G ais EG ae © C ae me CCl Se EOE a a Ca a Pee QE & Kage Cx ag C@ ic C A CEM CEC SEES | | C CCO CCE & ae ( Ci S OO CE ces w4G Ce CG CE CORCE te tee Cad CCE CCC ELC EC «i RKC MERKEL -§ TF. Ce cae CEE CORE CC (( OKC GE LECECE EE oe . LO CEE. CG (KOC ECE eC < CEG C CG « Opes CO EKK € Ci CCE é OCG © ES K eee COM COOCEeK Gag KOE Ge Sa ae CG COCO G ne © G « Sia | ee CCE eC aae @ OE RIG? apa a os Ci CE COE Ci EEE CEE i (CC CEO C CK CCC. CE Ci ae KC CE CGE GE piace Gi i EKG boa CO Ee ie & cd @ ¢ ei EKKKEEG > A € qe 4 CEC ce > a« © Ps x (EC acG ss _ & ce ES se «@ « © ote C Ea CCC CL KKKa@ a ‘| 4 e 7 in Mild s ' ; n o 2» ; A t, ; =| “ + ‘ : : : : i l ; r . « ~~ d v ’ j . tin enin piece AD TRANSACTIONS Ue S. Nat. Mus. Div. Fishes. Carded AMERICAN FISH CULTURAL ASSUCIATION, SEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING, —OF THE— February 27th and 28th, 1878. Held at the Directors’ Rooms of the Fulton Market Fish Mongers’ Assoctation. New YORK: Fohn M. Davis, Typographer, No. go Fulton Street. 1878. * 7 ‘ ' 5 f » cic? . < * 2 ? ‘* ) ~ p a =, “~ 1= > .% ote ~~ + ' Ld Z on oft ee) i ed 2 *. ¥ ’ a ah TSR ok Oh . : 3 ( oy ) pha tar " . ‘ gf! ra : “ih oe OE wy Ly , Rey tt hy fC EN EA es). ‘ sear . ii | { f 5 Nh aan »4 5 4 ae A . 2 in”) y : F ‘3 ‘ es ; } { reg ON i ? _ Pil a) ' . . an, , ; 4 ; I . Lit Ae. i : 7 > i F res We aA i jet NEG ta 2 ne Pee - » v Vryuete tS) py Y : ‘ Aha gag ; i 7 att : “© x4 te 4 aa ; SrA * Wer pyeeit ‘ 5 ; 5 6 Win watt oc Av ~ MV | - rey aif ait rh one ea, ae OP PIC E Re. 18/870. ROBERTS BB ROOSEVELT, - - - PRESIDENT. New York City. GEO. SHEPHERD PAGE, - - VICE-PRESIDENT. New York City. EUGENE G. BLACKFORD, . TREASURER. LVew York City. BARNET PHILLIPS, - - - - SECRETARY. Brooklyn, IV. Y. BePeMTiveE COMMIT Vir, H. J, REEDER; - = - : Easton, Pa. FRED. MAES - : - Newark, N. F. W. F. WHITCHER, - : - - Ottawa, Canada. SETH GREEN, - - - - Rochester, N. Y. Bo WES Tt, - - - : - Mew York City. H. D. McGOVERN, - - : Brooklyn, NV. Y. TW. MILNER, . - - - - Washington, D.C. SEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING THE FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION WEDNESDAY, February 27, 1878. THE meeting having been called to order by the President, Ropert B. Rooseve.t, Esq., the minutes of the former meet- ine -were, thensread.. by the Secretary, B, Puitips, Esq jand the same were approved. The various sections were then called on the report by - the President. These sections and the members selected to treat on the subjects were as follows: Section 1. Methods in Fish Culture and Apparatuses, con- ducted by StrH Green, of Rochester, N. Y.: B. B. Porter, of Colorado, and SamuEL Wiumot, of Ottawa, Canada. SECTION 2. Fishing Laws and Fishways, under charge of CHARLES B. Evarts, of Windsor, Vt.: LivINGsToNE STONE, of Charleston, N. H., and T. P. Fercuson, of Annapolis, Md. SECTION 3. On Natural History and Aquaria under the con- trol of Professor JAmMes W. Mitner, of Washington, D. C.: FREDERICK MaAtTueEr, of New York, and CHARLES HALLOCK. SECTION 4. On Fisheries, under care of EUGENE G. BLACK- FORD, BARNET PHILLIPS and M. E. Epwarps, of Western Ver- mont. These having been formed, a committee to prepare an 4 Fish Cultural Association. obituary on B. F. Bowles, the Secretary read a memorial on the late B. F. Bowles, written by Mr. Livincstone STONE. In the absence of R. B. PorTER, Esq:, then in California, the following paper was read by the Secretary : Having been called upon at our last annual meeting to report on Methods of Fish Culture, I will give you my ex- perience and some experiments made, although doubtless the facts may be known to many other practical fish culturists. I shall confine my remarks to methods of trout-culture, or of the salmon family, leaving the methods of culture of other fish to Messrs. Green and Wilmot, who are more conversant therewith. Being so far away from my base, without notes or memoranda, I shall have to depend entirely upon memory. The method of raising brook-trout at the present day only varies in appliances from the date of its commencement in this country. Brook-trout culture is really the mother of fish-culture, whereby our rivers, lakes, ponds, and creeks are already teem- ing with countless thousands of fish in many localities from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The salmon family of our country are now being sent to all parts of the world, and yet fish-culture is only in its in- _fancy. At the first regular meeting: ‘of thisoAssociation, at Albany, N. Y., almost every member ~was interested in the culture of trout or salmon; but now “The Anglers fridex is hardly thought of, though it is the most difficult fish to raise to maturity of all our food-fishes; consequently it is likely, I think, to remain a luxury, and will always command a good price in market. In raising trout one must have the natural advantages : ist. A never-failing spring with a good flow of water (the. larger the better). 