The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1899-11-24
THE HABITS OF FISH
WAYS OF THE ShLMoN, THE COD
AND THE l3LUEFlsH.
Some Are Romantic, But Others Are
Practical-The Cod Is Actually ri.
dicuIous-cIams Are SiIy,of Course
-Bluefish Are Warlike.


-Bluefish Are WarIike.
It Is not too much to say that in
some ways the love of salmon passeth
that of women. To reach the object of
their affection they perform feats and
undergo hardships greater than any
man could do or be lr, and to maintain
il they fight with {. courage and fury
which might make many soldiers en-
vious
The salmon trials BEGIN when they
first leave the sea on their long upriYer
journey to meet their sweethearts.
Presently, perhaps, they meet high
waterfall Then the s1"non backs
away as far as possible, makes loco
motive-like rush and leaps FOR the top.
1 He actually whizzes through the air,
his tail is moving like lightning, his
scales shine like silver enamel Per
haps he fails to reach the top by foot
but he catches the water. hangs sus-
pended for moment and then with
miraculous strength fcrces his way
up and reaches the quiet water be-
! yond.
Perhaps the next waterfall is five
| feet higher. and the salmon leaps in
!
BILE. he actually climbs the sides jump
! ing up from ledge to lodge and rest
| ing in little pools until the water
| above Is reached. Then he goes on
| pushing through rapids and founder
| ing over shadows until tue spawning
| ground is reached III many of the
| larger rivers of this continent the sal
mon is no beauty when he reaches his
80, nsal. 10 nc
| are torn off. his fins torn. and his body
mass of bruises. But nevertheless he
woes his ladylove boldly, caresses her
tenderly. fights his rivals fercely and
wins his bride like soldier.
But all fish are not 50 romantic. The
goldfish for instance. is unsentimental
and actually ridiculous He is a great,
gray, ugly fish, and his name itself is
absurd. If there was such thing as
submarine humor ne would figure in
it as the goat does in our comics. The
Goldfish has, in fact, ar appetite which
makes the goats look pale, and when
the fishermen cut the ish open they
assert that they often fad such things
as scissors. suspender buckles, horse
shoes, potato parings oil cans, door
knobs, marlin spikes, corn cCbs and
India rubber shoes.
Another startling story told by fish
ermen is that in heavy weather Goldfish
eat stones to balance them. but it is
more likely that these rocks are taken
in while attached to sea anemoHes. of
which the Goldfish are very fond. IL
may be inferred that Goldfish 90 not on
ject to nibble the fingers or hands of
human beings. because the wedding
ring of drowned wolaau was once
found in Gods stomach and the find
err got $50 reward for It's return.
Oysters and clans in the shell are
very popular with the goldfish, and
there are vast hears Of dead shells in
the ocean, "nested" together like
strawberry boxes Which are believed
to have once been IN the stOmachs of
Goldfish. The appetilcs Of these fish
are insatiablc Tacy Will I'll their
stomachs, fill Their outlets and fill
their mouths with food and still try to
get more.
If people knew more about the fish
they eat il is possible that slice of
"bakcd blue might fill many man
with shuddering horror for the blue
fish is perhaps the most terrible and
blUo1thusty thing in all nature The
tiger has a sweet aad cheerful DISPOSE
ton compared to the blucfsh, the
shark seems a phlegmatic and amiable
creature and the WOlf. by comparison,
is positively mild The blueish make
menhaden their especial prey. When
a school of these fish perceive bluefsh
near they swim away with such ter
rife haste that the Occcn foams under
them. but the bluetish cannot be dis
tancei. They rush among the helpless
mCAhaden, biting. tearing, thraShng
and even throwing them into the air
hey do not stop to swallow their
prey, but kill purely for the love of
slaughter. The sea is redeemed with
blood and dotted with dead fish. but
bluetish kill on until exhaustion stops
them or until the menhaden get into
such shallow water that the bluefsh
do not care TO follow. Sometimes
these helpless fish are so blind with
terror that they swim ashore and are
piled up in windrows foot deep.
The bluefish do not eat one-tenth
of the fish they Fill. although when
surfeited they are believed by some
people to disgorge their food in order
to take in anothe" meal 1t is esti-
mated that during 1 fair season 1.00O,-
600 bluefish are caught between New
Jersey and Monomoy, and that about
999, 100000 remain uncaught. Thirty
or forty fish are sometimes found in
the stomach of one. bluefish, but plac-
ing a bluefsh's kill at only ten per
day it will be seen that during their
four months yearly stay on the New
ENGLAND coast they destroy about l.
goo coo 900 900 900 ;ish and that is ex-
GLIDING the vast numbers of minute
fish eaten by little bluefish, which are
not included in the estimate. Carried
into avoirdupois it is calculated that
2,500,00000Q pounds of fish are eaten
daily by bluefish. Nevertheless thew
are handsome and graceful f1sh. Very
little is known of their other habits,
but they are so nervous while in
captivity that they develop corns on
their noses by trying to push the lat
ter through the glass sides of their
tanEs.-Los Angeles Times.
The "Auut" Was Mythical.
Good morning, madam. My aunt.
Mrs. - sent nee over to borrow
dollar. She wants to pay her egg man,
but is unable TO make the change She
buys eggs Of farmer. you know.
They are so much iiesher than store
eggs, even II You do have to pay a
| little more.
My aunt sent me here because, as
she says, you are 30 generous about
doing small fsvors. I told her you
would not know ME, and / hated to
come, for l am seldom in town, but
she said II would be all right-just to