conroy, after the colours of 
 that described in the above quotation, with a scarlet chenil 
 body, under wings of the red ibis, and upper wings of silver 
 pheasant ; this will be found unfailing. 
 
 A singular fact, which obviously, though oddly enough, 
 escaped the observation of my friend at Buff'alo, is that at the 
 first appearance of the Black Bass at the mouth of the Niagara, 
 say in the latter part of May, the fish all lie around a reef on 
 the Fort Niagara on the American side of the river, not one 
 being ever, at that period, taken on the Canadian reef opposite. 
 After about six weeks' residence, however, they change sides, 
 and cross over, deserting the American shore altogether, and 
 being taken only on the Canadian side. 
 
 The New York shiner is there esteemed the best bait, and 
 with it, in last May, an officer and three men in H.M. service, 
 caught in a few hours enough of these fish to load two strong 
 men to their heart's content. 
 
 The small Rock Bass of the lakes is taken off the wharfs and 
 docks on all the same waters, from Kingston to Lake Superior, 
 with the minnow or small shiner, though rarely with the fly. 
 It is a good fish, but rarely exceeds a pound in weight. 
 
 From the same writer I here quote a few lines concerning the 
 Lake Sheep's-head {Corvina Oscula), to which I have alluded 
 before, but which must not be confounded with the Malashe- 
 ganay, or the Black Sheep's-head {Corvina Richardsoni), a con- 
 
Tin: SIIKKI'S-IIKAI). 403 
 
 generous fish, tukcii nearly in the Minu* waters, and with the 
 same hait— any, to wit, of the tVe.sh-water niolhiseas, ami, above 
 all, with the cray-tish — uhich is as e.veellcnt as this other is 
 nl)onunal)le on tlic table : 
 
 " This is a villain in ^'iiieral estinuition — the pest of the 
 fisher fur Hass — a fish that putteth tin- eouk, who would 
 render him aeceptable at tabli>, in a (|uan(lary — from whieh, I 
 nm sorry to say, 1 cannot relie\e her, though she be at her 
 wits' end. 
 
 " He is genenilly brown, grey, or reddish above, and of a 
 dead, impure whiti> below. His head is large, and his bodv is 
 flattened laterally, though the frying-pan rejeeteth him. His 
 ordinary weight is two or three pounds, thoii^di he sometimes 
 weiglis five and even six. Ills food, his haunts, his habits, are 
 similar to those of the Hlaek Hass, w hom he ever aceompanieth, 
 a»s though he were intended by nature iw a foil to set olf the 
 merits of that jewel of the flood. He is despised, yea, detested, 
 by the choleric angler, who pulls him out, and then dasheth him 
 upon the stones. 
 
 *' The Sheep's-head of the sea is a lusty, crafty fish, bepraised 
 alike by the fisherman and the epicure. At the turn of the tide 
 he takes the whole soft clam on your hook at a mouthful, and 
 chews it, shell and all, and [lulls like a Salmon as you draw him 
 in ; and his radiant, deep and broad-barred sides — as he flaps 
 about on the sands of that low i.nlet in the great south bay of 
 Long Island, to whieh you havi- just hauled him — how bril- 
 liantly they show, and make you think of the dying Dolphin, 
 and of old Arion ! And when he reposes at the head of tiic 
 tabic — fit place for him — beautiful, though boih d, how heartfelt 
 
 n n 2 
 
404- BLACK BASS FISHING. 
 
 IS 
 
 on 
 
 the homage he receives from all around ! Truly, it is libel 
 
 him to call by the same name this Pariah of the lakes. 
 
 " And yet our fish is vigorous, and not altogether destitute of 
 beauty, to the eye at least of those who know him not. Is it 
 not chronicled, that at Black-Rock, a strange angler once 
 bartered away two noble Bass for two large Sheep's-heads, 
 which, for the nonce, were called White Bass ? ' The freckled 
 toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in his 
 head ' — and our fish, in his clumsy cranium, wears two small 
 loose bones, serrate and white and polished, which must have 
 some use to him, some wondrous adaptation to his mode of life, 
 which, when unfolded, will prove that he is not unregarded by 
 Him who has made the great whales and the fishes of the sea. 
 
 " His mouth is paved with large, flat, rough bones, or teeth, 
 like those of the sea fishes that root up and devour the hardest 
 testacese; and I have little doubt but that the naturalist 
 who watches him narrowly, will one of these days detect him 
 crushing and consuming the Uni and Anadontas — the fresh 
 clams of our muddy flats and sandy bars. 
 
 " He bites at the worm, the minnow, the chub, the lobster, 
 and makes good play with the line, though he gives in more 
 quickly than the Bass. An experienced angler can generally 
 distinguish his bite and his resistance — but the most knowing 
 ones are sometimes taken in, and think him Bass until he is 
 fairly brought to view. 
 
 " When you have caught him, let any one who will accept 
 him have him ; and take to thyself no merit for the gift. His 
 meat is more hke leather than fish or flesh. It is a common 
 saying that the more you cook him the tougher he becomes ; 
 
CooKKlJY. |m:, 
 
 ami I am not awarr that lie is c\rr cati'ii raw. Hut some 
 [)i'i»pk> do rat him, ami [trotrss to liki" him ; thi'v must liiivc 
 stu[)cmlous powiTs t)f mastii'atidii aiul (li;;i'stii)ii. 1 have been 
 told that, roiustcd whole in the ashes, just as he eoiues from the 
 water, he is savoury and ti-nder— .v<v/ rmlat Judd-iis ! I onee 
 did eat him, prepared as follows — lie was split through the 
 baek, put upon the gridiron, there grilled enough to eook a side 
 of pork ; his tiesh was renu)ved tVom the skin, honed, chopped 
 up into dice, probably \\ith a cltaM-r, and stewi-d with milk, 
 butter, pej)j)er Jind salt. 1 must say that, though it was nu'at 
 of great tenacity, and might will be liki-neil unto India-rubber, 
 it had mueh sweetness." 
 
406 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 EEL FISHING AND TRIMMERS. 
 
 With regard to the Eel, if I consulted my own tastes only, 
 I should remain in utter silence, holding them totally below the 
 contempt of the angler, although en matelotte, or a la tartare, on 
 the table they certainly are not despicable ; there are, however, 
 those who probably think otherwise, and who would regard it 
 as an omission, perhaps a slight, if I were to pass over their 
 favourite wriggling reptile. I therefore quote from Hofland^s 
 " British Angler" the following, which comprises all that can 
 be said on the subject, and is no less applicable to the Eel of 
 America, than to that of Great Britain : 
 
 " To angle for Eels, use a strong gut line, with a light float, 
 and No. 9 hook, and bait Avith a large red worm ; or use a 
 No. hook, and bait with a marsh-worm, and let your bait 
 touch the bottom ; but the most alluring bait I know of for an 
 Eel is Salmon-roe ; and when fishing for Trout with this bait, 
 the angler will frequently take Eels, much to his annoyance, 
 if, like myself, he detests their dirty slime, and serpent-like 
 writhings. I shall say nothing of bobbing for Eels, or of 
 sniggling, as they are practices below the angler ; but as the 
 largest Eels are caught by night-lines, and this method is a 
 necessary resort for the supply of the table, I shall give the 
 instructions of Daniel on this point. 
 
BAITS. i07 
 
 ■' ' It is of littli* consequence wIutc they — ».*'., niglit-liiies — 
 are liiid, ji.s thev will succeed in streams, when tlic Eels arc in 
 search of food, as well as in the still, deep holes of rivers; 
 and thev will take frojjs, black snails, worms, roach, dace, 
 j;udj;eons, minnows — which two last are the best — loaches, 
 bleaks, ami millers' thumbs;' a suflicient (juantity of links, of 
 twelve hairs, should be doubled — or use twisted gut, and a hook 
 tied to each link ; these are to be noosed, at proper distances, 
 to a piece of cord fifteen fi-et long ; bait the hooks by making 
 an incision with the baiting-needle under the shoulder, and 
 thrusting it out at the middle of the tail, drawing the link after 
 it; the point of the hook should be upright towards the back of 
 the bait-fisli ,- fasten one end to the bank, or a stub, and cju»t 
 the other into the water, but not to the extent of the line, as 
 Eels will run a little before the gorge ; the lines should be 
 taken up early in the morning; such of the lines as have Eels 
 at them will be drawn very tight. Dark nights in July, 
 August, and September, are the best for this kind of lishing. 
 
 " Hooks proper for this method of taking Eels may be pur- 
 chased, either doui)le or single, and are called Eel-hooks. 
 When a double hook is used, I shoidd say the following mode 
 of baiting is better than .Mr. Daniel's. Without a baiting- 
 nccdlc, enter the ponit at the fish's mouth, and bring it out at 
 the tail, letting the two liooks lie close to the mouth of the 
 bait, a-H described in baiting the gorgc-h<K)k for trolling. 
 
 " TrimnuTs, baited with a live gudgeon, are sure to be taken 
 by Eels. The wire to which ho<jks are fixed sliould be strong 
 and tempered, a.s the Eel stmgglo hard to free himself. \ cry 
 large Eel."* arc caught in the lakes of Cumberland and West- 
 
408 EEL riSHIXG AND TIUMMERS. 
 
 moreland, by trimmers, baited with small trout or perch — 
 thei-e called bass — with the back fin cut off. On Derwent- 
 water — Keswick Lake — it is a common practice for parties to 
 engage a fisherman^ who provides twenty or thirty trimmers ; 
 the tops being painted bright red and white^ that they may be 
 seen at a distance. The party should be in the boat by four 
 o'clock, A.M., at the latest; the fisherman then baits the trim- 
 mers with live bass, small trout, or minnows, and places them 
 at equal distances across the lake, spreading to the extent of 
 from half to three-quarters of a mile ; and if there are two or 
 three boats belonging to the party, and the Pike and Eels are 
 on the feed, the great diversion is to see the trimmers carried 
 off by fish, in different directions at the same time, when all 
 becomes animation and exertion in the different boats; all 
 rowing towards the trimmers, and eager to seize on theii* 
 prey; and very large Pike and Eels are often caught in this 
 manner." 
 
I,«»CA1.ITIKS (»K TIIK srolIT. Id'.l 
 
 >ll()AI.-\VATl':ii SKA l-lsllLXCi. 
 
 Tims spurt, which is pursued with gr^-at eagerness Ijy many 
 of our eity anglera, lias for its scene the various channels, bays, 
 shoals, reefs ami mud-llats of our harbours, the great land- 
 locked lagoons along our coasts, and many places in the Kast 
 lliver, and Long Island, as well as in the estuaries of all the larger 
 ri\ers from the capes of the Chesapeake to Massachusetts Bay. 
 
 It is pur>Ufd in boat^, \> liieii arr rowed from spot to spot, and 
 anchored over the various reefs and shoals, or in the \icinity ot 
 sunken reefs, about which these tish are sup[)«»sed to abound, 
 according to the state ami \ariatiou of the tides. The Hsh 
 usually taken are the Siiueteacjue or Weak I'lsh, the Barl) or 
 King Fish, the Tautog or IJlack Fish, tin Striped Bass, tin 
 Sea Bass occasionally, the Sheep's-head, the Big I'orgee, and 
 sometimes the Drum. 
 
