ishin moranfe
Fishery with cormorants- the sirds harnessed
fishing with cormorants in full swing
————— UST as hawks and falcons
Jwere formerly used in Eu
rope. not only for sporting
A t . purposes, but to replenish
^ k k their masters’ larders with
y y * furred and feathered game,
so do the Chinese and Jap
anese still employ trained
cormorants, but in their case
* they are used solely for eco
nomic purposes. This may at first
appear to be a somewhat primitive
method of obtaining fish, yet it seems
to be a very serviceable one, and has
at least the merit of being exceeding
ly picturesque. The antiquity of this
form of fishing is incontrovertible,
and is conclusively proved by the ex
istence of very early Japanese paint
ings, which, if we allow for a some
what crude and Oriental treatment,
otherwise faithfully depict the sport
as it is practiced down to the pres
ent day. We have also documentary
evidence to show that these birds
were similarly utilized in China as far
back as the sixteenth century. In
many parts of the latter country cor
morants are used on still-water la
goons or sluggish rivers, where they
are allowed to swim free; but in Yun
nan and Japan, where they are fished
in swift-running streams, the birds
are invariably harnessed.
I have not had the opportunity of
seeing them bandied by the Chinese,
but a few years ago, when on a visit
to Japan, I made a point of going to
Gifu to study the methods adopted by
the Japanese on the River Nagara.
Here the season lasts from May to
October, during which time the river
is visited by a small migratory fish,
locally called al. This fish belongs to
the Salmonidae family, and Is known
to ichthyologists as Plecoglossus altl
velis T. and S. In size, it hardly ever
exceeds a foot in length, and is more
often only six or seven inches long.
The Japanese epicures praise it very
highly as a table delicacy, though It
must be admitted that the uneducated
Occidental palate usually fails to de
tect its culinary merits; in fact, when
I tasted it, I thought it compared
rather unfavorably with the smelt, a
fish It superficially resembles. The
market value of the ai appears to be
comparatively high, so that even if
the season be a short one, the cor
morant fishers are enabled to reap a
sufficiently rich harvest, which more
than compensates them for their
many months of enforced idleness.
But even in midsummer, there are
many nights when the meteorological
conditions preclude all possibility of
fishing. A heavy downpour of rain—
and how frequent this is in a Japan
ese June!—speedily fills the river
with a turbid flood that renders fish
ing wholly impracticable. Nor can
the birds do any good on bright moon
light nights, for then. In the beauti
fully clear waters of this mountain
stream, the fish can sci their enemies
approaching and, moreover, they are
not attracted by the glare of the
great, flaring braziers which are
placed, in the form of an iron basket,
on the bows of each of the vessels.
On the Nagara the mode of fishing
is for some six or seven boats to work
in company. These drift slowly down
stream for eighteen or twenty miles
in the form of an open line' that
usually extends right across the
river. As a rule, each boat possesses
about fifteen or sixteen cormorants.
These are controlled by means of
reins attached to a small collar round
the bird's neck, which serves the ad
ditional purpose of preventing all but
the tiniest fish being swallowed out
right The man standing in the bows,
and therefore deriving full benefit
from the light of the brazier, has
some twelve birds iu his charge, while
the less experienced man posted
amidships usually controls four or five
only. The dexterity of these fellows
is really one of the most remarkable
harnessing a cormorant
features of the whole proceeding. It
seemed inexplicable how one man
could manipulate so many birds—
swimming and diving as they were in
all directions—without their reins be
coming hopelessly entangled. Yet by
sorting them with a lightning band
over-hand movement, these leads
were always kept clear, and never
once did I see a man in real difficul
ties. When a cormorant has com
pletely filled its gullet, it naturally
takes no further interest in the pro
ceedings, and will then swim idly
upon the surface. When this is ob
served. the unfortunate creature is
promptly hauled in board, and by a
gentle but firm pressure of the hand
it is forced ignominously to disgorge
its booty, whereupon it is thrown
back to recommence its thankless
task. In this way a single bird will
account for a large number of fish
during the night, and as the flock
I numbers upwards of a hundred indi
| viduals, the total catch is sometimes
! considerable. In the morning, when
al! is over, the cormorants are al
lowed to rest on the gunwale of the
boat, each bird, known by name, hav
ing its allotted perch, which it de
fends with angry croaks and pecks
should a neighbor dare to dispute its
right. The birds are absolutely fear
less of their masters, and can be
freely handled.
