SK 449 .P96 Copy 1 UlBRARY OF CONGRESS. I # # f [SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT.] t t ^-v- SK443 ; ! UNITED STATES OP AMERICA.! THE PROTECTION OF GAME IN TEISTilSrE SSEE '-•nvv B -"Sr ^ft. L O '^ E I^ O ^^ 3Sr .A. T TJ H. E .v^ \^^ NASHVILLE: G. C. TORBETT & CO., PRINTERS 18 5 7. T O THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF TENNESSEE. The following articles originally appeared as communications in the Nashville Union and Amekican. They are from the pen of a gentleman of eminent liter- ary, social, and moral position. The attention of the writer — "A Lover of Na- TtTRE" in all its forms of use and beauty — had long been painfully attracted to the wanton, useless, and wicked destruction of the game and fish of our noble State, and to the necessity of the interference of the law-making power while there was yet time to prevent the entire depopulation of our forests and streams. These articles were prepared by him in the hasty and careless man- ner of newspaper communications, for the purpose of arousing public attention to the subject, and with no thought of their appearing in any other form. Their appearance, however, attracted marked and general attention throughout the State, and evidences of approval of their object flowed in upon the publishers from every quarter. They are now collected together and published in pamphlet form by a number of gentlemen, themselves also "Lovers of Nature," for the purpose of presenting the subject to the Members of the Legislature of Ten- nessee, and asking from them such protection, by law, of the fishes and game of Tennessee as the exigencies of the case demand. To you, then, gentlemen of the Legislature of Tennessee, we appeal for the protection of the fish and game of the State. Its destruction, by many of the modes at present employed, is as useless as it is wasteful and wicked. The law only can prevent tliis waste of God's best bounties and beauties. And for its interposition will ever pray YOUR CONSTITUENTS. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY — THE BIRDS OF TENNESSEE — FISH : THEIR HABITS. I HAVE been thinking for years that something could and ought to be done for the protection of game in our beautiful country. Unless steps are soon taken in the matter, we will wake up to the subject when it is too late ; for the fish are fast failing in the smaller streams, and the birds are being swept from our fields and woods; while if proper steps were taken at present, in ten years Tennessee would be one of the most interesting countries for game in the world. The thousands ot small streams that thread our country in every direction, are every way suitable for the raising of fish, and in point of latitude we have the advantage of all countries either north or south of us. If you go far south of us, the water in the small streams be- comes too warm and unhealthy during the summer months ; and further north there is too much frost in the winter and the raising season is too short. So that ours is the very latitude for the multiplication and growth of the finny tribe. As to birds, Tennessee ought to be the home of the birds. We have the finest forests in the world, which are their natural homes. In prairie countries, nothing could be done to protect them long; but in Tennessee, nothing but a wicked abuse of this blessing of heaven will drive them from our fields and for- ests, while a very little protection would soon make this country the land of birds. With respect to fish, it is known to all who have thought on the subject at all, that the small streams are nurseries of fish, and that if they are driven from the creeks and branches, or destroyed, they will soon fail in the large streams. It is for spawning or raising purposes that they ascend the small streams in the spring of the year, and it is the mother fish that ferret their way up these small branches till they find quiet, soft wa- ter, gently warmed by the sun; here they deposit their spawn and watch it for a while, during what is called the cerculing 6 season ; here the parent fish, with a mother's vigilance, hangs around the spot where the egg is deposited, untd the spawn comes forth. This is the habit of almost all of our game fish, viz : oar river salmon, jack fish, pike, valley trout, goggle-eye perch, silver perch, brim and channel cat, with a great variety of smaller fish. The red horse and different varieties of suck- ers also ran up into very small streams, but don't remain to watch their spawn ; yet the small streams supply the large ones with fish of this description also. The buflfalo, drum and mud or yellow cat, do not run up the small streams, but confine themselves for the purpose of raising their young to small riv- ers or large creeks, or extensive bars or shallows in the naviga- ble streams. I shall in my next notice the abuses by which the fish have been well nigh destroyed or driven fi*om our streams. CHAPTER II. HEAR AND THEN JUDGE SITUATION OF TENNESSEE AS REGARDS THE REPRODUCTION OF FISH WHITE PERCH. It may be necessary before proceeding further, for me to be- speak the forbearance of those who may be opposed to my views, until they hear me through. No matter what changes may be presented to the public, some person will be found who is ready to conclude that his rights are infringed, or his liber- ties are endangered. We will say just here, and for all, that we propose to take away no privilege from any that we would not lake from all, and the rights granted to one we would grant to all. The game of the country, whether of fish or fowl, is a com- Hion blessing and should be so regarded. I do not ask that indi- viduals should ^05^, either their lands or streams, but that mea- sures be taken to prevent a cruel destruction or wanton waste of the game of the country ; for should the practices that have obtained in this country be continued much longer, there will be neither fish nor fowl left. Those sections of this Union connected with the ocean or gulf, or large lakes, or inland seas, may be regarded, so far at least as the fish are concerned, protected by nature ; the creeks are wide, and lakes large, and low lands abundant, so that the fish will multiply in spile of the power of the destroyer. But the situation of Tennessee ia very different ; we are wholly de- pendant upon our rivers, creeks and brooks, or branches, and being a long way from the Gulf, were our fish once de.s;troyed, the re-supplying of our streams would be a difficult task. In the old world, and especially in some portions of France, the public mind was not awakened upon this subject until their streams were found to be without an inhabitant. Though they have taken measures now for a re-supply, and have passed pro- tection laws on the subject, it would have been much better had they thought, and acted, before their varieties were all destroyed, and while there was still a sufficient number of fish in their streams to have refitted them. I am happy to say of Tennessee that all of our original vari- eties of fish remain, but one, which is the black perch, and lam not sure but a few of them may yet be met with in the upper branches of the Tennessee river; but if it should be certain that this variety is now extinct, we have made a gain of one variety by the introduction of the white or silver perch, which have made their way from the lakes through the canals into the Ohio, and are now to be found in quite a number ol our western streams, and if protected would more than supply the loss of the black perch. But there is no fish that requires pro- tection more than this one. From the fact that they never dis- tribute themselves throughout the stream generally, as many other kinds do, but are always found in shoals, and preferring, as they do, still and shallow water, one single seine in an hour would destroy a whole family, and depupulate a small stream, but if properly protected they would be of great value, being a very delicate and excellent pan fish, and exceedingly prolific. I