 For the Sea Bass, however, and the I'orgee, longer exeuiMons 
 are geuemlly neccs}«ary, as the best fishing for these is lui the 
 outer »ea-bnnks, in the Atlantic, whither steamers and sliMips 
 occasionally prm'ee<l \»ith companies for a day's amusenuiit. 
 In these, however, there is mor«t fre(|uentl\ more fun than 
 fishing, although HonietinuM ^ery good s|)urt is hail, and great ii 
 (|uantitic8 of tish are taken. 
 
410 SHOAL-WATER SEA FISHING. 
 
 For Sheep's-head, again, boats are generally fitted out 
 expressly, as this large powerful fish and heavy biter requires 
 stronger tackle than is needed in the capture of any of the other 
 species. 
 
 The ordinary booty, therefore, of the shoal-water sea-angler, 
 is confined, nine times out of ten, to the Weak Fish, the King 
 Fish, the Striped Bass, and sometimes the Black Fish, although 
 this latter difi'ers somewhat from the others in his accustomed 
 haunts ; and for these, all of which may be taken with the same 
 tackle, and nearly with the same baits, he constantly goes 
 prepared. 
 
 The best localities for this sport are so numerous, and so well 
 known to the guides and professional fishermen of every neigh- 
 bourhood, that it is needless to enter into a particular narrative 
 of their whereabouts, since it is very little likely that a stranger 
 would attempt to find them unassisted by a guide, and to the 
 practised and inexperienced angler of each region they are of 
 course well known. 
 
MnHK ('F CAITIltK. I I 
 
 Till-: \\i-;ak I'lsii. 
 
 Tiir. \\ cak l"isli is a very al)Mii(l:uit species iii the \ieiiiily ot' 
 New \ ork, and is :in;^Ie(l for with iniieli success in almost all 
 parts of the inner hay. The name is said to he derived from 
 the weak month of the fish, which is so soft that it verv fre- 
 (lucntly is torn hy the hook, and so allows the lish to escape. 
 It pulls fairly upon the hook, and when stiiick of a eonsiderahle 
 size, j^ives eonsiderahle play to the angler hefoic he can he 
 secured. 
 
 Many persons fisji tor this species, and the others which 
 luiunt tiie same grounds, with the drop-line, but this is a poor 
 and unexciting sport, as compared with the use of the rod and 
 reel. 
 
 The best rod is a moderately still" general fishing-rod, ^^ith a 
 reel, and trom one hundred to one hnndicd and lilty yards of 
 tla\ or hemp line; a Xo. I Kirl>y hook will prohahly he tound, 
 on the wh(de, the most sueci-sslnl ; ami the most killing baits 
 are shrimj), she(hlcr-cral)s, or clams. The W i ak lish occn- 
 sionally runs up to eight or niiu* pounds' weight, hut the 
 general nvernge dors not probably exceed two. When (piiti- 
 fresh out of the water, thi- S(pietea(|ue is a \ery tolerable fish, 
 not a little reseml)liug the Trout in flavour, but it very soon 
 
4ia THE WEAK FISH. 
 
 becomes soft and flaccid. It is by no means so game or so 
 good a fisli, when taken^ as the Striped Bass or the King Fish, 
 yet it is not without many votaries who pursue it with ardour. 
 
 Immediately around the Battery, and even from the Castle 
 Garden bridge, good sport is frequently had with this fish, as 
 also on the flats off" Communipaw, in Buttermilk Channel, ofl" 
 the Owl's-Head, as well as at Bergen Point, Elizabethtown 
 Point, and many other places, both in the Kills, and in Newark 
 Bay. It is said that the afternoon tides are the most favourable 
 for taking the Squeteaque, until a short time before sunset, but 
 that so soon as the peculiar drumming or croaking sound, which 
 is ascribed to this fish, is heard, it is useless to fish longer, as 
 he then ceases to bite. 
 
t;KNKK.\l. (tUSKKX ATloNS. | | :{ 
 
 TiiH i;aim'>. oii KiX(; fish. 
 
 Tills is, in all respects, si better and liner fish, both tor the 
 eajjlDr or the epienre, than the hist. 
 
 He is with ns, at New \ ork, a summer lish of pjissnpc, and 
 is, it is nmch to be lamented, heeoniin*; yearly more and more 
 rare. 
 
 In Mr. Brown's " American Angler's (luide," it is stated that, 
 " As :i j;amc fisli, he is considered ns giving more real sport 
 than the Trout, Hass, or Salmon. Ilis name and whereabouts 
 has only to l)c wliispcrcd to tlic New York angler, and he is olV 
 after sport that he has perlia{)s antieii)atcd for years." 
 
 Now, to tliis I must record my positive dissent ; for tliough 
 it may be, and is, very true that tlu- King Fish is a great 
 favourite with the New ^'ork angler, that he is a game fisli, 
 biting briskly in those seasons when he is tound abnndantlv in 
 these waters, and ofTcring resistance both longer and stronger 
 than any other small salt-water fish — still no one — except those 
 jolly old cwlgcrs who consider patience demonstrated by sitting 
 still in an anchored boat, and comfort evidenced by the conso- 
 lation of the inner-man with beef sandwiches and cold l)randv- 
 and-water — would dream of considering it belter sport to sit for 
 Imnrs, between Black Ti»m and the Jersey shore, with no hope 
 
414 THE BAEB, OR KING FISH, 
 
 save that of hooking a little fish, which rarely exceeds two 
 pounds in weight, with a bottom bait and strong ground tackle, 
 than to hook a twenty-pound Salmon with a fly on the surface, 
 and to play him for an hour before he can be gaffed. 
 
 The one sport requires luck and patience, — the other skill, 
 hardihood, endurance, courage, long experience, quick eye, 
 stout heart, fleet foot, and ready hand. How, then, shall these 
 sports be compared ? 
 
 I do not desire, however, to discredit the King Fish ; nor 
 does he in anywise deserve it, as, both for durante vita and 
 post-mortem excellence, he deserves all honour. 
 
 He is to be caught most easily with the rod and tackle before 
 described, under the head of the Squeteaque, or Weak Fish, 
 except that a smaller hook should be used, the mouth of the 
 King Fish being small. The best bait is the shedder-crab. 
 
 In the former portion of this work, devoted to the consideration 
 of the natural history of fishes, I have quoted an anecdote, pub- 
 lished in the New York Commercial Advertiser, of July 6, 1827, 
 recording the capture oifour hundred and twenty -two King Fish, 
 by a boy and a man, in the space of six hours, in Jamaica bay, 
 off Rockaway ; and I find it stated in the " American Angler's 
 Guide," that twenty or thirty are often taken in a single tide. 
 
 The first feat is unsurpassed, and probably never will be 
 equalled; the second is of most rare occurrence, so much so 
 that now-a-days the angler justly holds himself favoured by the 
 marine deities, who kills his half-dozen King Fish in a day. 
 
 All this, however, may be changed at any moment ; for the 
 comings and goings of all migratory animals are more or less — 
 and those of migratory fishes most — irregular. 
 
L(>(.'AI,mKS. 11') 
 
 Their \i.sits arc like those ot' auf^els, lew and far hctwei-n. 
 The Kiiii; KInIi, the Lufuyette, tiie Hlue Fish, nay, even thusc 
 sealy eustoiucrs, the Prawn and tlie Lohster, will swarm tliis 
 year, disappear entirely the next, and after an nhsenee, longer, 
 |)erhaps, than Jaeoh's donhle eonrtsliij), will again gladden the 
 hearts of their lovers hy retnrning in nund)rrs innnnierahle. 
 
 In New York luirbour, tlie flats from Hergcn I'uint to Jersey 
 City, within the fortified islands, and tlu> big rock called Jilaek 
 Tom, and t)ppt»site Coininunipaw, are the hest waters for the 
 King Fish. Hn*: in the Passaic Hay, and oil" llli/aljethtown 
 I'oint, and also in the lagoons of Jiong Island, tluy are taken 
 often in great nnnibers. 
 
 Mav they soon return to ns as thickly as of yore, and remain 
 as loni: as it suiteth them ! Tliev shall he welecune. 
 
416 SEA BASS FISHING. 
 
 THE SEA BASS. 
 
 The Sea Bass is another gentleman among his finny com- 
 rades, and he is sometimes taken by the rod- fisher while 
 angling for the Squeteaqne, or King Fish. He is, however, 
 difficult so to kill, and is comparatively rare in the inner 
 waters. 
 
 On the sea-banks without Sandy Hook, in the lower bay, 
 and in the Sound, he is very abundant, and afi"ords great sport 
 to those who are satisfied with quick biting and continual 
 hauling in. 
 
 Both for the Bass and the Big Porgee, stout hempen or 
 flaxen drop-lines are the most successful, varying from ten to 
 twenty-five fathoms in length, fitted with a single sinker of a 
 pound weight, and three or four hooks on separate snoods, 
 eighteen inches asunder, of various sizes, for various species of 
 fish. 
 
 For Porgees, the No. 3 round Black Fish hook is preferred ; 
 for Sea Bass, Nos. 1 or 2 Kirby. The only bait is the clam, 
 and it is desirable to salt him for a day, which, hardening the 
 flesh, renders it more difiicult for the fish to abstract him. 
 
 No skill is required for this mode of fishing, except that of 
 keeping one's wits about him, striking very sharply the instant 
 
WKNKKAL ollSKHVATIuN**. 4.I7 
 
 he feels n bite, ami Iiiiuliii:^ in rapidly uitli a taut line; for, if 
 a sliick occurs, the fish will often tliscnj^age themselves. 
 
 Many pcopli' arc M'ry fund uf this sport, hut I hold it, after 
 all, but heavy work, not the less so for being considerably labo- 
 rious, and for the fact that hauling in the small, cutting line, 
 hand over hand, and the salt water, arc apt to make the fingers 
 exceeding sore, if gloveless ; and to use gloves in angling, would 
 be something like douuing the upper Benjamin with fox- 
 hounds. 
 
 B K 
 
418 LOCALITIES. 
 
 THE TAUTOG, OR BLACK FISH. 
 
 Of him Dr. Mitcliil, not unsagely nor unpleasantly, dicourseth 
 after this fashion. The facts of natural history, as herein 
 recorded, are worthy of all confidence; nor are the maxims 
 worthless to the angler : — 
 
 " The Black Fish abounds in the vicinity of Long Island, and 
 is a stationary inhabitant of the salt water. He never visits the 
 rivers, like Salmon or Sturgeon ; nor, on the other hand, 
 deserts his dwelling-place as they do. He is fond of rocks, 
 reefs, and rough bottoms. He is taken through the whole 
 course of Long Island Sound, Fisher's Island Sound, and in 
 the neighbourhood of Rhode Island. The Tautog was not 
 originally known in Massachusetts Bay ; but within a few years 
 he has been carried beyond Cape Cod, and has multiplied so 
 abundantly, that the Boston market has now a full supply, 
 without the necessity of importing from Newport and Provi- 
 dence. The Black Fish, however, does not confine himself to 
 rough bottoms ; for he is also caught in the southern bays of 
 Long Island, and on the banks of the ocean off" Sandy Hook. 
 He is considered, by the New Yorkers, as a very fine fish for 
 the table. He grows to the weight of ten or twelve pounds, 
 and even more ; but is a fish of a good size, that equals two or 
 three. 
 