There could hardly be a more inter
esting experience than to follow a
flotilla of cormorant boats at work
on a still midsummer night. Even
the Japanese themselves appreciate
the picturesqueness of the proceed
ings, and every evening numerous
boatloads of spectators may be seen
on the river awaiting their arrival at
Gifu. The fishing appear: to be at its
i be8t In August, during which month
i the late Mikado used frequently to
visit the scene.
The great braziers—huge, crackling
baskets of flame—cast a strange and
lurid glare over the surroundings. In
their dazzling light the brightly illum
inated figures of the fishermen seem
to stand out with almost unnatural
sharpness against the velvety black
ness of the night, while the men’s
harsh cries of encouragement, the
loud clatter of their oars, and the
showers of hissing sparks falling upon
the water all add to the weirdness
of the scene.
Cormorants are apparently not very
difficult to train, and have been used
in Europe for sporting purposes far
more often than is generally supposed.
Early in the seventeenth century
James I. was enamored with the
sport, and appointed someone “Master
of Cormorants.” while he even went
so far as to have ponds cut tn a
! raeawod-land near Westminster for
! the reception of various kinds of fish
j which were to be afterwards captured
I by his tame birds. Of recent years
j the well-known falconer Captain
! Salvin proved highly successful with
! his cormorants, and there are still
I some French sportsmen who keep
j these birds for their own entertain
; ment.
Not So Crusty.
Though immortally labeled "Crusty
Christopher” by Tennyson. "Christo
pher North" was not without his
amiable side.
GATHERING PEACHES IN GEORGIA
Typical Scene in a Southern Orchard Where Negro Girls and Women Do
the Fruit Picking.
PAID HIM TO BE TRUTHFUL
clerks Invited ail the young law stu- j
dents of Newburg to 3pend the after
noon at their office. The judge re-;
turned unexpectedly for ' some addi- j
tional papers he wished to use, and
the air was filled with tobacco smoke
and idleness when he entered.
“To what unexpected good fortune !
do I owe the visit of so many young ■
people?" inquired the judge, with a
smile at the array of young men j
whose muddy shoes were resting on j
the top of his polished mahogany !
desk. i
I
Everyone was at a loss for a reply
except the judge’s youngest student.
Offering the judge his own chair and
bowing low he replied with gravity:
"To your absence, sir.”
The boy was put on salary the fol
lowing week for truthfulness.
To the Nursery of Earth.
“Say. mamma, was the baby sent
down from heaven?”
"Yes, Willie.”
"They must like to have it quiet up
there, hey, mamma ”
Youngster Also Proved His Ability to
Get Himself Out of a Tight
Situation.
County Judge Albert H. F. Seeger
of Orange county, N. Y„ is a lawyer
. who doesn’t believe in wasting time
during office hours, and his office force
devotes the daylight of six days a
week to work.
Some years ago the judge went
away for a Saturday afternoon and his
To Clean the Serpentine.
It is estimated that it yrould cost
£30,000 thoroughly to cleanse the Ser
pentine, where, now that the school
holidays have begun, boys may bathe
at all hours of the day, yet it cost
only £6,000 to construct. This was
in 1730, when Queen Caroline had it
formed from ten separate ponds, fed
by the River West bourne, which the*
ran across the park into the Thames
at Chelsea. After this river became
polluted by the Increase of population
on its banks it was turned under
ground, and the Serpentine water has
since been drawn from wells, which
also supply the Round Pond and the
lakes in Buckingham palace grounds
and St. James’ park.—London Chron
: icle.
Equal to the Occasion.
The eminent traveler who was giv
ing an illustrated lecture threw a
picture of a celebrated Japanese upon
the screen.
"This,” he said, “Is a portrait of
Admiral Togo. I wonder if any little
boy or girl in the audience h«s ever
heard of him or can tell me what
made him famous.”
Bobby Sbortal] raised his hand.
“Well, my son?”
“He's the man they named tbs
Sairey Toga trunk after.”
Gifted.
“I am convinced," said Mr. Meek
ton, “that women are especially qual
ified for the duties of statesmanship."
“Why?"
"Because most of the women 1 have
known were natural born lecturers.”
Canyon-Like Streets in the
Poorer Quarters.