shall not be able in this number to reach the point promised in my last, viz: the modes of destruction hitherto practiced in this country, but I will try and reach it in my next. CHAPTER III. THE RIVEES OF TENNESSEE PERMANENT FISH MIGRATORY FISH HABITS OF THE CAT-FISH. In my last, I argued that the location of the State of Tennes- see is such in regaid to oceans, lakes nn<\ bays, that unless some- thing be done at once for the protection of fish, that it will soon be too late; but there are still enough left in our waters for a 8 re-supply — at any rate, this is true of a large number of our streams. The small streams that form the Tennessee river, have still a few fish in them ; though the two Pigeons and the French Broad, all of which teemed with fish of the finest qual- itj^, are now almost exhausted. The two Holstons are in a bet- ter condition, and Clinch and Chucky rivers are still talked of by anglers, though the present systematic course of destruction will soon leave their waters without an inhabitant. Streams emptying in lower down have not suffered so much ; the lower portions of Elk and Duck rivers are pretty well supplied. But creeks and branches by the hundred, where multitudes of the finny tribe were once found, are now lelt desolate and forsaken. The Cumberland and its branches are in a still worse condition than the Tennessee river. Aged men, who were among the early settlers of this country, who knew these streams when teeming thousands of fish played on the shallows or crowded the eddies, talk of the astonishing changes that have taken place, and seem to lament them, but have forgotten how they contributed to the destruction which has left these streams nearly desolate. There are many persons, no doubt, who engage in those wasteful, destructive practices, and condemn it at the same time, but justify themselves by saying: If I do not get a few w^hile they are going they will soon all be gone, any how ; I only want to get my share while they are going. The fish were made by the Almighty for the use and benefit of man, and blest with prolific powers sufficient to furnish an abundant supply for all, if it were not for the destructive mea- sures which have been devised and practiced by those for whose benefit they were created. It may be that the public generally have not given the sub- ject the consideration it deserves, which is the best apology that we can make for them. The habits of the fish ought to be first understood, and then we would more clearly see how they have been destroyed and how they may be protected. On this point I would just observe, that there are some kinds that settle them- selves permanently, or nearly so, while others move semi-annu- ally. The Bass or Pound Trout, as they are sometimes called, the Silver Perch, the Pike, the Red-Eyed Sun Perch, the Goggle Eyed, the Brim, together with a variety of small Perch, called the Yellow Belly, do not in general travel much. Here let me say, lest I forget it hereafter, to those who are disposed to make fish ponds, for the purpose of raising fit^h, that they will have to rely on a selection from this variety. Keep out the Catfish : they are great consumers and of but little value when raised. The Buffalo, the Drum, the Redhorse, ths Jack-fish, the fresh 9 water Salmon, with the different kinds of Suckers, all move twice a year ; the Buffalo and Suckers are the greatest travel- ers. The Black Scaly Trout, also belong to this class. The Eel has well nigh passed away from the western waters, and the same may be said of the river Sturgeon, though there may be still enough of them both left to rai.«e from. The Catfish is to be found in all the western waters. They are very prolific, fine swimmers, great eaters, less timid than other fish, wonderfully tenacious of life, and need protection less than any other kind of fish, if it be right to call them fish. The variety of the Cat- fish is so great that I cannot notice that point now ; they seem to have gone through a great number of additions and crosses. CHAPTER IV. H.iBITS OF MIGRATORY FISH THE HSII TRAP THE FRENCH BROAD RIVER RESULTS AND TENDENCIES OF THE FISH TRAP. In my last I showed something of the habits of fish, which will open to the mind of any, a view of the instruments of destruction, and also what will have to be done for protection. The migrating fish, as we have before stated, move twice in the year, viz: Spring and Fall. Th«y ascend in the Spring for the purpose of spawning, and raising their young, and return in the Fall of the year, or at the approach of cold weather, to spend the winter in deeper water. Some kinds ascend a considerable distance, while others only go up to the first fiat, bar, or little neck or pool of water suited to their purpose, though all of the migrating class move enough to expose themselves to the dangers of the fish traps, as they are called, which is the first instrument of destruction that wc shall take in hand. The fish trap has, no doubt, done more to either destroy or drive out the fish from all broad shallow streams in our State than anything else, particularly the migiatory kind. Take the French Broad as an instance. It is one of the most beau- tiful streams in the world, and every way suitable for raising fish in great quantities. It is too shallow, clear and broad for seines, and the hook and gig would only be able to thin them out enough to make them thrive. But you will find a fish 10 trap every h;ilf mile almost, and such has been the effect of these tr;i[)3 that the fish are almost entirely destroyed or driven out, so that when you ask some dweller on the banks of that beautiful stream, with regard to the fish, he answers: *' there aii't none here," — "they're all gone." And the French Broad is not a solitary case ; many other streams are nearly in a like condition. The fish trap is often so constructed as to catch the fish, both as they ascend and descend, and you will find them so completely adapted to the purpose, that at a proper stage of water every fi:h Irom our streams. This is only one of many modes of destruction, which will, in due time, be brought to notice. CHAPTER V. THE SEINE SEINING IN HARPETH RIVER. In my last I showed something of the destructive nature of fijih-traps, on the fish in our streams, and promised in my next to notice the seine and dip net. The fish-trap is no doubt the most destructive mode of fishing, as it regards those fish that move to a considerable distance up and down the stream, while the seine is the great destroyer of those fish that locate them- selves, and become resident fish. One thing that makes the seine so objectionable is the particular season of the year in which seining is done, which is generally June and July. Be- fore that time the water in the stream is too cold, and generally too flush. Well: what are the facts in the case ? In the first place, the weather is too hot to save fish for any length of time, so that in general the fish that are caught become tainted be- fore they can be got into the pan. In the nextplace, the water in the stream becomes warm and stagnant, so that the fish are unhealthy, and consequently unfit for food ; and further, if the water was pure enough to keep them sound and healthy, the fish themselves are in the mid.>t of their nursing season, and not suitable for food on that account. 