BAITS. mi 
 
 " lie may l)C krpt lor ji loii;; tiiiii' in ponds or cars; and trd, 
 and cvrn tattrd tlit'rr. Wluii tlir cold of wintor bcnnmhs 
 liiin, he rt'fnscs to t-nt any nioro, and a nicnihranc is observed 
 to lonn over the vent, ami close it. lie l)e«;ins to rejjain 
 appetite with the rctnru of warmth in tlic sprin;;. The hlossom- 
 in": of the dofjwood {cornus fhn'lda), early in April, is nmlerstood 
 to denote the time of baiting; JJlack I'i>h. As soon as these 
 flowers unfold, the tisliermen proceed with their hooks and 
 lines to the favourite places. If there is no dofjwood, a judgement 
 is derived from the vejjetation of the chestnut tree {rastouea 
 resca). The season of baitinj; is reckoned very favourable nntil 
 the incrcasiu;: warmth of the season brin;^s food enough to fill 
 their stomachs, and they thereupon aflbrd less pastime to the 
 sportsman, and less profit to the professor. The people express 
 this sentiment in these coarse rhymes: — 
 
 ■■ ' Whoii choittnut leaver ore t» lii^ on thuinli nail 
 Thrn Kite Rlark Fmh witli<>\it fail ; 
 Hut wlioii chi-nUiut It-avos niv as long as a ?>|mii, 
 TluMi ratoli HIark Fiali if vmi can." 
 
 "The common l)ait for Hlaek I'ish is the soli clam [tni/a). 
 The soldier-cral), or fiddler [ocypodu), will frecjuently ten>pt 
 him when he refuses to taste the other. And he snaps very 
 readily at tin* lar^e finny worm of the salt-wafer beaches 
 (nereia), when used on a hook for hiui. 
 
 " Some persons, who live contifjjuous to the shores where are 
 situated the nxjks frcciucnted by Tautoj;, invite the fish there 
 by baitiufj. Hy this is meant the throwing overboard broken 
 clams or crabs, to induce the Black Tisli to r«Muw tlu'ir visits, 
 and fine sport is prm'ured. 
 
 Y. y. 'Z 
 
420 THE TAUTOG, OR BLACK FISH. 
 
 ''Rocky shores and bottoms are the haunts of Black Fish. 
 Long experience is required to find all these places of resort. 
 Nice observations ou the landmarks, in diflFerent directions, are 
 requisite to enable a fishing party to anchor on the proper spot. 
 When, for example, a certain rock and tree range one way, 
 with g, barn window appearing over a headland the other way, 
 the boat being at the point where tAvo such lines intersect each 
 other, is exactly over some famous rendezvous. To instire 
 success on such expectation, it is proper to have a pilot along, 
 well versed in all tLe local and minute knowledge. According 
 to the number and distance of the rocks and reefs visited, will 
 be the time consumed, from the duration of a few hours to 
 a long summer^s day. An opinion prevails, that the Black 
 Fish can hear very Avell ; and, for fear of scaring them away, 
 the greatest stillness is observed. He is a strong fish, and pulls 
 well for one of his weight and size. 
 
 " At some places Black Fish bite best upon the flood ; in 
 others, they are voracious during the ebb. Thunder accom- 
 panying a shower, is an indication that no more of them can be 
 caught. The appearance of a porpoise infallibly puts an end to 
 sport. Curious stories are told of fish in the wells and ponds, 
 floating in their native element, having been found dead, after 
 sharp and repeated flashes of lightning. Dull weather, with an 
 easterly vnnd, is generally the omen of ill luck. The exploits 
 performed in fishing for Tautog are recounted, occasionally, 
 with remarkable glee ; and they afi^ord a never-failing theme of 
 entertainment to those who are engaged in that sort of adven- 
 ture. Though the hand-line is generally used, the rod is 
 sometimes employed to great advantage. The Black Fish is 
 
IMl'I.KMKNTS. 121 
 
 rcnijukuble for rctainin*; life a \ou'^ time after lie is taken out 
 of water. He sometimes swims over even j^rouiul, and is 
 eau«;ht in seans.'' 
 
 A stout trolling-roil, with a strong flaxen line, and a reel, are 
 the best implements. The hooks should i)e those known 
 universally as the lUaek Fish hook, of various sizes, aceording 
 to tlic angler's taste, ranging from three to ten. These should 
 he armed — two being used, whieh is the proper number — on 
 hook links of trebly-twisted gut, respectively, of twelve and 
 fifteen inehes, whieh links should be securely fastened to a small 
 brass ring. The ring is to be hooped to the end of the line to 
 whicli the sinker is appended. 
 
 This is the best arrangement of the hooks for all salt-water 
 shoal bait-fisliing. 
 
 The Black Fish is entirely a bottom fish, and is caught evcry- 
 «herc within his geographical range, in whirls and eddies, in 
 the close vicinity of rocks and reefs. 
 
 Robin's Reef, at the entrance of the Kills, is a favourite 
 feeding ground ; and some years since I had rare sport daily 
 for many weeks, about the hull of the wrecked packet-ship, 
 Henri Quatre, below the Narrows. 
 
 The rocks off the well-known watering house, the Sachem's 
 Head, on the Sound, and many other rocks in the Bays and 
 Sound of L<»ng Island, are of ccpial reputation. 
 
 He must be struck >harply, and pulled up «ithont a 
 moment's quarter. 
 
 He is better in the pan than on the hook, and better <jn tiie 
 table than in the pan. How you may cook him yon shall learn 
 hereafter. 
 
422 SHEEPS-HEAD FISHING. 
 
 THE SHEEP'S-HEAD. 
 
 This capital fish, which holds the same repute in America 
 Avhich is held bj'^ the Turbot in Europe, is sometimes hooked 
 by the rod-fisher while angling for the Barb, Squeteaque, or 
 Striped Bass ; but when this occurs, he generally beats his 
 retreat successfully, carrying off with liim bait, line, bottom, 
 and hooks together. 
 
 Still he is sometimes mastered by dehcate skill and judicious 
 administration of the reel, but then only by the best of tackle, 
 manipulated by the best of fishermen. Drop-lines of strong 
 hempen cord, a quarter of an inch thick, and two hundred 
 yards long, with a heavy sinker, and a large stout Black Fish 
 hook, will, however, pretty certainly bring him home. 
 
 He frequents the vicinity of rocks, and loves to bite at the 
 small rock-crab, and the soft-shelled clam. 
 
 The best way is to bait with the clam whole and unbroken, 
 burying the whole hook nearly to the arming in the neck of 
 the clam. By doing this, the incessant and vexatious nibbling 
 of the small fish is avoided ; and the shell of the clam is a mere 
 nothing to the great paved round teeth, which line the palate 
 of this strong voracious fish. 
 
 Where small fish are not frequent, the clams may be put on 
 open, with success. 
 
Tin; [)i:r.M. HIS 
 
 Till' Slu'cp's-licail is ht-coiuinfj scarce in tin- liarhoiir ui' New 
 \«)rk, and tliosc brought into the city conic mostly from the 
 south hays of Lonj; Ishmd. 
 
 No tisli is better on the tabk', or more valued. 
 
 lie is the hijjhest prize of the salt-water an;^dcr, and the idol 
 of the epieure's adoration. 
 
 Let him enjoy his rcijutation, In- di'scrvcs it ; perhaps the 
 knowledu'e of his posthumous honours may be a eonsolatioii to 
 him in his death-pang. 
 
 Till-: DKl'M. 
 
 NElTUhiU to catch nor to cook the Pruni, \Nill 1 teach you, 
 gentle reader mine, for he is not worth the hook wjiiih he will 
 probably carry away, if you strike him, nor the salt wliii-h you 
 might waste in seasoning him. 
 
 Unless in his vast size and great power, he has no merit, and 
 in these he is surpassed by the Shark, the Porpoise, and the 
 Whale, for which I should about as soon think of angling. 
 
424 GENERAL DIRECTIONS. 
 
 BLUE FISH FISHING. 
 
 A GENERAL favourite from his southern to his extreme 
 northern limit, this great Mackerel is everywhere an object of 
 pursuit, and deserves to be so, both for the fun of taking and 
 the pleasure of eating him. When fresh from the water he is 
 superlative. A very bold and daring biter^ he is caught in 
 great numbers in swift tide-ways, eddies, and inlet mouths. 
 In the Sound, in the Long Island South Bay channels, in the 
 inlets of the Jersey beaches, from June to August, he affords 
 rare sport. 
 
 Sail for him in a large cat-rigged boat, and the fresher the 
 breeze, and the brisker the sea, the better. In large schulls 
 he swims near the sui'face, leaping at every Hving thing which 
 crosses his track of devastation. 
 
 When you have the luck to strike a schull, stick to it per- 
 severingly, crossing it tack and tack, as fast as you can go 
 about in the direction of its course; and if the gods of the 
 deep look with benignance on your labours, you shall kiU a 
 hundred at the least, in a tide. 
 
 Thus fish for him : To a stout cotton line of a hundred yards, 
 affix a squid of bright tin, or bone armed with a good-sized 
 Kirby hook, with a strong gimp hook-link. Made fast the end 
 
I,«»(A1,1TIKS. 425 
 
 of your liiu- to a i-lct-t in tlu* stt-ni of the boiit, tlicii whirl out 
 the sijuid to the whole U'lii^th of your line, and play it with 
 both hands lilternatcly. Tlu' tish will strike itself, and is to be 
 hauled in with a rcj^ular even pull, never jerked, nor yet 
 slacked for an instant, for if it he, the fish will (liscn}?a}j;c him- 
 self almost certainly. 
 
 When you tack your boat, if the water be shoal, haul in your 
 line, else shall yon foul it in the sea-weeds. 
 
 ^Mien you have hooked your lish, raise your squid with the 
 hook uppermost, and a slight shake shall east him into the 
 bottom of the boat. 
 
 Babylon, Islip, and Quoprue, on Long Island, in Fire Island 
 inlet, and Pine inlet, Shrewsbury, S(iuam-Beach, ami Barnegat, 
 in New Jersey, the estuaries of the rivers in Connecticut, and 
 the tide-ways in Bostoi\ harbour, are all favourite grounds for 
 Blue fishing. 
 
 To conclude : there is no plcasanter summer day's amuse- 
 ment than a racrrj' cruise after the Blue Fish, no plcasanter 
 close to it than the elam-bakc, the chowder, and the broiled 
 Blue Fish, lubricated with champagne, learnedly frappve, and 
 temperately taken, no unpleasant medicine. \Vhat adds most 
 to the zest of such a day, is the presence of the charming sex, 
 this being one of the few sports of field or flood in whieh they 
 can femininely, and therefore fittingly, i)articipate. For the 
 rest, you may take lUue Fish, .sny the philosophers, of thirty 
 pound.s' weight, though I doubt it. Of four and five pounds 
 you ahull catch him surely ; if of eight, rejoice ; if of ten, sing 
 l-jcans, — for that is a triumph. 
 
