The Cairo bulletin., 1909-11-17
FLOWERS AND FISH.
The Blooming of the Flower Markt
the Coming of the Latter.

ZIG SoNtlfiS OF knt IattSTs
according to the fishermen of the
Long Island and New England coasts,
said man who has dwelt among
them, spring vegetation has a great
deal to do with the coming and con-
duet Of certain fish. 1t is a saying
among them as old as the coast SET
Elements that
When chestnut leaves are as big as d
thumbnail,
Then bite blackfsh without fail;
Bat when chestnut leaves are long as
span.
Then catch a blacktish if you can.
When the dandelions appear above
ground in the spring the New England
coast folk who follow fishing for a
livelihood say, Now the hatflsh are
running They don't care much for
the coming of the tiatfsh though. for
these fish have small market value,
but the fisherman watch the daude-
lions.
When the buds are swollen full
ana are ready to burst into bloom the
fishermen rejoice and say. Now soups
come! and they put in their traps
for this abundant, profitable and uni
versally popular fish, for soup is the
porgy of commerce Besides tie first
dandelions bringing soup, soup bring
the blueflsh. the tautog and other
finny denizens that bring coin to the
fishers till.
AS the going of the blachfsh is
stgnalted to the fishermen by the full
growth OF the chestnut leaf so have
the Soup sign for their departure
The fishermen say that as long as the
dandelioa is In fun vigor of flower
the run of soup Is composed of large
and silvery white fish, all strong and
healthy.
AS the dandelion begins to change
from flower to the downy seed tuft
the run OF Soup becomes noticeably Of
smaller fish of darker hue. This run
is marketable fish, but Of less value
than the first run AS the seeding
stage Of the dtndolion progresses the
soup come in scattered schools and are
called mixed fish. being OF various
sizes and little value.
When the seed is formed and ripe
on the dandelions stalk soup are Of a
run that it doesn't pay to spend time
in trapping, and when the dGndelion
seed is scattered by the wind over the
land. the last soup has departed for
the mysterious waters that no one
knows, to remain there until the dam
delions bloom again.
When the wild high bush black
berry bushes are in bloom is another
time the fishermen watch for, because
then they know that the striped bass
have arrived. and always the big fell
lows come with the blackberry bios
soms-the lusty fish that will run
from ten to twenty pounds in weight.
The scoot, bass, 2 run of small striped
bass, have their innings when the
blue violet is a-plenty in the fields
and on the hillsides,
From the time of the earliest set
tiers, when shad could be hauled from
the Connecticut River with a hand
rake from the shoe. as they jammed
and crowded their way in the myriad5
toward the spawning. beds of the up
per river fishermen have set down
the beginning OF this annual shad
hegira as not until the shad flower
Is in bloom in the damp, dark places
Of its choice. Hence the local name
OF this fragrant early spring floral
beauty known politely as trailing
arhutus.
The early settlers in the Delaware
and Susquehanna valleys were from
Connecticut, and they carried that to-
ken with them, so in those valleys to
this day, as in the Connecticat valley,
the shad flower is held 10 rule the
time before the coming Of & itch it will
be useless TO haul the seire in the up
per waters for that MGR ting fish.
THE shad flower has become ex-
ceedingly rare in the localities where
1t was once abundant, Why? Folks
IN general say because it has been
ruthlessly plucked and uprooted every
srring for years by persistent inva-
ders Of its haunts. but old time shad
fishermen insist that it is because the
shad have year by year grown scarceI
and srarcpr in tha rivarS IN V Sun