12 Now, that the reader may have this subject before him in a form that will be readily understood, I will give an instance : Some time since I was on board a boat that came to at the mouth of Harpelh, on the Cumberla'^d River, in order to take on board .i number of gentlemen who had come down to Har- peth from Nashville and its vicinity, for the purpose of seining. I should think there were about twenty persons in the company. They had a seine that cost them, as well as I recollect, about one hundred and thirty dollars, and had been out three or four days. I soon fell in with the fishermen, having a fondness for the sport myself. I found they had just six iish with them, all Buffaloes. The Buffalo fish will resist taint longer than any fish we have, owing to the fact no doubt that they are covered with a very large thick scale that resists the atmosphere. On asking, " are these all you caught ?" in answer they said : " we caught lots and gobs," and in the course of conversation, I learned these facts : They went to the stream at the head of a long and deep pool of water, and put in the seine, it being long enough to reach across the stream, and dragged it down some two or three hundred yards at least, to the lower end of the deep water, and came to shore with about eleven hundred fine fish, which they drew out on the sand. The day was very warm, the process of drawing the seine was very slow and very laboriou:^, and by this time the day was far spent, and so wrts the strength of the seiners. Measures had been taken to make themselves comfortable; a camp had to be pitched, dry clothes, rest and food were indis- pensable, which took the whole of the night, and by morning their fish were all spoiled. But still they were determined to have fish, so they moved a half mile lower down the stream to another deep hole of water, and di'ew their seine through it, and caught about twelve hundred fine fish. Now to make sure of these they took small ropes and bark, which they run through the gills of the fish, and attempted to tow them down the stream to the mouth ; but the process drowned the fish, and the length and heat of the day was too great, so the whole lot, with the exception of the six mentioned above, were spoiled, and they were in rather a doubtful state. I suppose the gentlemen did not get one fish home with them in a sound state, so that some twenty-two or three hundred fine fish were hauled out on the Band to rot, hundreds of them large jack and trout, with a quantity of red horse and buffalo. I suppose there must have been at least eight thousand pounds ot fine food destroyed — say two thousand dollars worth. Now this is no Bolitary case ; it is about a specimen of seine fishing id our country ; and if the loss of fish taken was all it would not be 13 so bad, but they take the mother fifh away from their spawn and leave the spawn to be destroyed, ?o that the destruction ia wholesale, and unless there is some protection for the fi:»h in our small streams there will not be a fish left. But if proper measures be taken there will soon be fish enough in our waters to supply the wants of all. More on this subject in my next. CHAPTER VI. SEINING, CONTINUED THE DIP-NET. I PROMISED in my last to say something more on the subject of seining. I regard the seine and dip-net among the fruitful destroyers of the fish in small streams. Take a single case in the county of Robertson. About five miles of a small stream have been posted for some two or three years only. Before this step was taken, it was with ditHculty that a fish could be found in the bounds large enough for the pan, and the protec- tion only extends to that of seine and dip-nets, and what is the result? The angling is now decidedly good — the s-tream seems to be well supplied, and at any time in an hour, a sufficient number of fine trout and perch may be taken with hook and line, to furnish a meal for a large family — while the large fish are caught out, giving the small ones a better chance to grow. Catching the fish "with a seine at the time that it is done gen- erally, is a violation of the intentions and provisions of Provi- dence, from the fact that the time selected by seiners is gener- ally June and July, which is the spawning and raising season, and it is complete destruction to take the mother fish from watching her spawn at that time, and the fish themselves not suitable for food, being lean and unhealthy, because of the warm slate of the weather, together with other natural causes. To make the point so plain that the reader shall not fail to un- derstand me, I would say, you had just as well kill for the table a sitting hen or partridge off her nest. And that the fish might be protected while in this state, God has so constituted them that they will not bite during this period, so that they are safe so far as the angler is concerned, unless the live bait, minnow or craw-fish, as the case may be, should be thrown within their circle, so as to endanger their eggs ; in that case they will seize the bait to bear it off. At that moment they are sometimes taken with a hook, but if let alone a few seconds they will, when H they have gone a sufRcient distance from their spawn, cast the bait, hook and all out of their mouth, During thi:^ nursing season we have no evidence that the molher fish takes any solid food. Anglers sometimes at that season take the male fish, though it is a very unsuccessful season of the year for the angler. But this is the very period in which the seine and the dip-net do their mischief. The fish are feeble and less timid than at other times, being like all other parents, bold when their younr; are in danger; and they are lurther exposed from the fact thi^t they select water which is comparatively shallow, that the sun may aid in hatching the egg. Now, is it not too bad that we should take advantage of thia particular period, and go with seine and dip-net and catch all the parent fish, and leave the e^gs to be eaten up by Irogs, turtle and craw-fish, and thus in a few days entirely drain a beau- tiful stream of a year's supply of fish? A gentleman informed me ihe other day, that in a little pool of water in a small stream, produced by a slight dam which had been thrown across in order to raise the water so as to move a wheel to hoist water into a tan-yard, 250 parent trout had been taken by a seine. The fish had stopped in this quiet, soft wa- ter, some three feet deep, to raise their young. Had they been let alone for twelve months, they would have completely stocked the creek, but a long seine took them all out at once. The day was hot and sunny, th'i fish poor and thin, and in all probability before they could getthem home and oiepare them for the pan, they were spoiletl ; and at any rate the man with the seine had no right to all the fish in the creek, and had they been his own he would not have caught so many at once, and blasted his prospects of ever getting any more. Such things ought not to be allowed. CHAPTER VII. THE EACK — THE BUSH-DRAQ THE SET-NET. In my last two numbers I showed some of the evil effects of seine and dip net fishing. In this number I shall pay my re- spects to the raclr, bush-drag and set-net. The rack fishing is but seldom resorted to, and it may be necessary that I give a description of it. A number of racks are made, generally about twelve feet in length, and eight feet 15 in width, and linked together with ropes, until they will reach acro!?9 the stream; and where the bottom of the t?tream is suit- able, they take every fi-h that is not sin;ill enough to pa^ig through the bars of the rack. But i is so difRculi to titul a Buiiable ydace for this mode of fishing, and the whole allair is attended with so much trouble, exposure, and ev^n dan- ger, that I do not suppose that the rack will ever come into general use, though the same objectmn may be urged against the rack that can be brought against seines and dip-net-;, ex- cept that they do not drag so many small fish out on the sand to die. As the racks are difficult to keep to the bottom of the stream, very liable to become foui, or to be upset by the cur- rent, it requires a number of persons, about one lor each rack; and as the operation is slow and heavy, persons often coiitinue in the water until they become exhausted, so tliat a number of persons have been drown.' d by the Uj)>etting of the racks, while others have si^keneii and died ironi the exposure And whde I grant that there are not a great number ot fish de- stroyed by this mode of fishing, yet as it will not pav for the trouble, and is very hazardous withal, it woidd be a blessintj to discontinue it. I will here state one single fact for the