426 LOCALITIES. 
 
 DEEP SEA FISHING. 
 
 The Cod_, the Haddock, the Whiting, the Hake, the Halibut, 
 and the Flounder, may be caught everywhere north of Massa- 
 chusetts ; and from Boston to the eastward, parties of pleasm'e 
 are made constantly to take them. On the Great Banks they 
 are most abundant, but in Boston Bay great sport is not 
 uncommon, nor is it unusual for a single boat to bring in its 
 fifteen or twenty quintals of these fine fish. 
 
 The whole sport consists in the frequency of the biting, and 
 the size of the fish, which, for the most part, varies from ten to 
 fifteen pounds ; for though they are sharp and voracious biters, 
 they require no play when hooked, ofi'ering only an inert resist- 
 ance, and a dead hea^y pull. 
 
 Fifty yards of stout hempen line, two small-sized Cod-hooks, 
 baited with the mud-clam, the menhaden, or where it can be 
 procured, the capehn, and a pound sinker, is all your apparatus. 
 
 With this, in any eastern water, you may rest assured of 
 returning home with a boat-load of fish, a set of very weary 
 limbs, a pair of very sore hands, and an enormous appetite, of 
 which, mejudice, the first and the last, alone are desirable. 
 
 If you be content with these, fair or gentle reader, go out for 
 deep-sea fishing when and where you will, provided you ask me 
 
« ost 1.1 su(N. 427 
 
 to follow y«m no t'lirtlit r ; tor lure, (Uicc moic wc iiuist part. 
 Ere long, if tlu- fates — and the booksellers — be propitious, 1 
 trust to meet aj^ain, with utidiininishod satistartion, each of us 
 with the other. 
 
 And so fare yi- will, who lia\c Jiceoiupauiicl lut- ^() far dm 
 Miy rambliuj; way ; aud all your pleasures, as you wuuld haxj- 
 them, be both long aiul lasting ; and all your pains, as ve must 
 have them, being mortal uu-n, briif and transitory; aud so 
 ruay fair fortunes be about ye, and kiud thoughts toward 
 Fu.vNK l\tiu>rKK. 
 
aimm:m)IX a. 
 
 Tin; ANdLER'S AlM'AKAirs. 
 
 From UoflonU'it " BriiUh Anglcr'i Manual." 
 
 It is impossible to become a successful niigler, without such a 
 complete and well-arranged assortment of tackle as will enable you to 
 be prepared for all times, seasons, and circumstances ; and a true 
 brother of the craft will find nuich to anmse him in the exercise of 
 his ingenuity in making and repairing lines, flics, Jcc, and in the 
 orderly disposition of the materials of his art — of which the following 
 is a list : 
 
 Uoils for Salmon fishing, trolling, spinning the minnow and bleak, 
 fly-fishing and angling at the bottom. 
 
 Lines of hair, silkworm gut, Indian weed, plaited silk and hair, ami 
 patent line fur trolling. 
 
 Winches or reels for running-tackle. 
 
 Hooks for trollintf, on wire or gimp, for the gorge, the snap, ic. 
 
 Bleak and minnow tuckle, and baiting needles, of various sizes. 
 
 Hooks tied on gut, from No. 1 to No. 12. 
 
 Hooks tied on hair, from No. 10 to No. 13. 
 
 Loose hooks of all sizes. 
 
 ratemostcrs for Perch fishing. 
 
 Shoemakers' wax and sewing-silk. 
 
 Floats of rarious sizes, and caj)» for float*!. 
 
 Split shots and plummets fur taking the di'pths uf the water. 
 
 Disgorgcr, clearing ring, and drag. 
 
 Landing-net, a gatT, and kettle for lire bait. 
 
 Gentle-box, and bags for worms. 
 
430 APPENDIX. 
 
 A fishing-basket, creel, or game pouch. 
 
 A pair of pliers, a pair of scissors, and a penkTiife. 
 
 A book of artificial flies. 
 
 A book of general tackle. 
 
 RODS. 
 
 Choice rods are of the utmost consequence to the angler's success, 
 and various instructions have been given by difi"erent authors for select- 
 ing proper kinds of wood for the purpose, and the method of making 
 them ; but as excellent rods of every description are now to be purchased 
 in almost every part of the United Kingdom, I shall recommend such 
 as will be generally useful, and may be procured without difficulty at 
 any of the fishing-tackle shops in London. 
 
 In choosing a rod, be careful to examine if the joints fit securely, 
 if it be perfectly straight when put together, and if it spring equally 
 in all its parts, from the butt to the top, when bent. 
 
 That which is commonly termed a "general rod" will be found 
 most useful to the traveller who has not an opportunity of carrying 
 more than one with him at a time, it being so contrived that it may 
 be used either for fly-fishing, trolling, or bottom fishing, as the butt 
 of the rod is bored, and contains several spare tops, i. e., one for the 
 fly, one for spinning the minnow, one for the float, and another for 
 trolling — the whole being conveniently packed up In a canvas bag. 
 
 Although this kind of rod will be found highly serviceable on many 
 occasions, I would by no means I'ecommend the use of it when you 
 have an opportunity of employing separate and appropriate rods for 
 the difi"erent kinds of angling. The rods used exclusively for fly- 
 fishing should be as light as possible, consistent with strength, and if 
 for throwing with one hand, not more than from twelve to fourteen 
 feet long, and If with both hands not more than from sixteen to 
 eighteen feet. Indeed, a rod shorter than either of tliese would be 
 found very convenient in a narrow, closely-wooded stream, where It Is 
 frequently necessary to force your fly with a short line under overhanging 
 bushes. 
 
 I am acquainted with some excellent anglers In the north of England, 
 who cannot be persuaded to use any other fly-rod than one composed 
 of two pieces only, and sliced in the middle ; but this is incon- 
 
itons. MNKrt. i;U 
 
 venii'ut ti> canv. and tlio jointoti rods nro now brought to such 
 |>ort'fetit>ii, tlmt I fool n-ssurotl tln-y will answer every purpose of tlie 
 splioi-<l rt>il!«, besitles hfiiii; tnucli more portalili*. Tlio Irish Hy-ro«lH 
 uro scrt'woil toj^othtT at eacli joint, and are much more olasitic tliaii 
 the l'ni;lish nxls. 
 
 THi: TltoLl.lNC Kol) 
 
 Should bo very strong, and not less than twelve or more than sixteen 
 
 feet in length, with largo rings u|)on it, that the line may run freely. 
 The rod for spinning a minnow or bleak should bo of bamboo cane, 
 
 and from eighteen to twenty feet long, with a tolerable stiff top ; the 
 
 rings should bo placed at a moderate distance from each other, and 
 
 be of the middle size. 
 
 The harheil r<»</, for angling with the leilgrr-bait, should have n 
 
 Btitf top, and be about eleven or twelve feet in length ; but for tloat- 
 
 fishing it must be much lighter and something longer. 
 
 The rod for Koach and I'aoe should bo of bamboo cane, and, if for 
 bank-iishing, from eighteen to twenty feet long ; but if for angling 
 from a punt, not more than elevi-n t)r twelve feet. It must be very 
 light, perfectly taper, and of a proper degree of elasticity, as the 
 angler's success in Roach and Dace Hshiug will depend upon his 
 dexterity and quickness in striking when he has a bite. Many anglers 
 never fish without running-tackle, that they may be always prepared 
 to encounter a large fioh ; but they must not hope to meet with the 
 same sport in Koach and Dace fishing as those do who use a light rod 
 without rings, and a short line, when the chance of striking your fish is 
 much more certain. 
 
 LINES. 
 
 The best lines for running-tackle are comiMsed of silk and hair, of 
 different degrees of strength and thickness, according to tho purpose 
 for which they arc intondetl. For Salmon fishing, a strong winch or 
 pirn, largo enough to contain fronj eighty to one hundred yards of 
 line, is requisite, and for Trout a brass reel, containing from thirty to 
 forty vards of line, gradually tapering to a f<'W hairs at the end, where 
 a foot-link of gut containing tlie fl'""-< i-* i" !•<• fitod. 
 
432 APPENDIX. 
 
 Silkworm gut-lines are fi-om two to four yards, aud are used as 
 lengths to be added to the line on the reel, either for fly or bottom- 
 fishing. 
 
 Lines for trolling are of several kinds, some of twisted silk, and others 
 of silk and hair, but that sold by the tackle-makers, called patent trol- 
 ling-line is in most general use. A strong reel aud from forty to sixty 
 yards of line are requisite. 
 
 Indian weed is a good material for bottom-tackle, but inferior to the 
 silkworm gut. 
 
 Eel-lines, night-lines, and trimmers, may be purchased ready fitted 
 up. 
 
 A winch, or reel, is used for running-tackle, and is generally made 
 of brass, but I have seen them in Scotland made of wood, where they 
 are called pirns ; the multiplying reel was formerly much used, but from 
 its liability to be out of order, a plain reel, without a stop, is now gene- 
 rally preferred. Reels are of various sizes, containing from twenty to 
 one hundred yards of line. 
 
 Bleak and minnow tackle are of endless variety in form and con- 
 trivance, almost every experienced angler having his own peculiar 
 plan. 
 
 The paternoster is a line used for Perch fishing, made of strong 
 gut, and should be connected with a running-line by a fine steel swivel. 
 It contains three hooks, the size Nos. 7, 8, or 9, placed at equal dis- 
 tances from each other ; the first near the bottom, where a small plum- 
 met of lead is fixed to sink the line, and the others each from eighteen 
 inches to two feet apart. The hooks are so contrived by swivels as to 
 revolve round the line, and thereby give play to the live minnows with 
 which they are to be baited. 
 
 FLOATS. 
 
 Much care and judgment are required in adapting your float to the 
 various streams or waters in which you angle. A deep and rapid river 
 will require a float that will carry from sixteen to twenty of No. 4 shot. 
 If the stream be deep and the current gentle, a float carrying one-half 
 that number of shot will be sufiiciently heavy, and when the water is 
 perfectly still, a very light quill-float, carrying two of No. 6 shot, should 
 be used ; and I may remark here, that the smaller your float, the fewer 
 
I.ANDINn-NKT. \'\'i 
 
 the nuinbcr of »hol, ami tlio fiiKT yniir liottoiii-tacklo, tlio grontiT will 
 bo your succcfls. 
 
 The tip-cappoil flout is the li«-*t f«>r poiul-fishini^ niul for i;oiitl<' 
 strcains, as the lino is confined nt each oml of tho flimt l»y n cap. 
 which cimhios y«ni to strikf at a fish with i^rcatcr precision than with n 
 phiggeil float, whiili ]t.i> a wire riii',' at tli.' hottuin for the line to run 
 through. 
 
 In shotting tho lino. I prefer a nniuber of small shot to a few largo 
 ones, OS they make less disturbance in the water. 
 
 Your line must be shotted till not more than the cap of your float 
 is seen above the water, unless it should be very rough from wiml or a 
 rapid current, in whicli case something more of the float must swim 
 above water. 
 
