Telegram-herald., 1889-05-09

great rapid T. II IL a well known fact
ta-l Il a hole IS cat ia ne ice. fishes Will
come % the : lrface, and II u should thunder
and hgntaiuI 4, VIII lump out on the Ice.
4nls pheuom4A 4Aon las been witnessed on tie
ST. L4wrencd river 50 often as 10 become al
established ftcg IN science. The fishermen
OF tie upper lakes aud the straits t-ke ad-
vantage Of this trait Of tie 1sh 10 spear
them al winter as they come up 10 the sur
face where holes have been cut through tue
ice. The moral is obvioas. There can be- 20
doubt that fine sport might be enjoyed
along the piers here ia winter wherever tbs
water happens 10 be free.
The flesh OF the perch here Is hard and
well-fayercd. In the rivers and still lakes
1T this time Of year IT usually contains
gruos and parasites. Our perch Is a bony
fellow and that spOlls any great demand
for Llm. He has only che use, and that is
for frying.
Some chefs know how 10 extract the skel
eton and make u very edible dish OF him
The 1Dest perch known Is found in Lake
ST Clair. The variety found there is much
thicker than IS found elsewhere, more TO.
tund and the bands Of yellow are OF
stronger color. But, strangely enough, the
ST. Clair perch has only a backbone, or
vertebre, like the bull head. When these
fellows are fried the epicurean draws out
the vertebrD and eats tho delicious flesh
without fear OF swallowing "a bone. How
do you account for it! Why, the ST. Clair
perch climbed the Niagara Falls from the
lower lakes, poss ioly, and lost those small
bones which make his fellows in other re-
gions a asemi-nuisance. The Lake Michigan
perch had another origin. He entered this
lake from the Mississippi in prehistoric
times, when the waters OF Michigan swept
out through South Chicago. lie never ex-
erted himself enough to lose any bones.
The United States Fish Commission has
committed an error which, were it not for
the high standing OF that body, would be
supposed 10 have emanated from the mad
house. Some years ago IL placed 100000
young eels in this lake, and perhaps mill
ions more. The eel is an enemy of the perch,
whitefish and other edible fishes, and are
now vigorously engaged in their extermi-
Lati0n. This same Fish Commission is an
enemy OF the eel weir and eel fishermen,
and have destroyed by law the eel indus
tries of the East. Why did it put the eels
| in this lakei They are now being drawn
up in the nets OF fishermen on the pier in
! the llttle nets lowered for minnows. What
! business have the eels in those little nets
with TIE nirnowsi Why, the rascals have
been feeding on the young fry. The Fish
! Commission DISTINCTLY maintains that the
! eels 90 TO sea to spawn, then die, leaving
I their young 10 go up the rivers alone, to
! grow up, go down 10 spawn and die. Why
| did the Commissioners make this doctrine
! ridiculous by placing the GELS in lakes
where they can not get TO the sea TO breed,
| where they must stay and eat up the other
| fshesi The eel 5 voracious and ravenous.
| He catches the female perch, whitefish
| and other innocent species, runs his sharp
/ snout through their sides and sucks out the
thousands Of little eggs within, leaving the
victim dead and useless. These young eels
Of several years ago are now two and three
feet long. They have spread all over the
| lake and earned devastation aud death with