2d. The water must be of uniform tem- Methods of Fish Culture. 5 perature during the whole year. 3d. There must be a good fall. 4th. The stream must not be liable to be washed out by floods during the severest storms. The old method of hatching the spawn on gravel is nearly obsolete. Wire trays, with the wires crossing each other at right angles one-tenth of an inch apart one way and half an inch apart the other, are probably the best for hatching trout or salmon-spawn upon, allowing the fish to fall through as soon as hatched. There are many ingenious devices for hatching, but if you have your eggs so that you can pick them over readily and keep them clean and exclude the light, it is the easiest part of fish-culture, providing your eggs are well impregnated. The watering-pot will keep the sediment off, and a liberal use of salt will prevent fungus from generating. After the eggs are hatched it is best to remove them to another trough, or rearing-box, where you have spread a half inch or more of fresh earth, and they will generally remain healthy until the sac is absorbed. If the season is as far advanced as the first of April, in the latitude of New York City, at the time the fish ‘begin’ to’ feed; it is just as well: to. turn. them out; providing you have a proper place to put them, and instead of ponds, they do as well or better in a small running stream of spring-water, with a pond at the lower end of the stream, where you can place a screen if you do not wish them to descend. Another method of raising trout was tried with success, by arranging the ponds in the fall, and selecting pairs of ripe trout at different times, for say ten days, and placing them in the pond where they would spawn. As soon as ‘the first pairs had spawned they were removed and others put in, until there were enough eggs in the pond to produce as many fish as were necessary to stock the pond or series of ponds, 6 Fish Cultural Association. with. Then by covering with boards the sun-hght was mostly excluded, and they were left to hatch themselves. The fish hatched well and did well,.and by giving them free use of three successive ponds, they sortéd themselves as perfectly as could be done by hand. There was a fall of eighteen inches between the ponds, so that when they once went down they could not return. The plan was also tried of letting the fish have a chance to go on the spawning-beds themselves, and then turning them off when they had got through, but this did not yield so many fish as the method last stated. Another method was tried by taking the eggs by what is called the Russian method, or dry impregnation, and placing them immediately in the ponds, and with a turkey’s wing making the nest and covering the eggs in the same manner. This plan was more successful than letting the fish into the pond to spawn, and turning them out when they got through. A method of raising the smail- fry was tried and found to work well; that was by taking the fish out of the trough or boxes as soon as they began to feed, and placing them in a car or box that had previously been fastened in the race or pond where there was a good current’ of .. water. (At ithe |: upper Mend siotithis,\car ~wasgal ‘small screen; and at the loweriend another screen three times as large. This worked better than one that was tried with the whole bottom made of wire-screen. The fish did as well’ or better im ‘this car) than/aaiithe hatching-house,) ihe cover was made partially of boards, the rest of wire-screen. When the fish had grown to an inch or more in length they were removed to the ponds or streams where they were to remain for thesummer:): This’ plan swould )work and oie good satisfaction with salmon-trout, land-locked salmon, and the Selmo Salar, and especially with the California salmon. Methods of Fish Culture. 