 Tlie porcupine quill is a favourite float with some anglers, but for a 
 moderate stream I prefer a swan s ipiill. 
 
 Tin; l.VNDlNiiNKT AND (iAI T. 
 
 The landing-net may be purchased so contrived as to unscrew from a 
 socket in the handle — which should be four or five feet long —aiul a gaff" 
 or hook for landing .Salmon, Pike, or large Trout, may also be bought 
 to screw into the same socket, and both the net and gatf may be carried 
 in your basket or creel till you reach the river side. 
 
 V K 
 
APPENDIX B. 
 
 THE FLY-FISHER'S APPARATUS. 
 
 From Hofland'g " British Anglers' Manual." 
 
 A COMPLETE fly-fisher will make his own flies, and will find much 
 amusement in the practice of this delicate art. It -will he necessary that 
 he should provide himself with the following materials, to enable him to 
 imitate the flies described hereafter. 
 
 HOOKS. 
 
 London, Kirby-sneck, and Limerick hooks, of all sizes. Of these, 
 the Limerick hook is in the greatest general estimation ; but in the 
 north of England, the Kirby-sneck hook is preferred for small hackle 
 flies. 
 
 FEATHERS. 
 
 Cocks' and hens' hackles, of all colours ; those chiefly in use are red, 
 ginger, coch-a-bondu, black, dun, olive, grizzle, and white ; the latter 
 for dying yellow, <fec. 
 
 Peacock's herl, coppery coloured, green and brown. 
 
 Black ostrich's herl. 
 
 Gallino fowls' spotted feathers. 
 
 The feathers of the turkey, the grouse, ptarmigan, pheasant — cock 
 and hen — woodcock, snipe, dotteril, landrail, starling, golden plover or 
 peewit, wild mallard, bustard, sea swallow, wren, jay, blackbird, throstle, 
 blue pigeon, argus and silver pheasant. 
 
 Water-rat's fur, mole's fur, and hare's fur. 
 
 Mohair, dyed, of all colours. 
 
ri.IKS. KT< . is.') 
 
 Fine French sowing-hilk. of nil cohiurH. 
 
 Flos »\\k, of nil colours. 
 
 (lorman wool, of nil ool<nirt. 
 
 Gold mill silver twist. 
 
 Silk twist, cohlilors' nml l)»>os-wnx. 
 
 A pair of pliers, a pair of tiiie-pointoil scissors, a siimll hniul-slide vice, 
 and a fine-pointed strong dubbing needle. 
 
 Silkworm gut, from the finest to the strongest, nnd Salmon gut, singlo 
 and twisted. 
 
 Lengths of tlu« white niul sorrel hairs of htallions' tniln. 
 
APPENDIX C. 
 
 HOW TO COOK FISH.— THE SALMON. 
 
 Mejudice, the king of fishes, is the best plain boiled. His richness 
 is sufficient, his flavour so excellent, that, so far from being improved, 
 his natural qualities are destroyed and overpowered by anything of 
 artificial condiment. 
 
 MY OWN RECEIPT FOR BOILIXG SALMON. 
 
 If you are ever so lucky as to catch a Salmon, where incontinently 
 you can proceed to cook him, that is to say, in the wilderness, within 
 ten yards of the door of your shantee, with the fire burning and the 
 pot boiling — good ! 
 
 Stun him at once by a heavy blow on the head ; crimp him by a 
 succession of cuts on each side, through the muscle, quite down to the 
 back-bone, with a very sharp knife, in slashes parallel to the gill-cover. 
 Then place him for ten minutes in a cold spring, or under the jet of a 
 water-fall. In the meantime, keep your pot boiling, nay, but screech- 
 ing with intense heat, filled with brine strong enough to bear an egg. 
 Therein immerse him, having cut out the gills, opened the belly, and 
 washed the inside, and boil him at the rate of seven minutes and a half 
 to the pound ; dish him, and, serving him with no sauce save a tureenful 
 of the water in which he has been boiled, proceed to eat him, with no 
 other condiment than a little salt and the slightest squeeze of a lemon. 
 I do not object to cucumber sliced very fine, with a dressing of oil, 
 
l>li:K(TIt»NS KiiK (ixtKINC. 437 
 
 three tablespoons to oue of vinegar, suit, ami black pepper (j»a>i^<m suff.; 
 but I rei»ftril green peas, or any other vegetable, with tliis grand fish, 
 as a cockney abomination. 
 
 SOYER's receipt — SALMON AT NATUUEI.. 
 
 Clean and prepare as before ; but, if ho be not fresh eiicugli to 
 crimp, scale him, and proceed as follows : 
 
 " I'ut your fish in cold water, using a pound of salt to every six 
 quarts of water : let it be well-oovcred with water, and set it over a 
 motlerate tire : when it begins to simmer, set it on the side of tho fire. 
 If the fish weighs four pounds, let it simmer half-an-hour — if eight 
 pounds, three-quarters of an hour, and so on in proportion ; dish it on a 
 napkin, and scn'e lobster or shrimp sauce in a boat." 
 
 SOYEIl's LOnSTEn SAl< E FOK SALMON. 
 
 Put twelve tablespoonfuls of melted butter into a stew-pan ; cut a 
 middling-sized hen-lobster-butter into dice, make a quarter of a pound 
 of lobster-butter with the spawn, thus ; Take out the spawn and pound 
 it well in a mortar, then add a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, mix 
 them well together, then rub it through a hair sieve ; when the melted 
 butter is upon the point of boiling, add the lobster-butter, stir the sauce 
 round over the fire, until the butter is melted ; season with a little 
 essence of anchovy, the juice of half a lemon, and a quarter of a tea- 
 spoonful of cayenne ; pas.s it through a cannie into another stew-pan, 
 then add the fiesh of the lobster. When hot, it is ready to serve where 
 directed. This sauce must be quite red ; if not red in tho lobster, use 
 live spawn. 
 
 SOYEIl's SnitlMP .SAIOK. 
 
 .\l.ike the melted butter as for the last, but tini.-ili witli the essence 
 of shrimp.^, and serve half-a-pint of pickled shrimps in the boat with it. 
 If DO essence of shrimps, the anchory sauce may be served with shrimps 
 in it a« a substitute, if no essence can l>e had. 
 
438 APPENDIX. 
 
 SALMON A LA BEYROUT. 
 
 Broil two slices of Salmon, in oiled paper, over a moderate fire ; 
 when they are done, peel the skin from the edge, and lay them on a 
 dish without a napkin ; have ready the following saxice : Put one table- 
 spoonful of chopped onions in a stew-pan, with one ditto of Chili vinegar, 
 one of common vinegar, two ditto of plaitiry sauce, two ditto of mush- 
 roon catsup, and twenty tablespoonfuls of melted butter ; let it reduce 
 till it adheres to the back of the spoon, then add two tablespoonfuls of 
 essence of anchovy, and a small quantity of sugar, pour it over the fish, 
 and serve it hot. 
 
 HOW TO COOK TROUT. 
 
 MY OWN METHOD. 
 
 This is the method of the woods, and in tlie woods I learnt it ; but 
 having learned, I practise it at home, considering it one of the most 
 delicious morceaux, when thus cooked, in the world. It must be 
 cooked, however, in the open air, by a wood fire kindled on the ground, 
 or by a charcoal fire in a small Boston furnace. 
 
 Clean and scale your fish, open, clean and wash him internally ; take 
 for a one-pound fish two small skewers of red cedar-wood, upon each 
 thread a piece of fat salt pork half-an-inch square ; with these fasten 
 the belly of the fish asunder, annex him by the tail to a twig of pliant 
 ■wood, which sufiier to bend over the fire so as to bring the fish opposite 
 the blaze, place a large biscuit or a slice of thin dry toast under the 
 drip of the gravy, cook quickly — for a two-pound fish, ten minutes will 
 suffice — dish with the hiscuit under him, and eat with salt and lemon 
 juice, or if you please, with shrimp or lobster sauce, or a dish of Wor- 
 cestershii-e or Harvey sauce, though I think these, for my own cheek, 
 bad taste. 
 
 TROUT AU NATUREL. 
 
 A large Sea Trout or Salmon Trout is to be cleansed, cooked and 
 eaten precisely as the Salmon in my first receipt. I conceive, myself. 
 
DIKHCTlnNS FuK 0>(»KIN«i. \:VJ 
 
 that any piquant or rich sauce overpowers the flavour of tho Hsli, and 
 »lu>ul<l thertforc bo eschewed ; but those who favour ^uol^ tliinij.s niav 
 eat hiu) with siiriuip or lobster sauco ait above. 
 
 HOW TO COOK PIKK. 
 
 NOHUS' RKCEll'T KOR DKE88IN<; A PIKE. 
 
 Take your pike and ojion liiui ; rub him within with salt and claret 
 wiue ; save the milt, and a little of the bloody fat ; cut him in two or 
 three pieces, and put iiim in wlan the water boils ; i>ut in with him 
 sweet marjoram, savory, thyme, or fennel, with a gooil handful of salt; 
 let theui boil nearly half an liour. For the sauce, take sweet butter, 
 anchovies, horseradish, claret wine, of each a good (|uantity ; a little 
 of the blood, shalot, or garlic, and some lemon sliced ; beat them well 
 together, and servo him up. 
 
 soYEJi's UEcEirr you i'IKe kua.steu. 
 
 This tiah in France is found daily upon the tables of the tirst epicures, 
 but tho quality of the tish there appears much more delicate than here. 
 IJut perhaps tho reosou of its being more in voi^ue there is, that other 
 ti.Hh are more scarce ; not being so much in use here (that is, in 
 London), but in the country, where gentlemen have sport in catching 
 them, they are much more thought of, and to them, perhaps, the follow- 
 ing receipts may be the nio.st valuable. To dress it plain it is usually 
 baked, as follows : Having well cleaned the ti<«h, stuff it, and ^cw tho 
 belly up with packthread : butter a sautc-pan, put the tish inio it and 
 place it in tho oven for an hour or more, according to tho size of it ; 
 when done, dish it without a napkin, and p<mr anchovy sauce round it; 
 this fish, previous to its being baked, must be tmxsed with it.s tail in its 
 mouth, four incisions cut on eaeii nide, ami well butteretl over. 
 
 riKK \ \.\ eiiAMiioui-. 
 