advan- tage of those who may not have thought on the subject — just let the rack be drawn through any poo! of water duiini; the day, and all the fish that are not resid nt tish will lea\e the following night, if it be possible for them to get out, ^tnd drop lower down the stream. Let the racks be abandoned. The bush-drag, which is resorted to by bi ys and negroes on Sundays, is an exceedingly de-tructive mode of fi^mng. It bears every thing before and in it, am a- (hev are, generally, imperfectly landed, if we take into the a< count the ^mall fish that are either borne out on the sand by the beam that goes before the drag, together with the number that bec<(me entan- gled in the limhs and die, I should think ten are destroyed for •very one that is taken. This mode ol fishing ought not to be allowed. As to the set-net, w'hich is generally placed at the mouths of small streams, and is a very suc( es-lul plan of fi-hing. nothing can be said against this mode of fishin'j[, on account of the sea- son of the \ear or con rition of the fish. Yet I leel a strong opposition to the set net, from the fact that it is a monopoly of the most exclusive character. i he man who owns th< mouth of the creek takes posses^ion of all the fish in it. and will in two or three years depopulate the stream entirely ot all mL^ra- ting fish, for, notwithstanding the fish run up the small streams on the rise of water for the purpose of feening ar^d breathing, as they cannot breathe well in muddy water, yet the eaine iisk 16 that ascend the stream one time to deposit their spawn, go up at another lime to feed ; so that you may, by the use of a set- net, at the mouth of a small stream, as the water runs out on the fall of the large stream, catch all the parent and spawning fish that belong to the small stream, and reduce it to utter de- stitution, while other small streams in the neighborhood may still have a supply of fish. No good neighbor, we think, if he understand the facts as they are, would so cut off" all the sup- ply fi'om those about him, and ultimately blast his own pros- pects for a mess ; and as a set-net costs from one to two hun- dred dollars, the outfit is too expensive for the poor. I know that I should not calmly submit to have a set-net at the mouth of a stream on which I might live. Let us away with all such wholesale methods of fishing, and give ail a chance to get a few fish, in the first place, and not destroy the seed, so that we may have a mess next year also. CHAPTER VIII. POISONING FISH EXPERBIENTS IN FRANCE A CASE NEAR NASH- VILLE HABITS OF GAME FISH THE STREAMS OF TENNESSEE. In my last I laid before the reader a few thoughts with re- spect to the destructive nature of racks, bush-drags, and set- nets. We will now turn the attention of the public to the va- rious systems of poisoning. There is already a statute against the use of India berries, but it is pretty much a dead letter, from the fact that no great advantage could be gained by enforcing the law on that point, while so many other destructive practices are allowed : and if India berries were not to be used, the evil would not be reme- died, from the fact that quite a number of poisons have been discovered and used. Green buckeyes, mashed up and thrown into the water where it is quiet, will kill the fish in a very few minutes. Green walnuts will have the same efiect, and the smart weed, as it is called, will also kill the fish. Three or four boys with baskets, supplied with buckeyes, walnuts or smart weed, will go into a pool of water, and by churning about through the water for half an hour, v/ill poison all the fish in the hole, great and small, and one woidd think the fish, if they eat them, would in turn poison the boys. And I have in a few instances known men, grown men, to be guilty of 17 . thu? poisoning fish. It really seems tome that we in this country have put ourselves to work to see how completely, effactually, and wantonly we could destroy all the fish out of our streams. F.sh-traps, seines, dip-nets, racks, bush-drags, set-nets, and what they leave are strangled with poison. Will we su%r without an effort at exposure this stale of things to con- tinue, until, like large portions of the old world, and France in particular, there is not a fish left in our waters ? Though France, at present, is importing spawn or fish eggs from other countries, and guarding and protecting the fish by law, audit is likely by the time our fish are all destroyed or driven out, they will have their rivers and streams well supplied. In this poisoning process, if an individual was only to poison a few fish at a time, just what he could eat, and was to eat them and poison himself, it would not be so bad; but in an hour he poisons hu^idreds, yes, sometimes, taking the small fish into account, thousands, while a half dozen is as many as come within his reach or drift to shore. Take a case : A gen- tleman within a few miles of the city of Nashville made him- self a pond, miinly (or the purpose of cutting ice from it in the winter; but, finding it remained over summer, deep, cold and clear, he put himself to no little trouble to procure a l:ne vari- ety of fi h to raise from, and left them some three years to multiply until the angling became splendid ; but some boys came at last, and not being j-repared for angling, they gathered buckeyes, beat them up, and churned them about the pcad, and then waited until they got a mess. But what was the result ? Ttie gentleman told the writer that not less, it seemed to him, than a four-horse wagon load of fine trout and perch were soon after found dead and floating on the water of the pond — and I think it likely that several millions of fish are destroyed in this State every Saturday during the summer, and were it not for the fact that we have the most lovely streams that (lod ever made, of which we have any knowledge, for fish, they would have besn utterly drained before now, and would only be thought of as hog wallows. The State is admirably situated as to rivers, creeks and branches, being for the most part clear, cold, living streams, abounding with shoals and eddies, having current enoug-i to keep them pure, with rocky or gravelly bottoms; and here I will state, for the information of those who have not thought on the fcubject, that the game-fish, as they are called, will not prosper where there is no sand or gravel for them to scour their sides against. So those who make fish ponds, if there is no rock at the bottom or sides of them, will have to haul some and put into their ponds. Cats and eels will do with a mud bottom, but jack, 2 18 trout and perch need the sand or gravel. In addition to the favor- able bottoms of our streams, they are genersUy well shaded, which serves the double purpose of protecting the fish from the heat of the sun, as v/e\\ as furnishing food from the bugs and worms that fall continually from their branches. Were we properly pro- tected, — protected alone from the destruction, not from the use of fish, for they would be so abundant that we could not eat them up, — our streams would soon be the praise and ornament of the State. While on the other hand, we are so far f,'om the Gulf that if our streams were completely cleared of fish, I do not know that they would return again in a century, particu- larly what we regard as resident fish. I shall in my next point out the course which I think ought to be taken, together with the modes of fishing which ought to be resorted to. CHAPTER IX. THE RETvIEDY HOW SHALL WE CATCH FISH? I PROMISED in my last number that I would in my next give my views with respect to what ought to be done for the protec- tion of fish, which is as follows: Let the Legislature pass a law prohibiting fish-traps, and seining in all streams that are not conridered navigable. Let the dip-net be entirely prohibited. Prohibit, also, the use of the rack, bush-drag, a,nd set-net, and all kinds of poisoning for the purpose of killing fish. The manufacture of domestic or any kind of cloth where dyes