City Is Not Without Beauty—Princess
Street Said to Be Most Impres
sive of Any Thoroughfare
in Europe.
Edinburgh.—Edinburgh has slums
that look and smell the thing they are.
There is something not only forbid
ding. but almost threatening in the
canyon-like streets of the poorer quar
ter, with their huge grim tenements
built of uncompromising stone and
rising high above the sunless streets.
One meets on the Old North bridge,
which spans the gulf between two
high portions of the town, pale-faced
women hooded in their shawls, and
bearing in their faces the marks of
poverty, hard usage and vice. One
sees also on that historic bridge, how
ever, many a lovely girlish face, many
a daughter of the people such as in
spired some of Burns' iinest love
songs. The land is manifestly full of
native vigor, and the commonfolk
show the descipline of the struggle
that, they and their ancestors have
long waged with a thin soil, a dif- j
ficult topography and a climate some
what niggardly of sunlight and
warmth.
Edinburgh still deserves its ancient
name of Auld Reekie, and between its
boldly magnificent topography, its
self-generated smoke. Its stormy
skies, and its frowning and monumen
tal architecture, it has a sort of
grandeur hard to match in other and
gayer cities. Holyrood is surely a
plain enough royal residence, but
where in any other town is there so
nobly and almost insolently dominant
a pile as Edinburgh castle. It give*
the final touch of something like
domesticity to that aloof and high
set mass of gloomy architecture to
see at night the gleam of lights
through a Tew of its long, slitted win
dows. Nothing can be finer than the
sudden holes of after-sunset bright
ness that appear in the stormy skies
of Edinburgh on summer evenings.
These aspects of the sky suggest
In the Canongate.
nothing less majestic than a Miltonic
war of the heavenly hosts.
It has been said that Princes street
of Edinburgh is the most impressive
in Europe, and if any such assertion
is to be accepted it owes its truth not
so much to the highway itself and its
buildlngB and monuments as to the
amazing topography of Edinburgh,
some of whose noblest features lend a
3ort of awful dignity and splendor to
Princes street. The marvelous view
of the castle and its slopes would
alone give Princes 3treet the highest
distinction, and the castle and its
steep constitute only one of several
noble eminences within view. The
broad gardens, too, are rich and love
ly, and there are fine old historic
structures along the highway, while
the Scott Memorial really does not
look like a church engulfed by an
earthquake with Its steeple still above
ground. As a. matter of fact the
monument, with that amiable and
studious seated statue of Sir Walter
set within, is a dignified and beauti
ful thing, even though it has to vie
with the austere and awful steep
crowned with the vast and wandering
pile of Edinburgh castle.
HUBBIES MUST POUND ROCK
—
New Pennsylvania Law Is Put Into
Operation for the First
Time.
Philadelphia.—When six deserting
husbands were sentenced to three
| months' work breaking stone at the
house of correction by Judge Bregy
there was put into operation for the
first time in Pennsylvania a new law,
passed by the last legislature, which
the court declared would materially
reduce the cases of wife desertion in
this state.
The law empowers the court to com
mit reoalcitrant husbands to the house
of correction, there to be placed at
some profitable empyoment at hard
labor, and provides that 65 cents a
day shall be deducted from their
earnings and paid to the wife. The
minimum sentence is three months,
but this may be extended to six
months if the husband shows no will
ingness otherwise to support his wife.
Heretofore the only punishment
within the power of the court in this
state was a jail sentence, leaving the
man's wife and family to be taken
care of, in many instances, by char
lty.
Bags Eighty Billion Germs.
Baltimore.—Having bagged eighty
billion germs In the wilds of Ecuador
and Pern, Dr. Andrew W. Sellards of
Johns Hopkins university has arrived
here, and will proceed to make a sci
entific study of the creatures at short
range. Among the collection are yel
low fever, bubonic plague and uta,
which is really South American lap
rosy.
LEADER OF THE NAVY ACADEMY ELEVEN
_
Captain Gilchrist. ,
Under the able direction of Captain GilchriBt, and bached up by Coach
•I. A. Reilly, who played halfback at New Haven two years ago, the mid
shipmen of Uncle Sam's Naval academy are being put through their prac
tice games in preparation for the big game with their gridiron enemies of
Uncle Sam’s Military academy.