 The Urge tish are the only ones fit for tliis dish (which is murh 
 thought of in Franco). Have the fiMi well cleaned, and lard it in n 
 
440 A^PPENDIX. 
 
 square on one side with bacon, put it in a fish-kettle, the larded side 
 upwards, and prepare the following marinade : Slice four onions, one 
 carrot, and one turnip, and put thena in a stew-pan with six bay -leaves, 
 six cloves, two blades of mace, a little thyme, basil, a bunch of parsley, 
 half a pound of lean ham, and half a pound of butter ; pass it over a 
 slow fire twenty minutes, keeping it stirred ; then add half a bottle of 
 Madeira wine, a wineglassful of vinegar, and six quarts of broth ; boil 
 altogether an hour, then pass it through a sieve, and pour the liquor 
 into the kettle over the fish : set the fish on the fire to stew for an hour 
 or more, according to the size, but take care the marinade does not 
 cover the fish, moisten the larded part now and then with the stock, 
 and put some burning charcoal on the lid of the kettle ; when done, 
 glaze it lightly, dish it without a napkin, and have ready the following 
 sauce : put a pint of the stock your fish was stewed in (having pre- 
 viously taken ofi" all the fat) into a stew-pan, with two glasses of 
 Madeira wine, reduce it to half, then add two quarts of brown sauce, 
 keep it stirred over the fire till the sauce adheres to the back of the 
 wooden spoon, then add the roes of four carp or mackerel (cut in large 
 pieces, but be careful not to break tiiem), twenty heads of very white 
 mushrooms, twenty cockscombs, twelve large quenellings of whiting, 
 and finish with a tablespoonful of essence of anchovies and half a one of 
 sugar, pour the sauce round the fish, arranging the garniture w^th 
 taste, add twelve crawfish to the garniture, having pi-eviously taken off 
 all the small claws ; serve very hot. 
 
 This dish, I dare say, will be but seldom made in this country, on 
 account of its complication, but I thought proper to give it on account 
 of the high estimation in which it is held in France ; I must, however, 
 observe, that I have omitted some of the garniture which would make 
 it still more expensive, and if there should be any difiiculty in getting 
 what remains, the sauce is very good without. 
 
 PIKE EN MATELOTE. 
 
 Stuff and bake the fish as before ; when done, dress it without a 
 napkin, and pour a sauce matelote in the middle and round the fish, and 
 serve very hot. Or the fish mav be stewed as in the last. 
 
l»li{K(TI<>NS FiiK .ro«»KIN<;. t 11 
 
 riKK .\ LA IIOLLANUAISK. 
 
 Hoil the fish in suit ami wntiT, in the snmo manner as L'od-ti>h; iliain 
 it well, di»h it withuut a na|ikin, punr a sauce Ilullandaise over it. 
 
 sMM.i. I'iKK A i.A Mr.rsiKiu:. 
 
 I'l imp a .xuiall I'ike — it niu>t not weigh more tlian two pounds, hut 
 smaller if vou can get it— and proceed exactly as for Sole ii la nieuni«Tf, 
 but allow it more time. 
 
 riKK WITH CAl-Kll .SALt E. 
 
 Boil the fish as before, and have ready caper sauce made as follows : 
 I'ut fifteen tablespooufuls of melted butter in a stew-pan, and when it 
 boils add a (piarter of a i>ound of fresh butter ; when it melts, add two 
 tablespoonfuls of liaison; let it remain on the fire to thicken, but do not 
 let it boil ; moisten with a little milk if required, then add two table- 
 spoonfuls of capers, and pour over the fish. 
 
 riKK A LA MAITHK DHoTKL. 
 
 Hoil the fish as usual, and dish it without a napkin ; then put twelve 
 tablespiKjnfuls of melted butter in a slew-pan ; and when it is ujxin the 
 point of boiling, add a quarter of a pound of Maitre d 'Hotel butter, and 
 when it melts pour over and round the fish ; serve very hot. 
 
 I'IKK .\ LA KiiYITIKNM:. 
 
 Cut two onions, two turnips, one carrot, ouc head of celery, and ono 
 luck into slices : put them into a largo stew-pan with some (Mirsley. 
 thyme, bay leave.**, and a pint of |Mjrt wine ; then havi- your fish ready 
 trussed, with its tail in it.n mouth ; put it into the stew-pan, with the 
 vegetables ; add three pints of broth, and set it on a slow fire to .ntcw, 
 with some live charcoal upon the lid ; try when done by running the 
 knife close in to the bock l>one ; if the meat detaches easily, it is done ; 
 take it out, and place on a baking sheet ; dry it with a cloth, then 
 egg and bread crumb it ; put it in the oven, and salamander it a light 
 brown ; then put twenty tablespoonfuls of white sauce in a ^tew-pan. 
 
442 APPENDIX. 
 
 with eight of milk, and reduce it five minutes ; then add four gherkins, 
 the whites of four hard-boiled eggs, and two ruffles, cut in very small 
 dice ; finish with two tablespoonfuls of essence of anchovies, the juice of 
 half a lemon, and four pats of butter ; dress the fish without a napkin, 
 and sauce over. 
 
 FILLETS OF PIKE EN MATELOTE. 
 
 If for a dinner for twelve, fillet four small Pike ; egg and bread- 
 crumb, and fry in oil ; dish them round on a border of mashed potatoes 
 (previously cutting each fillet in halves), and serve sauce matelote in the 
 centre. 
 
 FILLETS OF PIKE A LA MEUXIERE. 
 
 FiUet four Pike as above, cut each fillet in halves, rub some chopped 
 shalot into them, dip them in flour, broil them ; when done, sauce as 
 for Sole a la meuniere. Observe, if you happen to live in the counti-y, 
 where Pike is plentiful, you may dish the fillets in as many ways as 
 Soles, or any other fish ; but I have omitted giving them here, thinking 
 it useless to fill a useful book with so many repetitions ; we have several 
 ways of dressing Pike to be eaten cold in France, which I have also 
 omitted, as they would be quite useless in this country. 
 
 HOW TO COOK PERCH. 
 
 The best mode of cooking a Perch, under a pound weight, is by 
 broiling it. 
 
 Small Perch will serve to make water-souchy thus : Scale, gut, 
 and. wash your Perch ; put salt in your water ; when it boils put in 
 the fish, with an onion cut in slices, and separate it into rings ; a 
 handful of parsley, picked and washed clean ; put in as much milk as 
 will turn the water white ; when your fish are done enough, put them 
 in a soup dish, and pour a little of the water over them, with the 
 parsley and the onions ; then serve them up with parsley and butter in a 
 boat. 
 
 Large Perch may be crimped and boiled in the same way. 
 
DIKKi'TlONS KOK fnoKIMi. 1 I :'. 
 
 MOYLu'h HECEIIT Ki>ll 1-KiU'il .\ l.A llDLUANUAlyE. 
 
 Iliive thrco miildling-sizoil tishe:) ready pn-poroil for cookinp ; then 
 put two ounces of butter, two onions (in slices), one carrot (cut small), 
 8OIU0 parsley, two bay-leaves, »lx cloves, ami two blades of mace in a 
 8tew-pan ; pass it tivc minutes over a brisk fire, then add a «|uart of 
 water, two glasses of vinegar, one ounce of salt, ami a little pfpper ; 
 boil altogether a quarter of an hour, and pass it through a sieve into a 
 small fish-kettle : then lay the ti.shes into it, and let them .stew twenty or 
 thirty minutes over a moderate fire ; dress them on a dish without a 
 napkin, and pour sauce lloUandaise over them. 
 
 I'KUeil .\ L.\ MAITUE d'jIOTKL. 
 
 Prepare and cook your ri.>ih as above ; then put twenty tablcspoonfuls 
 of melted butter in a stew-pan, and when it is upon the point of boiling, 
 add a tjuarter of a pound of Maitre d'llotel butter, and pour the sauce 
 over the fish, whieli dress <>u i\ di-h wltlicnU u ii;i[>kiM. 
 
 >M Al.l. n.M lll.H IN >\\1I.H ■'i>l(lli;i. 
 
 Cut four small fishes in halves, having previously taken otf all the 
 scales, and proceed precisely as for Flounders en water souchet. 
 
 .-nMAI.L rEUCIIF.S KIIITS AU IIEIHIU:. 
 
 Scale and well dry six Terches, and make incisions hero ond there on 
 each side of them ; then put a (quarter of a pound of butter into a saute- 
 pan, season your fishes with pepper and salt, put them in the saute-pan 
 and fry thenj gently, turning them carefully ; when done, dress them 
 on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve without sauee. 
 
 In my opinion, they are much belter cooked in this way than boiled 
 or stewed ; large fish may al.-*o l>e done this way. but they reijuire more 
 butter, and must cook rcrj slowly. 
 
 now TO COOK CAIir. 
 
 IZAAK WALTOic's RBCBIIT. 
 
 But first, I will toll you liow to make this Caqi, that is so curious to 
 be caught, so curiou.<« a dinh of meat as »hall make him worth all your 
 I.. »....,. „,„! pnticncc. Ami though it is not without .•>ome trouble and 
 
444 APPENDIX. 
 
 charges, yet it will recompense both. Take a Carp — alive if possible ; 
 scour him, and rub him clean Avith Avater and salt, but scale him not ; 
 then open him, and put him with his blood and liver, which you must 
 save when you open him, into a small pot or kettle ; then take sweet 
 marjoram, thyme, or parsley, of each a handful ; a sprig of rosemary, 
 and mother-of-savory ; bind them into two or three small bundles, and 
 put them to your Carp, with four or five Avhole onions, twenty pickled 
 oysters, and three anchovies. Then pour upon your Carp as much 
 claret Asine as will only cover him ; and season your claret well with 
 salt, cloves, and mace, and the rind of oranges and lemons. That done, 
 cover your pot, and set it on a quick fire till it be sufficiently boiled. 
 Then take out the Carp, and lay it with the broth into the dish, and pour 
 upon it a quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter, melted and beaten 
 with a half-a-dozen spoonfuls of the broth, the yolks of two or three 
 eggs, and some of the herbs shred ; garnish your dish with lemons, and 
 so serve it up, and much good to you. 
 
 soyer's receipt for carp ex matelote. 
 
 Have your fish ready cleaned, and make four or five incisions on each 
 side ; then put two sliced onions, three sprigs of thyme and parsley, and 
 half-a-pint of port wine in a stew-pan, or small fish-kettle : season the 
 fish with pepper and salt, lay it in a stew-pan, add four pints of broth, 
 and place it on a slow fire to stew for an hour (which will be sufficient 
 for a fish of five pounds' weight), or more, in proportion to the size ; 
 when done, dress it on a dish, without a napkin ; drain it Avell, and serve 
 a matelote sauce over it ; only use some of the stock from the fish 
 (having previously taken off" all the fat) instead of plain brotli, as directed 
 in that article. 
 
 CARP A LA GEXOISE. 
 
 Prepare your fish as above, and lay it in your fish-kettle, with two 
 ounces of salt, half a bottle of port Avine, two onions, two turnips, one 
 leek, one carrot (cut in sHces), three bay-lea\-es, six cloves, two blades of 
 mace, and a sprig of parsley, cover the fish Avith white broth ; stcAV it 
 as before, dress it without a napkin, prepare a sauce Genoise and pour 
 over it. 
 
I>I|{K<TIhNS FDIf COoKINf;. H--, 
 
 STEWF.I> r.\n\- \ I. A MAlt<^i ISK. 
 
 I'ouk tbe tish ah above, ntul wIumi iloiif, dross it on a dinli witliout n 
 napkin, and have ready the folluwinij sauce : Put twenty tahlcspoonfuls 
 of white sauee in a stow-pan, reduce it over a fire until rather thick, 
 then a«Kl a gill of whipt cream, two tablespoonfuls of capers, and two of 
 chopped gherkins; jiour over the tl.sh, then sprinkle two tablespoonfuU 
 of chopped beet-root over it. and serve. 
 
 lAUr WITH •ArEK SAITK. 
 