7 In trying these different methods more or less trout would die; but having always kept a hatching-house re- cord, I can give you the benefit of my experience in regard to the percentage of trout generally, raised with good care to six months old, one year old, and of trout brought to ma- turity from the time of taking the spawn—calling the age of maturity when the fish are old enough to spawn. We will say that you take from good, healthy fish one hundred thousand eggs. With a good, fair impregnation you will be likely to have from 80 to 85 per cent. impregnated (though you may take ten or twenty thousand, and perhaps impregnate from 95 to gg per cent). Out of these impreg- nated eggs you will find about five per cent. that have not strength enough to burst the shell of the egg, or die in get- ting out of the shell. This leaves you from 75 to 80 per cent. hatched. Before the sac is absorbed you will pick out about five per cent. more of dead fish from blue swelling of the sac and various other causes. By the time the fish have been feeding six weeks or two months you will have picked out twenty per cent. more of them from disease and. cannibalism. By this time they are ready to turn out, though if you-keep them in the hatching-house a month longer you will not be likely to lose many more. Now you have fifty per cent. left. After you have turned them out, and the fish are four months old, from 10 to 15 per cent. more will have died from starvation, cannibalism, disease, snakes, frogs, and birds. At six months old the fish have dwindled down to about 30 per cent. of your original hundred thousand eggs. The next six months, if you have them well. sorted, you will not lose more than from 3 to 5 per cent. Therefore, at one year from the time the eggs were taken, 25 per cent. of the products are left. At maturity from 15 to 20 8 Fish Cultural Association. per cent. are all you will have left. Keep them another year, and you will have from five to ten thousand fish out ef one hundred thousand eggs: There is quite a difference in these figures and the figures arrived at on the same subject ten years ago, and yet trout-culture is a success. No one has yet, to my knowledge, raised trout exclusively for the table. That it can and will be done with profit is only a question of time. The demand for eggs and small- fry, as well as yearlings, is so much above the supply that no one has tried to do it—exclusively the raising of fish for the table. When capital and skill combine, then we shall (hearer the reat, successqoipiroutscultune, The method of raising trout in a single pond succeed only to a limited extent, yet, by frequent stocking, can be made a source of good sport and furnish many a fine mess for the table. The methods of raising other species of the salmon family are identical with that of the Salmo Fontinalis, but they are more hardy, not subject to so many diseases, and only kept for a short time before being planted in public or private waters, where they take care of themselves. The above experiments were made at the Crystal Spring ‘Fish Farm, Oakland, Bergen County, N. J., during the last five years by your fellow-member, B.- Bs PORE San Francisco, Cau., February 15, 1878. Mr. Sera “Green: “Mr, Potters conclusions agree” pretty well with mine. I will give my ideas as to the way streams should be stocked. When we hatch fish we place them in the rivulets of some main stream which we wish to stock. As soon as the fish acquire a certain size they want larger water, and they have to get it. My advice to those who have Methods of Fish Culture. 9 such streams and wish to stock them, is to dig deep holes in the smal] streams such as are convenient to their places. Dig a hole which.will have a curve in it, with no square shoulders in it. {f would put something in the stream where fish could hide—logs or brush—so that they could have some sort of cover. One great thing in stocking streams is to be careful not to put in too many fish. You must govern yourself in stocking streams as you would in putting cattle into a pas- ture, or more will die than live. The food that the fish live upon must also be taken into consideration in stocking the stream. In putting spawn into a pond and allowing them to hatch there soon after impregnation, these spawn would not hatch unless there was a spring directly under them. If there was a spring and they were placed in carefully, the spawn would hatch, but if there was no spring to carry off the sedi- ment as it came up through the gravel the sediment would kill the spawn. As to percentage of loss mentioned in Mr. Porter’s paper, it was not larger than was generally supposed. In old times such a loss was possible. I kept this year only one thousand young trout, and I raised 75 per cent. until they were a year old. The great thing is to have cleanliness in the apparatus you raise the fish in. All food thrown in for the fish to eat that is not consumed goes to the bottom, and there it becomes foul, and the fish soon sicken, and when they sicken they die. The way to prevent this is to keep your troughs clean. My troughs are cleaned every day perfectly clean, and. during the last few years we have made a great success in raising our fish. _ Tue Prestpent: Mr. Green, Mr. Porter states that