Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-08-25
CONTEMPLATION.
FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE GAME OF
TENNESSEE-No. 8.

FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE GAME OF
TENNESSEE-No. 8.
In my last laid before the reader few thoughts
with respect to the destructive nature of racks bush
drags and set-nets We will now turn the attention
of the public to the various systems of poisoning.
There is already statute against the use of India
berries but is pretty much dead letter. from the
fact that great advantage could be gained by en-
forcing the law that point, while so many other
destructive practices allowed, and if India ber-
riss were not to be used the evil would not be RENE
died, from the fact that quite 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 very few minutes. Green
wslnuts will have the same effect, and the smart
weed, as it is called, will also kill the fish.
Three or four boys with baskets, supplied with
buckeys, wslnuts smart weed, will 60 into pool
of water, and by churning about through the water
for half hour, will poison all the fish in the hole,
great and small, and one would think the fish, if
they eat them, would in turn poison the boys. And
have in a few instances known men, grown men,
to be guilty of thus poisoning fish. 1t really seems
to me that we in this country have put ourselves to
work to see how completely, efeetually, and wan
tonly we could destroy all the fish out of our streams
Fish-traps senes, dipnets, racks, bush-drags set
nets, and what they leave, sranged with poison
Will we suffer without effort at exposure to let
this state of things continue, until, like large por
tons ofthe old world and France in particular, there
is not 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, and it is likely by the time fish are all de-
strOyed driven out, they will have their rivers
and streams well supplied.
In this poisoning process if an individual was only
to poison few fish at a time, just what he could
eat, and was to eat them and poison himself, it
would not be bad; but in an hour he poisons hun
dreds yes, sometimes, taking the small fish into
the account, thousands, while half dozen is as
many as come within his reach or drift to shore
Take a case: gentleman within few miles Of the
city of Nashville made himself pond mainly for
the purpose of cutting ice from in the winter; but,
finding it remained over summer, deep, cold and
clear he put himself to no little trouble to procure
fine variety of fish to raise from, and left them
three years to multiply until the angling became
splendid; but some boys come at last, and not being
prepared for angling they gathered buckeyes, beat
them up, and churned them about the pond and then
waited until they got mess. But what was the re-
suit? The gentleman told the writer that not less,
it seemed to him, than four horse wagon load of
fine trout and perch were after found dead and
floating on the water of the pOnd-and think it
likely that several millions of fish are destroyed in
this State every Saturday during the summer, and
were not for the fact that have the most lovely
streams that God ever made of which we have any
knowledge for fish, they would have been utterly
drained before now and would only Re thought of
as hog wallows.
This State is so situated to rivers, creeks and
branches being for the most part clear, cold living
streams, Astounding with shoals and eddies, having
current enough to keep them pure, with rocky or !