are used, or paper mills, will have to be exceptions : as these estal>- lishments are indispensable and of public utility, they must be allowed. The poi;;onous dyes from the dye-tub, or the vitriol and other minerals fi-om the waste-tub, do not affect the streams below to any great distance, and even if they did they would still have to be allov/ed. Now, it may be that persons may be found who are sufficiently selfish to wish some of these practi- ces allow^ed. For instance, a man ow^ning both sides of a small stream may complain that his rights are infringed upon, because he is not allowed t.) put in a fish trap ; but let him remember that the trap is a draft on all the fish in the stream, and he has no more right to all the fish in the creek than he has to all the air a,nd sunshine in the neighborhood, and the bare fact that he has it in his power to have a fish-trap should not even tempt him to appropriate all the fish to his own purposes, or at least 19 as many of them as he want?, and leave the balance to mink?, muskrate and racoons. Keep out the trap, and let the fish freel}' pass up and down, and multiply, and there will soon be enough for all. With respect to the other modes of destruction,! think, with one consent, the whole community will say, away with seines, racks, dip-nets and bush-drags ; but it may be that some may gtill desire to have the privilege of setting in the mouths of creeks set-nets. I have said all I care to saj' on this subject elsewhere, and I think any reasonable man will see at once the impropriety, not to say the injustice, of an}' such contrivances. Let them be prohibited by all means. The question now comes up, how shall we catch fish? for, as catching is before hanging, so it is before cooking. In an- swer, I would say, the most effectual mode is the trot - line ; next, the angler's method, the rod and line ; next, gigging, shooting and cane and spike, and seining in navigable streams. The method of angling embraces what is called bottom-fishing, fly- fishing and the bobs. I do not like the cane and spike, from the fact that they catch but little else than the parent fish in the raising season ; but as they can do nothing but in clear and shallow water, they are not much to be dreaded. The gig is objectionable on the ground that they kill and leave more than they catch, and alarm and drive out the fish into larger streams; but the gig can only be employed when the waters are clear, and the fish are not much reduced by them, as our waters are always milky and flush in the Spring and early part of Sum- mer, and the small fish always escape t'ne man with the gig. There is a method of snatching or grabbing, which is done by a cluster of hooks at the end of the line, which is thrown in among the fish while shoaling, as it is called, rather while the fish are cleaning their winter coat and polishing their .scales on the sand and gravel. This plan of fishing is not objectionable, from the fact that large fine fish are generally taken, and ihat too, while the fieh are in good condition, and before the raising season commences. Nature intended, no doubt, that in the main, and in all streams the fish should be taken with the hook, from the fact that they protect themselves during the raiding season by refusing to bite, so that the angler or trot-line fisherman never can destroy the fish. But it is objected by some that quite a number of the fish will not bite. That is a great mistake. There is not a f s'l in our waters but may be taken with a book and line — not one. The cat will bite at almost everything. The jack, trout, salmon, andall the varieties of the perch, will bite at a live branch n:in- 20 now. The buffalo will bite at a mush bait. The drum will bite at a muscle, craw-fish or worm. The red-horse, and the varieties of sucker, M'ill bite at a worrn, while in lake or clear streams, the bass or trout will rise to the fly. The fact is, that fish are general in their food, and will eat almost anything that any- thing else will eat, even to frogs and snakes. These methods of fishing may be followed v/ithout exposure, and the fish taken are generally of good size, and at proper seasons of the year. The outfit cost but little. The boy, the son of a poor widow, can get a dozen hooks for a dime, get him a cotton string for a line, a pebble for his sinker, a hazel switch for a rod, and dig him a gourd of worms. Thus an outfit of two cents will enable him to supply his mother with savory fish. It is the aliment of the poor, food furnished by the Almighty for his creatures. It ought not to be destroyed, abused, or made a monopol}'. Let the destructive methods be prohibited, and then the fish will soon become abundant, and these quiet and innocfcnt methods that I have mentioned will give to every man. rich and poor, fish when wanted. CHAPTER X. THE PROTECTION OF GAME - — THE DEER THE FOX THE BEAR THE RACCOON THE RABBIT THE SQUIRREL, &C. Having said all that I wish to say at present on the subject of fish, I shall now direct the attention of the reader to the protection of game in a more proper sense. Our State is well suited to the production and multiplication of several kinds of game, among animals and birds, having a full proportion of mountains and forest, with an abundant sup- ply of water and food for them, so that with a very slight protection, game would soon become abundant. The larger game, such as buffalo and elk, are already gone, and are to be found only on the frontier, and bear are f^nly to be found in a few counties of the State, and I do not think that any- thing could be done to protect them. Neither do I think they are of sufficient value to deserve protection ; for the ob- ject is to have protection only with a A'iew to benefit the masses. Deer are less inclined to fly before the sound of the woodman, and are yet to be found in almost every county in the State, or, at least, in a large portion of the State, and as 21 the undergrowth is growing up in the timber portions of the country, it is the belief of tlie knowing ones on the subject, that in despite of the efforts which are continually being made to drive them off and kill them up, still th-^y are, in some sec- tions, on the increase. Could the good people of Tennessee get their consent to discontinue the practice of running the deer with dogs, they would multiply rapidly, and would cease to migrate, and soon become numerous. The still hunter would not be able to drive them out. They ought, by all means, to be protected, by law, in the raising season, and if those who have dogs would only consent to chase the fox for a while with their dogs, we would soon have in our mountain and hill portions, and, in fact, in all our unsettled sections, deer in abundance. The fox needs no protection. The fox-hunter does not wish to destroy, but only to chase his game, and if they were all destroyed the public would not be much the worse for it. The flesh is not fit for the table, and the promise of profit from their fur is very slight; they are only useful in furnishing sport for a portion of our citizens, and as the sportsmen do not des- troy them when they can avoid it, 1 think the fox does not require any prelection by law\ The raccoon and oppossum are of more value than the fox. They deserve more attention at our hands, and yet we do not think any legislation necessary in their case, as they are both so utterly worthless in the raising season that no one, not even the most h'mgry negro, ever thinks of killinsj: them during that time; and on that account, I am inclined to the opinion that they aie rapidly on the increase throughout the country ; so that at present, with a good dog, a frosty night, and a skirt of woods, you can have fine sport. In regard to these animals we need no protection. The rabbit of our country is becoming quite an object. Some object to them because of their fondness for cabbage and the bark of young trees in hard weather, but all you ought to do is to tie some cornstalks around your young trees in