Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1900-02-08
THURM0hT, Frederick County, Maryland, Thursday February g. 1900
THE HABITS OF FISH
WAYS OF THE SALMON, THE COD
AND THE sLUEFleH.

WAYS OF THE SALMON, THE COD
AND THE sLUEFleH.
Some Are Romantic, But Others Arc
Praeticai-The Cod Is Actually RI
dieulous-Ciams Are siliy,of Course
-Bluefash Are Wariiks.
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 bear, and to maintain
1t 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 upriver
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.
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 a moment, and then with
miraculous strength forces his way
up and reaches the quiet water be-
yond.
Perhaps the next waterfall Is five
feet higher, and the salmon leaps In
vain. Then, finding the feat impossi-
BILE, he actually climbs the sides, jump
Ing up from ledge to ledge end rest
ing in little pools until the water
above is reached. Then he goes on
pushing through rapids and founder
Ing over shadows until the spawning
ground Is reached. In r1any OF the
larger rivers of this continent the sal
mon is no beauty when he reaches his
Journeys end. His scales, perhaps,
are torn of, his fms torn. and his body
q mass of bruises. But nevertheless he
woes his ladylove boldly, caresses her
tenderly, fights his rivals fiercely and
wins his bride like a soldier.
But all fish are not 50 romantic The
Goldfish, for instance, Is unsentimental
and actually ridiculous He IL a great,
gray, ugly fish, and his name itself Is
absurd. II 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 hsh open they
assert that they often flnd such things
as scissors, suspender buckles, horse
shoes, potato parings, oil cans, door.
knobs, marlin spikes, corn eobs and
India rubber shoes.
Another startling story told by fish.
ermen Is that in heavy weather goldfish
eat stones to balance them, but 1t Is
more likely that these rocks are taken
In while attached to sea anemones, OF
which the Goldfish are very fond. II
may be inferred that Goldfish 40 not oD.
ject to nibble the fingers or hands OF
human beings, because the wedding
ring of a drowned woman was once
found in a Gods stomach, and the ind
er got ESQ reward for It's return.
Oysters and clans in the shell are
very popular with the goldfish, and
there are vast heaps Of dead shells In
the ocean, "nested" together like
strawberry boxes, which are believed
to have once been in the stOmachs OF
Goldfish. The appetites OF these fish
are Unsuitable. They will NIL their
stomachs, fill their gullets and fill
their mouths with food and still try to
get more.
II people knew more about the fish
they eat it is possible that slice OF
baked blue" might fill many a man
with shuddering horror, for the blue
fish Is perhaps the most terrible and
bloodthirsty thing in all nature. The
tiger has a sweet and cheerful disposi-
ton compared to the bluefish, the
shark seems phlegmatic and amiable
creature, and the wolf, by comparison,
Is positively mild. The bluefish make
menhaden their especial prey. When
a school of these fish perceive bluefish
near they swim away with such ter
rife haste that the ocean foams under
them, but the bluefish cannot be dis
tanced. They rush among the helpless
menhaden, biting, tearing, thrashing
and even throwing them into the air.
They 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
bluefish kill on until exhaustion stops
them or until the menhaden get into
such shallow water that the bluefish
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 kill, although when
surfeited they are believed by some
people to disgorge their food in order
to take in another meal. It Is esti-
mated that during fair season 1,000,-
900 bluefish are caught between New
Jersey and Monomoy, and that about
999, 1000, 900 remain uncaught. Thirty
or forty fish are sometimes found in
the stomach of one bluefish, but plac-
ing a bluefish'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.
200, ,0OO, 900, 100000 tsh and that is ex-
Guiding the vast numbers Of minute
fish eaten by little bluefish, which are
not included In the estimate. Carried
into avoirdupois it is calculated that
2,500,000,000 pounds of fish are eaten
daily by blueflsh Nevertheless they
are handsome and graceful fish. 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
tanks.-Los Angeles Times.