The sun., 1894-03-24
JOGGING Fos ToxcoDs.
n Csu-eeticut Bustsess sra Fssti.s, ed
How the AT wss Diseoveres.
IT will Cure.

A C,,,e,tic-t Bus,,ess s,a Pssti.e, ssa
How the Art wss Diseovsres.
ITS a good thing that virtue 10 its own
reward" said n man from Connecticut. That
is about all the recon pense It ever gets. even In
Connecticut. Now. for Instance, take the con-
fdinR aud credulous tomcod. Like all hsh. the
tomcod has habits. Unlike many fishes, none
OF the tomcod's habits is bad. Yet the most
innocent and touching OF them leads the TOM
cod to his inevitable undoinR over In Con-
necticut, especially along the Thames River.
His very virtues are his ruin. He might bet
ter be q vicious, rollicking. thieving doRnsh.
the tomcod might ten times over. than his
own highly reputable and Innocent self He
would live many times as long IS he does, and
have a heap more fun. Because then folks
wouldn't Jig for him. A good many scores OF
my compstriots take advantage Of his trust
fulnsss aud JIG him from his chilly but con-
genial home By tho bushsL
Never iigged for tomcods? Then II 10 plain
that you are SO unfortunate ss never to have
lived in Counecticut-snywsy. not In any Of
those parts OF that Incompatible State where
tomcods are jlRged. Not to jig for tomoods
over there. especially along the Thames River.
IL to be eccentric.
Tho fatal habit OF the tomcod 10 to be ca
ressing. II you never noticed this popularity
Of tho tomcod. mako point Of doing It the very
nrst chance you get A good place to detect
him at Il 10 from tho end Of some pier that rises
from water he freauents. You will see him
como up In schools around the supporting
pieces Of tho pier and rub himself against
them. passing all around them. always In Ren-
tie contact with them. turning nrst this side
and then that side to the pile. rubbing his
nose against II and fondling It In many ways.
as pet cat might rub itself against your leg.
But piers are not the only objects OF the tom
Gods fondness. lie caresses oil sorts ~ jetsam.
and even ventures to the surface and pays his
addresses to cold and unconscious fotsam- He
puts ne 1rpss iS snythInE ma 1sr .as hs
lime. And the jigger plays them for all they
People In Connecticut are very. obssryant
folk. especially along the Thames River. One
day long ago one OF my fellow citizens sat
lie held In his hand small oak bouRh on
which leaves we're clustered: AZ last he aim;
near the shore. and the bun chss OF leaves sank
somewhat below the surface. Presently tom
ing themselves into the line Of my fellow citi-
zen's pensive vision. scores Of them sur
way H am one W them and about them. maniiestins
much the same dumb delight that eat does
a%S. ths Hn 81
the oak leaves and the tomcods gradually gave
Ss iSs 81 hs ss s.S
and sase to Iaa S
in the water. He manipulated its leaves be-
meath the water gently. and as the caressing
aud trustful tomcods responded to their undu-
lAtinR movements my fellow citizen yanked
them out with the hooks at the end OF his
stick. SO long as he kept the bunch
OF oak leaves moving In the water the tom
Gods swarmed about It. unminiful OF the play
OF the destructive gan among them. Now and
then my fellow citizen would remove the bough
from tho water Then the tomcods would In
stAntly disappear. The oak back again In the
water. back wonld come the tomcods. and were
aware OF no other presence. soon the shore
was strewn with the unsuspecttng hsh, and.
the sport becoming monotonous. my fellow
citizen filled his basket and went home.
or course this Interesting discovery In pis-
catorial Psychology. so to speak. soon Ah-
sorbed attention In those parts and expsri-
menters lined the banks OF the Thames River
daily. These experiments at last took sn the
accepted name OF Iigging. and tomcod jiRGinR
became a popular recreation In Connecticut.
and Ii yet
An expert with q bunch OF oak leaves and
hours II he wants to. and II every tomeod that
sWims was in a school around one bunch
Of leaves. and the jigger at that bunch could
stay and Jig long enough. he could make
the race OF tomcods extinct for every tom
cod would come right up TO that bunch OF
leaves and be everlasting jigged. A great
many good Connecticut paople protest thAt
they Jig for tom Gods not for pleasure or pecu-
mary profit. but because oi the great moral
lesson they learn from II. Whether that Is SO
or not, the fact remains that the toothsoms
tomcod 10 the most con1dinR credulous. and
innocent OF fishes.