winter, and put a scare crow near your plant bed in spring, and the rabbit will do you no harm, and will furnish you any amount of sport for men and boys in the winter; in fact, I do not see how the boys could do without them — and a young, fat rabbit, well prepared, is good for food any winter morning. But the rabbit in the raising season is so utterly mean and contemptible, that no well raised dog will run them at that time, so that they need no protection by law. The squirrels, which were once common to our forests, are rapidly disappearing. A general war has been kept up 22 against them in this country until a man may now travel a whole day through our forests and not see one, where there used to be one for every tree. The squirrel is not only good for food, but highly ornamental. The groves in and near to the Eastern Cities, from which the squirrel had for many years been driven or killed out, are now being re-supplied at con- siderable cost and trouble. Had I a grove of ten acres about my house, with ten squirrels in it, I would not lake ten dollars a piece for them. A squirrel is a semi-domestic animal, and if let alone, and a little cared for by man, they would soon become tame. Let the old shot guns be turned another way, and keep the dogs off of them for awhile, and your groves would again be vocal with their barking. They are an ex- ceedingly neat, beautiful and sprightly anim-al, and it would cure a fit of blues any time to see a family of them at play in the trees in your yard. 1 do not thirds that there ought lo be any more squirrels killed for the next ten years, and not then inside of any inclosure, unless by the consent of the proprie- tor. They are a resident animal, and never move unless they move en masse, and that to a considerable distance. What is more provoking than for some worthless, lazy fellow, who will not work, to come with his old shot gun, and tear a mother squirrel all in pieces, when she is just building her nest, after you have been feeding her all winter with your hogs, and have been promising yourself the pleasure of having half a dozen young ones soon racing through your groves and grounds; and all for a single dime: for after her skin is torn off and thrown to the dogs, ten cents is all that the carcess will fetch in the market. Squirrels ought not longer be thought of as food, but as an ornament to our groves. Let them be protected at any rate in the spring and summer. I shall take up our fowls and birds in my next. CHAPTER XI. THE EIKDS 0? OUR STATE ^THE NECESSITY OF PROTECTING THEM THEIR USES AND BEAUTY. J PROMISED in my last to treat in this number of the protec- tion of birds. The persons who are the settlers of nev/ countries are apt to look upon the timber and game as superabundant, and take 23 care of neither, so that they slay the timber and make war upon the game as though the supply was inexhaustible. This course of conduct is generally kept up until shade and timber become scarce, and the game all gone. The evil is at last dis- covered, but not until too late. Groves have to be planted, shade has to be grown, and game, if they ha.ve any, has to be imported in order to bring the country back again to its original state of beauty and loveliness. The findings that determine the squatter with regard to the spot ivhere he should build, you will find in the main to have been about as follows : First, a spring; next, round, straight logs, suitable to build a cabin, together with an oak that would make boards and poplar that he could split into puncheons. Where these things could be found in such a relation to each other as not to require much hauling, that was the spot for the house, no matter whether in the bottom, on the hiil-sitie, or at the top ; no thought with respect to garden, orchards and grounds in a proper relation to the house ever entered his head. Just a.s soon as the cabin was built the next thing was to cut down all the trees, great and small, that were within a tree's length of the house. The next thing was to clear a field, which was lo- cated where it could be accom(ilished with the least labor, no matter if it embraced the best building site in all the country round ; so that, at present, thousands of locations are to be found in the country now which would be invaluable if the na- tive forest trees were only on them; but at present they are barrren, sunburnt elevations, shade and soil gone and wajlied into gullies, and almoj^t wastes. Butstill we have some groves of timber left, but not often near the spring, and a more beauti- ful forest is not to be found in the world than Tennessee affords. The only thing to be complained of is that so much of it should have been unnecessarily destroyed. To those who have groves of living, native trees, my advice is, take care of them, cut not a living tree while you can find a dead one that will answer the purpose. Burn up the old logs for fire-wood, take up the stumps out of your ground, and when exposed to the sun and air a few weeks they will make good and lasting fires; for no tree that you will ever be able to grow will be equal in beauty and interest to the native forest tree. But the protection of your groves to a considerable extent depends upon the protection of the birds, who are the safe- guards of the forest. Worms are the natural enemies of tie trees and vegetation generally, and the birds are the enemiea of the worms ; audit is with gratitude to Almighty God that we comtemplate this provision, for while the birds are serving us efficiently by destroying the loathsome worm that would 24 ultimately poison the tree, the bird itself is an object of inter- est and highly ornamental. It is not at all uncommon for persons wholly to mistake the birds in their feeding process, taking it for granted that they are appropriating something that is valuable to themselves, because they are found in its neighborhood, when, if properly understood, they are found to be feeding on some worm or in- sect which is seeking to destroy that which is intended for the food of man. Take, for instance, a case in point. A gentle- man went to his neighbor to obtain the loan of his gun, as he said, to kill some birds that were eating up his wheat. The neighbor said he had no objection to the loan of his gun, but that he seriously objected to the birds being killed,and insisted that the birds were doing good instead of harm ; a controversy ensued between them with respect to the objects of the birds, till one was killed in order to determine the matter, and on examina- tion the bird had in its craw forty-two weave! and one defective grain of wheat, which had been bored by a weavel. One of my neighbors said to me not long since that a certain kind of bird was eating up his bees ; but when the object of the bird was better understood it was found to be the moths that it was eating, which, but for the birds, would have de- stroyed his hive of bees. The birds that gather about the habitation of man are our friends, our servants, doing for us what we could not do for ourselves, and withal are exquisitely beautiful, and it is not only bad policy to kill them, but it is really cruel, not to say wicked ; and as there are persons who seem to take pleasure in destroying these little, lovely, delicate creatures, which God has given us to delight the eye and charm the ear, as well as to protect our forest, I want a law for the benetit of such persons, which will teach, them that which good sense and humanity has failed to teach them, which is, that they mus^t not kill and slay these creatures for the mere pleasure of killing, for they are of no value when dead. More of this in my next. CHAPTER XII. THE SUBJECT CONTINUED BIRDS OF PREY SCAVENGER BIRDS BIRDS OF PLUMAGE AND OF SONG. I PROMISED in my last to continue the subject of the protec- tion of birds. I suppose the birds might be divided into four 25 classes, viz : Birds of Prey, Scavenger Birds, Birds for the bag or table, and Birds of plumage and song. The birds of prey are very few — the eagle, owl and hawk. The eagle, especially the Wa^^hington eagle, while I might be inclined to capture them if I could, yet I would not think of killing them, because of their national character. Yet I would not ask any protection for any bird of prey. So you may kill all the owls and hawks that you can find. The scavenger birds ought by all means to be protected, par- ticularly the carrion birds, such as buzzards, ravens and carrion crows. It may be objected that the raven is a great offender, and ought not live; but when we remember how industriously and effectually they relieve us of that which is so offensive, his slight misdemeanors ought to be borne with. So that, by all means, let the scavengers live ; for while they are filth them- selves, they purify the earth. It is worthy of note, that in the arrangements of a wise pro- vidence, the class of small birds that gather about the habita- tion of man, though for the greater part scavengers, yet they are by no means offensive to man, but, to the contrary, very pleasant to the eye or ear, or both, and everyway ornamental. 