Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1859-06-09
Hunting Sketches, No. 3.

THE HABITS OF THE SHAD,--Thc sport of Shad
fishing is unknown upon the upper Connecticut,
but our Massachusetts and Connecticut friends
havea glorious time in the sport, and the fol-
lowing from Connecticut paper may be taken
as good authority.
The habits of of our fish have been but very
little attended to in this country Our scicnti
lic men, it is true, have been very precise in
their acurate cassifcations and in use of their
peaderous uomenclaturc-they have described
our fishes to the shape of Il scale, or the number
of thorns in the dorsal fin, but they have not
condcsended to note their habits, their length of
life, with all such particulars as would interest
common readers, and thus be of use to man
kind.
| No fish more valued or more valuable than the
Shad yet but few of its habits of life are
known. The, books ara silent, and angling gives
no information. It was fora long time com
monty received opinion that the shad spent the
winter in some purt Of the Gulf of Mexico, and
then as spring advanced and the snow ceased
runnig, came along the coast and entered the
rivers in succession. If this were true, there
would be no uniformity, year after year, i'll the
run of shad in each river. Tho very distinct
varieties would all become ntermingled. But
each river has its own variety. Those of the
Connecticut River have long been known as pos
scssing superior size and flavor to any others.
The variety that seeks the Hudson as spawn
! ing ground is easily distinguished from ours.
This fact of the distinctness of the varieties in
each river tends to the belief that shad 20 no
farther than the mouth of the streams in which
they are Matched.
er fish. As soon as the snow-watcr has ceased
running, they press up the river as far as they
can reach, in order to deposit their spawn. In
following this instinct they never stop for re-
freshment or food. Who ever found anything
in the nav or stomach of shad that would in
dcate the nature of its food? Who ever knew
them to bite att baited hook? They do not
feed from the time they enter the stream until
they sink down thin and exhausted into the deep
places at the mouth For this purpose Of ma
ture the shad has been preparing itself during
the quiet luxuries of a winter, and has become
lattened for the use of man, or if it escapes his
net, for the reproduction of its species.
The shad lives but a single year. 1t is hatch
ed in early summer-decends the stream as SOON
as large enough-tecds and fattens in the win
ter at the mouth of tho stream -ascends in the
spring to deposit its spawn-decends to die at
the bottom of the ocean. This fact accounts for
the uniformity in the size of the fish. A Con-
necticut River shad seldom goes beyond seven
pounds, and the variation in size is comparative
ly slight. The bass, on the other hand, which
is known to live many years, varies from half a
pound in weight to fifty, even in our own river
1t has longer time te grow, and shows much
greater diversity of size. These considerations
have lately led to the conclusion that one veal
ONLY was the duration of a shad's life. What
was only matter of conjecture and inlerenct
has been lately proved by the artificial fish
breeders. Somewhere in the State Of New
York, one of these raisers of fish from spawr
has raised large numbers of shad, which he fec
in early life with crumbled crackers strewr
upon the pond where they were kept, and ha'
proved their short hold on existence lie raisce
them for the purpose of supplying the very Iarg'
fish he had IN his tanks and ponds with food
As this science of breeding fish is known more
the habits of the different species will be,mor
easily described.
[Shall VIC not have sketch relative to th,
habits of the front, from the pen Of onr worth,
disciple of old Isaac, Hon. Daniel ?. Thomp
son? N
The severity of the measures adopted by th'
British authorities in India may be judged from
the fact that after tho cessation of actual war
: in the process of "quicting tho Punjaub
1850 persons were hung and shot by civil au
} thorities, $50 by the military.