 Cook the fish os above, and dross it without a napkin ; then put twenty- 
 five tablespoonfuls of melted l>utter into a stew-pan, and when nearly 
 boiling add a quarter of a pound of fresh butter ; stir it till the butter 
 molts, then add four tablespoonfuls «>f oaporp, ami pour ovit. This sauce 
 must be rather thick. 
 
 Open the fish down the back with a sharp knife from the head to the 
 tail, cutting otf half the head, so that the fish is quite flat ; break the 
 back-bone in three places, but allow the roc to remain ; then dip the 
 fish in flour, and fry it in hot lard ; dress it on a napkin, garnish with 
 parsley, and serve plain melted butter, well seasoned, in a boat. 
 
 HOW To t(M)K KFJ.S. 
 
 r.r.tji Kill En. 
 
 Cut the Eels in pieces about three inches long, dip them in flour, 
 egg and bread-crumb, and fry them in very hot lurd. dress them on a 
 napkin, garnish with parsh v. anil h4tvi' shrimp sauce in a boat. 
 
 » I l.H A I \ T MIT Mir. 
 
 t.'ut the Kcls and fry as above, have ready some Tarturc sauce upun 
 A cold dish, lay tbo EvU upon it and Acnro imnicdiatclj ; should the 
 EcU be large, thej must bo throc-{>Art« stewed l»eforc they are fried ; 
 dry them npon a cloth previous to bread-crumbing them. 
 
446 APPENDIX. 
 
 SPITCHCOCKED EELS. 
 
 Take the bones out of the Eels by opening them from head to tail, 
 and cut them in pieces about four inches long, throw them into some 
 flour, then liave ready upon a dish about a couple of handfuls of bread- 
 crumbs, a tablespoonful" of chopped parsley, a little dried thyme, and a 
 little cayenne pepper, then egg each piece of Eel and bread-crumb them 
 with it, fry them in very hot lard, dish them on a napkin, and serve 
 shrimp sauce in a boat. 
 
 STEWED EELS. 
 
 Cut the Eels in pieces as before, and tie each piece round with pack- 
 thread, then put them into a stew-pan with an onion, a tablespoonfirf 
 of white wine, three cloves, three whole allspice, a bunch of parsley, 
 thyme, and bay-leaf, and a little white broth, sufficient to cover them ; 
 place them over a moderate fire, and let them stew gently for half an 
 hour or more, if required (according to the size of the Eel), take them 
 out, drain them on a napkin, dish them without a napkin, and have 
 ready the following sauce : Put a teaspoonful of chopped onions into a 
 stew-pan with four tablespoonfuls of white wine, and eight ditto of brown 
 sauce, let boil it gently for a quarter of an hour, keeping it stirred, then 
 add a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies and a little sugar, and pour 
 over your Eels. 
 
 EELS EN MATELOTE. 
 
 Stew the Eels as above, dress them without a napkin, and pour a 
 sauce matelote over them. They may also be served with a sauce a la 
 Beyrout. 
 
 HOW TO COOK SHAD. 
 
 BrvOILET) SHAD. 
 
 Scale, clean, cut oif the head and fins, split down the back, broil 
 quickly over a charcoal fire ; boil the roe separately in the same manner ; 
 serve on a hot dish, garnished with the roe and dried parsley. Eat with 
 drawn butter, anchovj', or shrimp sauce. 
 
i'ii;i:i Ti'iN> K'm: < mukiN'O. 147 
 
 TO noiL sii \n. 
 Scale. o|><>n, cK'nii, ami wjisli your fislj ; Itoil him i|iiii'kly. wrapped in 
 a napkin, in boilinn; water : serve U|Min a napkin, garniHlieil witli fri*^ii 
 parsley ; eat with ca|>er sauee. 
 
 8EA-SIIOUK HBCEIIT FOR UOASTKP SHAl), 
 Split your fish down the back after ho is cleaned and wa«lietl, nail 
 the halves on shinc^les or short board ; stick them erect in the .«and 
 round a large fire ; as soon as they are well browned, serve on what- 
 ever you have got ; eat with cold ImttiT, Mack pepper, salt, and a 
 gootl appetite. 
 
 This is a delicious wav of cooking this fine fish. 
 
 HOW Ti) ((^tiK TAUTOn. 
 
 Clean, score, and boil your Rlack Fish quickly ; lay it in a stew-pan. 
 with a bottle of port wine, two sliced onions, six or seven cloves, and 
 a few pepper-corns ; add an shalot and some cayenne ; pour in a 
 quart of weak veal broth, stew irently for an hour. 
 
 Hitw Tit COOK .<(^iri; ri;Av,'ri:. 
 
 Boil when cleaned, and serve with shrimp sauce, precisely as Salmon 
 or Trout. 
 
 1|(»\\ Tn COOK SKA HASS. 
 
 noiLKP. 
 Boil plain, as above : serro with shrimp sauce, ca|>er sauce, or parsley 
 and butter. 
 
 IiROILRn. 
 Broil quickly over a charcoal fire ; senie with matelote sauce, a- 
 
448 APPENDIX. 
 
 SAUCE MATELOTE. 
 
 Peel about twenty button onions, then put a teaspoonful of powdered 
 sugar in a stew-pan, place it over a sharp fire, and when melted and 
 getting brown, add a piece of butter the size of two walnuts, and your 
 onions, pass them over the fire until rather brown ; then add a glass 
 of sherry, let it boil, then add a pint of brown sauce and ten spoonfuls 
 of consomme, simmer at the corner of the fire until the onions are 
 quite tender, skim it well ; then add twenty small quenelles, ten heads 
 of mushrooms, and a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies, one of catsup, 
 one of Harvey sauce, and a little cayenne pepper. Serve where 
 directed. 
 
 HOW TO COOK KING-FISH. 
 
 Boil over a quick fii-e, serve plain, eat with anchovy or shrimp 
 sauce. 
 
 Fry in olive oil, serve plain, eat Avith salt and red pepper. 
 
 HOW TO COOK SHEEP'S-HEAD. 
 
 Rub it over with salt and lemon before putting it in the water. To 
 every six quarts of water add one pound of salt. Boil a ten-pound 
 fish about twenty minutes. Serve on a napkin, garnish with parsley, 
 eat with shrimp or lobster sauce. 
 
 HOW TO COOK HALIBUT. 
 
 soyer's receipt for halibut to boil. 
 
 A Halibut must be well rubbed over with salt and lemon before it 
 is put in the water ; have ready a large Halibut-kettle half full of cold 
 water, and to every six quarts of water, put one pound of salt, lay the 
 fish in and place it over a moderate fire : a Halibut of eight pounds 
 may be allowed to simmer twenty minutes or rather more ; thus it will 
 be about three-quarters of an hour altogether in the water ; when it 
 begins to crack very slightly, lift it up with the drainer, and cover a 
 
DIUKCTlONs Fo|{ (OoKINiJ. I |-.i 
 
 elcnn white nnpkin over it ; if you intend serving the snuee over vour 
 fish, tli.sh it up without a napkin ; if not, tlish it upon n nnpkin nml 
 Imve rea«lj some j;oo<l sprigs of th)uhl«' parsley to garnish it with, and 
 *er%-e very hot. 
 
 IlAI.im'T .\ I.A f IlKMR. 
 
 Cook the Ilnlihut as ahovc, and dish it witliout a. napkin (l)ut ho eare- 
 ful that it is well drained hefore you place it on the dish, and ahsorh 
 what water runs from the fish with a napkin, for that Tnpior would spoil 
 your sauce, and cause it to lose that creamy suhstanee which it ought to 
 retain ; this renmrk applies to all kinds of fish that is served uji with 
 the sauce over it) ; then put one pint of cream on the fire in a good- 
 sized stew-pan, and when it is nearly sitnmering adil half-a-pound of 
 fresh butter, and stir it as (juickly as possible until the butter is melteil. 
 but the cream must not bnil ; then add a liaison of three yolks of eggs, 
 season with a little salt, pepj-er, and lemonjuice, pour as much over 
 the Halibut as will cover it, and serve tlie remainder in a boat ; or 
 if not approved of, dish the fish on a napkin, garnish with jmrsley, 
 and sene the sauce in a boat. This sauce must not be matle until the 
 moment it is wante<l. 
 
 HM.intT s\t< K IIOMAUn. 
 
 Cook the Halibut as before, then take an ounce of lobster spawn and 
 pouml it in a mortar with a quarter of a |>ound of fresh butter, rub it 
 through a hair sieve with a wooden spoon upon a plate ; have ready a 
 pint of good melted butter nearly boiling, into which put the red butter, 
 and season with a teaspoonful of essence of anchovy, a little Harvey 
 «auce, cayenne pepper, and salt, then cut up the flesh of the lobster in 
 dice and put in the lauce ; serve it in a liont very hot. 
 
 llALinrT \ LA ilOLLANDAlHR. 
 
 Cook the Halibut a* before, and dish without a napkin ; then put 
 the yolks of four eggs in a «tew.pan with half-a-pound of fresh butter, 
 the juice of a lemon, half a teaspoonful of nalt, and a quarter of one of 
 white pepper : wt it orcr a Mow fire, stirring it the whole time quickly: 
 when the butter is half melte<l take it off the fire for a few seconds 
 («till keeping it Ktirred). till the butter \n quite meltcHl, then place it 
 
450 APPENDIX. 
 
 again on the fire till it thickens, then add a quart of melted butter, stir 
 it again on the fire, (but do not let it boil, or it would curdle and be 
 useless), then pass it through a tammie into another stew-pan, make it 
 hot in the bain-marie, stirring all the time ; pour it over the fish or 
 serve in a boat. The sauce must be rather sharp ; add more seasoning 
 if required. 
 
 HALIBUT A LA MAZARINE. 
 
 Cook the fish as above, then have all the spawn from two fine hen- 
 lobsters ; if not sufficient, get some live spawn from the fishmonger's, 
 making altogether about two ounces ; pound it well in the mortar and 
 mix it with half-a-pound of fresh butter, rub it through a hair sieve, 
 place it upon ice until firm, then put it in a stew-pan with the yolks 
 of four eggs, a little pepper, half a teaspoonful of salt, and four table- 
 spoonfuls of lemon-juice, place it over the fire and proceed as for the 
 sauce Hollandaise, adding the same quantity of melted butter, and two 
 teaspoonfuls ^f essence of anchovy, pass it through a tammie into a 
 clean stew-pan to make it hot, dish the fish without a napkin, soaking 
 up the water in the dish with a clean cloth, and pour the sauce over it ; 
 be careful the sauce does not boil, or it will curdle. 
 
 This dish is one of the most elegant, and is the best way of dressing 
 a Halibut ; for I have always remarked that, notwithstanding its sim- 
 plicity, it has given the greatest satisfaction, both for its delicateness 
 and appearance, causing no trouble — only requiring care. 
 
 HALIBUT EX MATELOTE NORMANDE. 
 