CHANGE IN RULES IS ASKED I
Players' Fraternity Draw Up Demands
and Stars Will ‘‘Hold Out” if Mag
nates Refuse Them.
If the members of the baseball play
ers’ fraternity stand pat on their de
mands made on the major league mag
nates and the latter refuse to give in
to their aims, there should be a whole
sale holdout when it comes to signing
contracts next year. A number of the
big league stars have already agreed
to hold out if the demauds of the fra
ternity are turned down.
A eeries of demands were drawn up
recently and will be placed in the
hands of the magnates during the win
ter, after which they will be submitted
to the national commission with the
request that they be made part of the
laws governing organized baseball. It
was said that already 65 per cent, of
the members of the players’ fraternity
have indorsed the proposition.
Four important demands are under
consideration, it is nnderstood. They
are:
No player who has been a member
of a major league club for ten years
shall be given other than his uncon
ditional release.
No player who has been a member
of a major and minor league club, in
clusive, for 12 years shall be given oth
er than his unconditional release.
No player who has been carried on
a major league's pay roll until July
shall be released to the minors nnless
waivers are eecured from the 16 clubs
of the American and National leagues.
A major league club owner shall be
prohibited from carrying a player who
has an opportunity to play on another
major league club until the fate
months of the season, thus taking ad
vantage of the time when the teams
are carrying many recruits, to send
the player in question to the minors.
Denver Race Meet.
Along with the other brands of sport
Denver is chosen for the classiest rac
ing meet of the 1914 season. John M.
Kuykendall is back of the scheme and
he says he will bring some of the best
horses in the country there in compe
tition.
Cobb Lauds Yankees.
Ty Cobb declares that the Yanks
have improved about 70 per cent,
through the addition of their recruits
and predicts that next year they will
be in the fight all the way.
PHILLIPS.
Left Tackle on Princeton Team.
FOOTBALL IS MADE *
A -SPECIAL STUDY”
%
Football has been advanced to
the dignity of a "special study” at
Wesleyan university this year. The
faculty announcement made at the
opening exercises included this
statement, and assigned Daniel
Hutchinson of the University of
Pennsylvania, as special football in
structor, assisted by Doctor Fau
ver, professor of physical educa
tion.
Under this faculty indorsement a
winning football team is expected.
TALBOT.
Left Tackle on Yale Team.
PLAN A. A. U. CHAMPIONSHIPS
Ten-Mile Run, Seven-Mile Walk and
Two Cross Countries Will Be Held
in Vicinity of Gotham.
A mail vote on the holding of the
ten-mile run championship, seven-mile
walk, junior national cross-country
and senior national cross-country
championships for 1913 has been called
for by James E. Sullivan, chairman of
the championship committee of the
Amateur Athletic union of the United
States.
It is planned to hold all these cham
pionships in the vicinity of New York.
In all probability the ten-mile run and
seven-mile walk will be held on No
vember 29, at a place to be selected
later. The junior and senior cross
country championships will probably
be held over the national course at
Van Courtland park on November 8
and 15, respectively. The intercollegi
ate cross-country championships will
also be held over the Van Courtland
park course November 22.
Preserve Tennis Balls.
Tennis balls can be preserved In
usable shape for an indefinite length
of time If they are kept absolutely
dry. They lose their resiliency and
become "dead” before they are worn
out, because dampness decomposes
the rubber. An air-tight box con
taining a substance that will absorb
moisture and prevent decomposition
has recently been patented, as well
as a similar air-tight case for protect
ing tennis racketB from moisture.
International Shoot.
Switzerland won the international
team shooting match at Camp Perry,
O. The Swiss team has won the prize
for many years. The shooting was with
free rifles on the 300-meter range, 120
shots—10 standing, 40 prone and 40
kneeling. Switzerland scored 4,957
points, France 4,771, United States, 4,
577 and Sweden 4,671.
SCHEMES OF GRIDIRON
Real Football Player Is Thinking
Every Minute of Game.
Rule Which Allows Punting Anywhere
Behind Scrimmage Line Permits
Revival—Officials Must Watch
the Bali Closely.
With the playing of the opening
games of the 1913 football season,
close followers of the game, especial
ly those who played under the old
rules, are watching with interest the
manner in which the players take ad
vantage of the rules, some of which
permit foxy players.J.0 -'pull off’ the
unexpected if certain plays are used
^ the proper time.