1 shall not attempt to notice by name all the birds of this class, but it may be proper that I should notice a few of them, and will take up the most unpopular of this class first, viz: the wood-pecker. I do not ^^uppose that this bird has many friends. The bare fact that they like cherries and apples, and pick into an ear of corn occasionally, has put every body against them, and withal their name does not do them any good ; but after all they are beautiful, serviceable birds. Now give up f )r a mo- ment your prejudices, and take another look at the old familiar bird, who was in some sort the companion of your youth. Look at his white breeches, his blue coat and red cap. He looks like a militia captain ; and remember that for every cherry that he has taken he has killed fifty worms, one hundred bugs, and five hundred fiies ; and who knows but he caught and killed the very \vorm which would have killed the cherry tree from which he took the cherriee. He has a loud, shrill, cheerful whistle, which makes one think of boyhood and youth; and notwith- standing they are a little shame-faced, and hop around the limb when looked at too closely, yet they are semi-domestic, and have a fondness for the habitation of man ; and if I should fail to get protection for them, I would ju.st say to all concerned, kill your own wood-peckers and let mine alone. The sap-sucker and yellow-hammer belong to the scavenger class, and do much in the way of protecting trees, and ought not to be killed at any season of the year, as they are not; at all 26 suitable for food, and are utterly worthless, even offensive when killed. The same is true of almost the entire list of singers, the mocking-bird, the thrush, the red-bird, the jay and cat-bird, as well as the wren and sparrow. The snov/-bird is an excep- tion, and needs no protection; they do not raise in this country, and are jiood for food, and the boys may trap them and wel- come. But those birds mentioned above make almost no flesh ; they feed mainly on files and worms, which it seems are not at all nutritious. It may be said of them that they are always poor, and there is not one of the small birds of our country of the scavenger, or plumage, or singing classes, that ought to be killed ; they are all useful or ornamental, or both Let them be protected. No ornamental tree is complete without a bird in its branches ; a,nd where can you find a country home with finished charms without the singing of birds ? The water-fail may be there ; the carpet of grass may cover the ground ; the beauteous shade of the noble oak and elm may be throw^n around, but should no bird be seen or heard, one of the chief objects of attraction would be wanting. Were an artist to paint a landscape view without birds in the groves, he would sin against the art. Bless the birds — do not let the bad boys kill them. CHAPTER XIII THE GOOSE AND DUCK THE TURKEY- THE PARTEIDGE, &C. In my last I directed the attention of the public, mainly to the necessity of protecting scavenger birds, in which I em- braced birds of song and plumage ; though I shall likely, before I am through with this subject, have something more to say with respect to the singing pirds especially. We will now devote a few lines to the class of birds, about which the sportsman feels a deep interest, as to the goose and duck. I do not think any thing can be done that will in any way be protective. They are birds of passage to some extent, and do not belong to the class that need protection. The wild turkey, although they raise among us, need no protection, as they are but seldom hunted in the raising season, and if they were it would be generally without success, as the parent bird is so very secretive during the raising season, that it is next to impossible to find her nest, and she is but seldom seen until 2T the young brood is pretty well grown. From these facts, I would not be inclined to ask any protection for the wild tur- key. It is not my wish to ask for any thing which will not address itself to the good sense of the people generally. The dove, field-lark and partridge, or quail, with an occasional snipe and pheasant, make up pretty much the list of our birds suitable lor the bag or table. The dove increases but slowly, and does not promise ever to become very abundant; yet if they were protected in the raising season, there would be, no doubt, an astonishing in- crease. The dove makes considerable flesh, which is, by s.tme, regarded as excellent food ; but the fact that they are remarkable for their innocence, and proverbial for their harm- lessness, together with their melanchoHy, lonely cooing, has ever been a suflicient protection for me, for 1 have the first one yet to kill ; but those who love to kill, just for the sake of kill- ing, have no such feelings. The dove is decidedly sexolized, and makes its home about the habitation of man, and during the spring and early summer is very gentle, and unless pro- tected by law, would be always in danger. Let them be pro- tected during the spring and summer. The partridge is our main dependence in Tennessee, being common to all parts of the State, and very prolific. If they were properly protected they would soon become very abun- dant. As the cultivation of small grain and grasses is on the incr<*ase, in our country, which is conducive to the prosperity of this bird, together with the fact that our climate is perfectly suited to them, if they were properly cared for they would socn be very numerous ; but there are, in almost every neigh- borhood, idle boys and worthless persons to be found, who would rather walk about with a gun on their shoulder than go to work, and, in the neighborhood of towns and cities, we find individuals who makr; a business of scouring the country, par- ticularly on the Sabbath day, killing all the birds of every kind that come in their way. From all such persons the par- tridge is very much exposed during the raising season, for such are the habits of this bird that, unless protected, they are in constant danger ; if both parent birds would keep down in the grass and remain silent there would be more hope of them; but while one is upon the nest warming the eggs, the other is sure to take its position upon the fence cr a stump, and that it may be sure to attract the attention of every body, keeps up a continual whistling, so that they are certain almost to be found and killed. They ought, by all means, to be protected at this period. In fact, no person ought to be allowed to kill a par- tridge during the spring and summer months. 