 Procure a smallish Halibut, one weighing about ten pounds would be 
 the best ; cut off part of the fins, and make an incision in the back, 
 butter a sautt'-pan (large enough to lay the Halibut in quite flat), and 
 put three tablespoonfuls of chopped shalots, three glasses of sherry or 
 Madeira, half a teaspoonful of salt, a little white pepper, and about 
 half-a-pint of white broth into it, then lay in the Halibut and cover it 
 o\er with white sauce, start it to boil over a slow fii'e, then put it into 
 a moderate oven about an hour, try whether it is done with a skewer ; 
 if the skewer goes througli it easily it is done, if not, bake it a little 
 longer, then give it a light brown tinge with the salamander, place the 
 fish upon a dish to keep it hot, then put a pint of white sauce in the 
 sautc-pan and boil it fifteen minutes, stirring it all the time, then pass 
 
I'lKij I n'.N^ I <ii; < ooKINC. |:,| 
 
 ii tliruugh a tuiiiiuic into a cleau &tew-|iaii, aiul udtl u liitlc cayenne 
 pfjijiiT, two tablc:»|>uonrul:i of cssfiicu of anchovies, two dozen of ovstern 
 (blanclieili, two ilozen of bniuil niuslirooin:), two dozen tiueuclles, six 
 !«l>oonfuls of uiilk, a teaspoonful of .sugar, reduce it till about the thick- 
 ness of bevhafuel sauce, tluri add ei^ht tables|)o<>nfuls of cream and the 
 juice of a luiuou, |)our over the Halibut : have ready twenty corAtons of 
 bread cut triangularly from the crust of a French roll, and fried in 
 butter ; jdacc them round the dish and jmss the salamander over it ami 
 serve. 
 
 HALUllT EN MATKLOTK VlKKliK. 
 
 Hoil a Halibut aa before, dish it up without a napkin, and have ready 
 the following sauce : Chop two onions very fine and put them in a stew- 
 pan with four glasses of sherry, a sole cut in four pieces, two cloves, one 
 blade of mace, a little grated nutmeg, tome parsley, and one bay-leaf; 
 boil altogether five minutes, then add a quart of white sauce, boil twenty 
 minutes, stirring all the time, then put a tammie over a cican stew-pan. 
 and colander over the tammie, pass the sauce, take tl>e meot off the 
 sole and rub it through tlie tammie with two .spoons into the sauce, nd»l 
 half a pint of broth, boil it again until it is rather thick, season with a 
 tea.sjHjnnful of salt, one of sugar, the juice of a lemon, and fini.^h with 
 half-a-piut of cream whipt. mix it cjuickly and pour over the fish ; 
 garnish with white-bait and fried oysters (that have been egged ami 
 bread-crumbed), or if there i? no white-bait, smelts will do. 
 
 HALIBUT X LA UKLIGIKl'MK. 
 
 Drc&s the Halibut as before, and cover with Hollandaise sauce ; 
 chop son»e Taragon chervil, and one French truHle, which sprinkle 
 over it ; naniisb with hard-boiled eggs cut in four length wine and laid 
 round. 
 
 llALIJIirr X LA CHKME (ghatlxk). 
 
 I'ut u quarter of a [M^und of Hour in a stew-pan, miji it gently with 
 a quart of milk, be careful that it is not lumpy, then add two phalot.s. 
 a bunch of parsley, one bay-leaf, and a eprig of thyme tied together, ft>r 
 if put in loose it would spoil the colour of your »aucu (which should be 
 quite white), then add a little grated nutmeg, a tca»po«mful of salt and 
 a i|uartcr ditto of |>cpp«.'r. place it over a sharp tire and stir it the whole 
 
45£ APPEI^DIX. 
 
 time, boil it till it forms rather a thickisli paste, then take it off the fire 
 and add half-a-pound of fresh butter and the yolks of two eggs, mix 
 them well into the sauce and pass it through a tammie, then having the 
 remains of a Halibut left from a previous dinner, you lay some of the 
 sauce on the bottom of a dish, then a layer of the Halibut, without any 
 bone, season it lightly with pepper and salt, then put another layer of 
 sauce, then fish and sauce again until it is all used, finishing with sauce; 
 sprinkle the top lightly with bread-crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese; 
 put it in a moderate oven half-an-hour, give it a light brown colour with 
 the salamander, and serve it in the dish it is baked in. 
 
 HALIBUT A LA POISSONIERE. 
 
 Boil a Halibut as before, and take it up when only one-third cooked, 
 then put in a large saute-pau or baking-sheet forty button onions 
 peeled and cut in rings, two ounces of butter, two glasses of port wine, 
 the peel of half a lemon, and four spoonfuls of chopped mushrooms, 
 then lay in the Hahbut, and cover with a quart of brown sauce, set it in 
 a slow oven for an hour, then take it out and place it carefidly on a 
 dish, place the fish again in the oven to keep it hot, then take the 
 lemon-peel out of the sauce and pour the sauce into a stew-pan, reduce 
 it till rather thick, then add twenty muscles (blanched), twenty heads 
 of mushi'ooms, and about thirty fine prawns ; when ready to sei-ve add 
 one ounce of anchovy butter, a tablespoonful of sugar, and a little 
 cayenne pepper, stir it in quickly, but do not let it boil ; pour the sauce 
 over the fish, and serve very hot. 
 
 HALIBUT A LA CREME d'aNCHOIS. 
 
 Boil the Halibut and dish it without a napkin, then pour the following- 
 sauce over it and serve immediately : Put a quart of melted butter into 
 a stew-pan, place it on the fire, and when nearly boiling add six ounces 
 of anchovy butter, and four spoonfuls of wdiipt cream, mix it quickly, but 
 do not let it boil ; when poured over the fish sprinkle some chopped 
 capers and gherkins over it. 
 
 SMALL HALIBUT A LA MEUNIERE. 
 
 Crimp the Halibut by making incisions with a sharp knife, about an 
 inch apart, in the belly part of the fish, then rub two tablespoonfuls of 
 
DIKEITIUNS FOU CooKIN'U. \'t''> 
 
 L-liunped oiiious uml four of salt iiitu the iiici.sionrf. pour a little salatl oil 
 uvrr it, auil dip it iu tlour, then put it on a gridiron a goml distance from 
 the tire — the helly downwards — let it remain twent_^ minutes, then turn 
 it by phiciuij another gridiron over it, and turning the tish over on to it, 
 place it over the fire for about twenty-tivc minutes, or longer if reijuired; 
 when done place it upon a dish and have ready the following sauce: I'ut 
 six ounces of butter in a stew-pan, with ten spoonfuls of melted butter, 
 place it over the fire, moving the stew-pan round when very In it, but 
 not quite in oil, add a liaison of two yolks of eggs, a little pepiK'r, salt, 
 and the juice of a lemon, mix it «[uickly, and pour over the fisli ; 
 M>rve directly and very hot. The fish must be kept as white as pos- 
 -ilile. For the above purj)ose the Halibut should not exceed eight 
 pounds in weight. 
 
 IIALIKIT A L.V i.HATlS rilOVENlj'ALE. 
 
 This dish is made from fish left from a previous dinner. I'ul two table- 
 s-poonfuls of chopped onions, and two of chopped mushrooms into a slew- 
 pan with two tablespoonfuls of salad oil ; place it over a moderate fire 
 live minutes, stirring it with a wooden 8j)Oon ; then add three pints of 
 brown sauce, and reduce it one-third, then add a clove of scraped garlic, 
 a teaspoonful of Harvey sauce, one of essence of anchovy, a little sugar, 
 a little cayenne, and two yolks of eggs, pour a little sauce on the dish 
 vou servo it on, then a layer of fish lightly seasoned with pepper and salt, 
 then more sauce and fish again, finishing with sauce ; sprinkle bread- 
 crumbs over it and place it in a moderate oven half-an-hour, or till it is 
 verv hot through, brown it lightly with the salamander and serve very 
 hot. The garlic may be omitted if objected to, but it would lose the 
 flavour from which it is named. 
 
 HOW TO »'nOK WHITl.N'GS. 
 
 Hurr.K S RECEIIT roll WIIlTI.SliS, TO KKT THEM 
 
 Everv person knuw.<i the delicacy of this fish, and it« lightness as 
 fuud, especially invalids : it is generally well received at all table.-* : to 
 frv them well, dry them in a cloth, then throw them in Hour, egg nnd 
 
454 APPENDIX. 
 
 bread-crumb, fry them in hot lard, observing the directions for iryiiig 
 Soles ; serve them on a napkin with shrimp sauce in a boat, and garnish 
 with parsley. 
 
 WHITING AD GRATIN. • 
 
 Have the Whitings skinned, with their tails turned iuto their mouths; 
 butter a saute-pan and put in the Whitings, with a tablespoouful of 
 chopped onions and four tablespoonfuls of brown sauce over each ; 
 sprinkle bread-crumbs over them, and a little clarified butter, and put 
 them in a moderate oven half-an-hour ; take them out and dress them 
 on a dish without a napkin ; then put twelve tablespoonfuls more brown 
 sauce into the saute-pan, with a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms, one 
 ditto chopped parsley, one ditto essence of anchovy, a little pepper, 
 salt, and sugar, boil ten minutes, pour round the fish, and pass the sala- 
 mander over them. 
 
 WHITINGS BROILED. 
 
 Have the fish skinned and cm-led round, flour it, and lay it on the grid- 
 iron over a moderate fire ; it will take about twenty minutes ; dish it on 
 a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve plain melted butter in a boat. 
 Season when near done. 
 
 WHITINGS BOILED A LA MAITRE d'hoTEL. 
 
 Broil the fish as above, dish them without a napkin, have six table- 
 spoonfuls of melted butter in a stew-pan, put it on to boil, then add two 
 ounces of Maitre d'Hotel butter, stir it till it is melted, but do not let it 
 boil, and pour over the fish. 
 
 FILLETS OF WHITINGS FRIED. 
 
 Take the fillets of six small Whitiugs which have not been skinned, 
 
 dip them in flour, egg and bread-crumb them, and fry in very hot 
 
 lard ; garnish Avith fried parsley, and serve with sauce Hollandaise in a 
 boat. 
 
 FILLETS OF WHITINGS A LA HOLLANDAISE. 
 
 Fillet six Whitings as above, cut them in halves, then butter a saute- 
 pan, and lay in tlie fillets, skin side downwards ; season with a little 
 pepper, salt, and lemon-juice, place them over a slow fire five minutes, 
 
miiKrTioNs F(»i: took i no. 455 
 
 tiiiii iliciii aiitl |iliir«> tliom iijjaiii on tlio fin- ; wlion tldiio, ili^li tlum 
 roiuiil un a ilisli. aiul pour sdiiu- sauco Ilollaiulaisc ovor thcin. 
 
 FILLKTS OF WinTIN<iS A 1,'lTAI.IKN.NE. 
 
 Fillot and ilrcsa iho fish as in the last, ailding chopped parsley to the 
 soasoning, and inako the sauce as for Filets de Soles ii I'ltalicnne. 
 
 wiiiTiNt; A i.'nriLE. 
 
 Fry tilt' ^^ liitiiii; in very lint ^alad oil, instead of lard, i>f a very light 
 hrown colour ; dish it on a napkin, garnish witii friid parsley, and serve 
 shrimp sauee in a hoat. 
 
 nil: KM). 
 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
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