Although the rules have not been
changed to any great extent, there
are many ways in which a heady play
er can keep his team out of danger by
carefully sizing up the situation and
ascertaining the plays which might
work the best when his team is
crowded near his own goal line. A
real football player is thinking and
scheming all the time, and it is this
type who generally makes a name for
himself.
The rule which states that when a
forward pass is thrown out of bounds
before striking the ground in the field
of play the bail shall go to the op-,
ponents at the point where it crossed
the sideline, is one w hich has not been
taken advantage of enough. There
are many players in a squad who can
hurt the oval 40 or 50 yards with the
accuracy of a baseball. If a coach
is fortunate enough to have such a
player this man should be carried
along for this specialty.
Under the ruling which allows a re
substitution of a player at the be
ginning of the second and third quar
ters and at any time during the final
period, a player who can throw the
ball out of bounds 30 or 40 yards down
the field is a valuable asset. If a
team is close pressed and finally takes
the ball away from its opponents on
the one or two yard line, the natural
thing to do is to punt the ball as far
out of danger as possible.
In striking contrast to this method
of preventing a team from scoring
would be the sure, safe method of
throwing the ball out of boundB 30 or
40 yards down the field. Even if the
wind were blowing against the oval
the passer would get more distance to
his throw than a kicker, for the sim
ple reason that the ball is thrown in
a spiral fashion, thus allowing the
ball to bore through the air and with
a definite direction. The defensive
team has no chance of receiving a free
trial at the goal, and there Is no
chance of the catcher running the ball
any distance.
This play was used sparingly last
season, especially in the early stages.
Near the close of the year the coaches
used it more, and soon discovered the
value of a man who could throw the
oval a long distance with accuracy.
The preliminary practice every season
is devoted to kicking and throwing
the oval, and the coaches now should
have a good line on the men who are
most adept in handling the ball
The change in the rules which al
lows the ball to be kicked from any
point back of the scrimmage line is
sure to bring back the on-side kick,
considered by many to be one of the
most valuable ground gaining plays.
As the rule this season permits the
kicker to boot the oval from any
position, the old on-side kick is sure
to come back into its own and be
used a great deal. The play will be
all the more valuable because the ball
is free property the moment it strikes
; the ground, whereas in the old days
the oval had to be touched by an op
| ponent before one of the kicking side
i could recover it. As a result there
is going to be plenty of scrambling
for the ball, so the officials will have
to be on top of the play all the time
to award the otsI to its logical owner.
Although these plays should come
in for a lot of consideration by
coaches and players, there are other
points which are of invaluable assist
ance to a team if the players carry
out instructions. The point regarding
a player stepping out of bounds or
fighting to cross the side line when
he is cornered is a most important
one. When a team in possession of
the ball is crowded within two yards
from the side line the offensive
eleven is in a ’'hole” and its chances
of gaining ground mightly slim.
The players always should remem
: her to fight to get out of bounds when
! tackled close to the boundary. It Is
! almost impossible to gain ground on
the wing close to the side line and it
is almost as hard to make any head
way on the wide side because the
defense is shifted over to meet an
expected attack. If a team is forced
against the boundary it is much better
to lose a down by sending a play out
of bounds than it is to try to gain
through the line or on the wide side.
Think Term Unfair.
A letter writer questions the use ol
ths term “Big Three" as applied to
Harvard. Yale and Princeton. He
I thinks it unfair to Penn, Cornell and
{ Dartmouth. Its origin dates from
i 1874, when Harvard took up the game
I and the triangular tournament came
; into existence, Princeton having
| adopted the game in 1869 and Yale in
1 1872. Penn did not take up the game
j until 1876, Dartmouth in 1882 and Cor
I nell in 1887.
Reward for Maranville.
President Gaffney of the Boston
Braves says that when his contracts
for 1914 are made out Shortstop Mar
anviUe will get the biggest in
crease in pay. Maranville's salary
this season has been but $1,800. Ho
likely will get $3,000. And it is said
for him that he has never intimated
that he ought to have a raise.
Mack Wants Felton.
Manager Connie Mack, usually re
garded as a most conservative bidder
for ball-playing talent, recently made a
record offer of $15,000 a year to Sam
Felton a Harvard college pitcher. Fel
ton is also a star quarterback in foot
ball. He has a small fortune in his
own right and turned down the Mack*
ian offer.