28 With respect to the propriety of netting partridges, it seems to ms that no man ought to be allowed to net partridges in another man's enclosure, without the consent of the proprie- tor. It does not look fair and right, after 1 have raised on my own grain a dozen flocks of birds, for an interloper to come on some rainy day and drive them all into his net, and put them in a bag and take them off, either to devour himself or sell to the keeper of an eating house. Were he to come with his dog and gun and kill one or two out of eacli flock, I could bear with him, but for a whole year's supply to be caught and borne off in a single day, is tuo bad. My pUin would be to put down the nets altogether, and then the little boys would have some sport with their traps. And with a fowUng piece two or three might be taken when wanted, and in this way the par- tridge would soon become numerous, and might be regarded as part of the poultry of the country. CHAPTEIl XIV. * BIRDS OF SONG AND PLUMAGE. I PROMISED to direct the attention of the reader again to birds of song and plumage. This class of birds should excite the tender regard of every human being, from several considerations. In the first place, they are perfectly harmless, while at the same time they are very useful, from the fact that they prey continually on worms and all kinds cf insects, and consequently do much in protecting grains and all kinds of vegetation from their ravages. Any man, if he will for one hour observe the character of the food that the parent bird brings to her young, cannot but be impressed with the utility of this class of birds. The grass-hopper, caterpillar, grub-worm, cut-worms, and in fact every description of worm is brought by the old bird to the nest for the young. But their usefulness is not all that is in their favor; their cheerful industry is inspiring and instructive. "While they are beautilul to look upon, when hopping from limb to limb and from bough to bough, or swimming round on the wing, or alighting in the yard, and noiselessly passing to and fro, gathering up every little decaying morsel of food that has fallen about the house, which, if let alone, would but tend in its decay to poison the air ; yet their usefulness and beauty is 29 not all. They charm you with their music. What is there in nature which will soothe and cheer the heart more than the singin;:^ of birds ? They beautify our grounds, they serve us very efficiently and sing for us mo.-^t sweetly, and have a won- derful fondness for the habitation of man. And when I see loose boys and worthless laz}^ fellows shooting down the mock- ing-bird, jay, thrush, cat-bird and other small birds, it is abso- lutely provoking, and I have confidence to believe that the Leg- islamrc will protect tliem. Since I have been writing these numbers, I find that I have touched on a subject that has been thought about by a large portion of our citizens — the catching of fish with seines and traps, and killing birds of plumage and song is everywhere complained against, and I find quite a number of persons who desire protection for quite a number of animals and birds which I have not embraced, though I have succeeded in con- vincing, I may say, all who have spoken to me on the subject, that I have asked for protection in every instance where protec- tion was really called for. The mode of protection which will have to be resorted to in the event that the Legislature fails to pass some general law, I do not admire — which is the posting of grounds and s'reama, which would lead to the creation of privileged classes in the way of sport. I want every man, whether he owns a stream of water or not, and those who may not possess one foot of land, to have rights wiih regard to fish and game generally; but 1 do not want any man to have the right to kill that which in the first place, does not belong to him, unless it v.'ould do him harm while living, or be of some service to him when dead. The birds which I am defending in this number are of this class, lor, to say the least of them, they do no harm while liv- ing, and are of no manner of service when dead. The mocking-bird, which is common to our country, would soon become a great ornament if they were permitted to live ; but notwithstanding they are not fit to eat and are singers of great value, yet they are as likely to be torn in pieces by the shot of some silly, wicked person as any other bird. A gen- tleman in the neighborhood of the ciiy told me that he believed that not less than twenty had been dispatched in a grove of trees near his house during the summer, and to make the mat- ter worse, they had killed a caio which he would not have ta- ken seventy five dollars for. Let birds of song and plumage be protected at all seasons. God did not create them to be killed. 80 CHAPTER XY. CONCLUDING REJIARKS. I EAVE in the preceding numbers, hastily glanced at the gen- eral subject, though there are many animals and birds that 1 have not noticed. The fur growing animals I have not noticed, from the fact that we have but few of them in Tennessee, and those that we have do not need protection. Otters are still more rare. We have a few muskrats, minks and weasels ; but they come under the general head of varmints, and conse- quently have but ie\w friends. Just kill and destro}^ all the minks and weasels you can find. Panthers, wolves and wild-cats are the enemies of man, and ought to be killed, and their scalps ought to be worth ^ premvim. The deer and squirrel are the only animals t!iat we ask pro- tection for. The balance either need no protection, or from their peculiar character, protect themselves. The deer, we think, ought not to be killed in the spring or summer months. And we we are decidedly of opinion that dogs ought not to be used in hunting them, unless for the purpose of trailing a wound- ed deer. Dogs only contribute to success where deer are so scarce that they ought not to be hunted at all; a; d where deer are plenty, they serve mainly to distract the deer and drive them out of their range. Keep off the dogs, and let the deer become abundant, and the still hunter will be able to find game without driving them all out of the country. With respect to the squirrel, I suppose that there are a fev/ points or sections of country where they are sufiiciently abun- dant to render them somevvhat troublesome in taking up the early corn, though 1 think such places very rare, while from a large portion of our State this very interesting little animal has disappeared altogether. Let us by all means have protection for the fquirrei in the raising sea.-on. I think they ought lo be regarded as ornamental, and therefore be protected at all sea- sons. The wild turkey, iY\e, goose, and duck need no protection. The pheasant is so nearly exhausted, that we do not think any thing can be done for them. The birds suitable for the table, comprise a very small class. T\i% pigeon, snipe, Jicld-lark, dove and partridge. . 'A^^^. 31 The dove and partridge onght by al! means to be protected. The scavenger birds and birda of song and phamage, ail should be protected — which embraces all bird^, except the ow , haiok, crow and blackbird. These birds are looked upon as great sin- ners, and I suppose that nothing ought to be done for them. Let the birds of song and plumage, and the scavenger birds be protected at all seasons. Let the dove and partridge be protected in the raising season. Other birds and fowls suitable for the table, need no protection. As to the fish, let fish-traps, both the fall and finger traps, be put down, prohibit seines, except in navigable streams ; and the minnow net, for the purpose of catching bait in small branches ; aiso, prohibit the dip and set net, v.'ith all kinds of poisoning. I have, since these articles began to appear in the Uniox and American, received information from a great number of gentle- men from various portions of the State, and am happy to say thai the measures proposed are meeting with pretty general favor. The object is to make our country more interesting, to increase fish and game generally, and furnish our cii.izens with both food and amusement, which will contribute lo both the health and happiness of humanity. A LOVER OP NATURE- !l THE 1 ::^:ioT^:cTiox Oi' Qkl 1 I N i TEisrisriiissiiiE. ' B^T -A- TO"VEP{, or JSrja.TXJI^E, NASHVILLE: G. C. TORBETT & CO., PRINTERS, 18 5 7.