only 80 to 85 per cent. of all the eggs will be impregnated. Mr. Green: I think we can do better than that. We IO Fish Cultural Association. have counted the eggs and fish carefully, and I think that in the New York State Hatching-House we impregnated 95 per cent., and I think our work will show. ; THe PRESIDENT: You mean you hatched 95? Mr. Green: He hatched 95 per cent. We have now 1,600,000 brook-trout that we expect to distribute in this state during this coming spring. This year I had the most favorable reports from the streams we have stocked. There was one little stream where I had placed three thousand trout. It was three-quarters of a mile long. I visited it last week. I could see that the stream was perfectly alive with the little fish two to three and a half inches long. Tue Presipenr: Mr. Porter says that after three yeans you would have but 5 per cent. of fish. Mr. Green: I would not hesitate to say that with fair usage 50 per cent. would be as small a number for good trout,-if planted in proper water. I know that in these streams I have stocked there are to-day 80 per cent. of fish in as good con- dition as I put them in. | Tue Presipenr: It seems to me that the proportion of loss given by Mr. Porter is very great. Mr. Green: I think it is... ‘For the last three years we-> have never had any trouble in raising any kind of fish. We have salmon-trout now, five years old, in our works, and weighing ten pounds, and a great many of them. We have Kennebec salmon five years, and not any of them weighing over two pounds. The first, second, and third years they grew, and then seemed to stop. We have Cali- fornia brook-trout, two years old, that are certainly twice as large as our brook-trout the same age. They are a tough, hard, gamy little fish, and we raised them in the same way as any other fish, without the least trouble. They Methods of Fish Culture. II are the smartest, gamiest fish I know of. That is the moun- tain trout of California. They do not differ in appearance from our fish in shape. They may be a little thicker about the head. They are handsomely colored, but have no red spots, but black spots, with square head, the same as ours. Some of the flesh is red, some white, just like ours. By a MEMBER: Suppose you’ were furnished with the eggs of the California salmon from year to year, and raised them in fresh water, would they produce more pounds of fishxin weight than our brook-trout ? Mr. GREEN: Decidedly they would. By A MempBer: Which would produce the greater quan- tity of fish in weight—the California salmon or the brook- trout ? Mr. Green: The California salmon, decidedly. THE PRESIDENT: About what proportion would be the increase—the comparative increase? Mr. Green: At least one-half. Question : The California salmon would be one-half heav- tery ; Mr. GREEN: Yes. Question: Would they breed? Mr. GREEN: They never would with us. I never have taken spawn from them. The egg is cast at one year old. I have impregnated trout with the California salmon, brook- trout and salmon-trout with the California salmon, with one year old California salmon. THE PRESIDENT: You did not. get eggs of the female or milt of the male? Mr. Green: Yes, I did. In answer to a question in regard to grayling, Mr. Green said: I have brought grayling home, but they have never 12 Fish Cultural Association. cast any spawn. There seems to be something we do not understand about the grayling. I do not think grayling are proper fish for our latitudes. Perhaps the food has something to do with it. I am ‘of the opinion that spawn could be taken from them and impregnated, and the fish live. They are too tender, like white-fish, I may remark that (the great) thing in) takimgeespawm | is\to\ ber cancrul and not:rub) off the ‘slime’.on: themish.), (The ‘slimetion /ceranm kindsi-of fish: seems) more than "skimadeep.’ » You caniMakera trout and cut a deep gash across him, and he will get well; but take any other fish and run your hand round him, and he is a dead fish. By a Memper: Will you give us some information about pickerel ? Mr. Green: I have never taken pickerel from one water and put it;into another. 1 mever/have) taken prckerel on account of ‘the .prejudice’ agaimspi tiem.\>/ The. pickerel) iste dangerous fish to put anywhere. By a Mremper: Have you ever had any experience with the silver-belly trout ? | Mr. Green: There is a trout in the North Sebagoe Lake, which is a peculiar trout. I was shown some of them. They belong to the salmon-trout family, but are different from any salmon-trout I ever saw. In most lakes they differ alittle, biutinthese were a great way off from anything I ever saw. Their mouths are sharp. They were from a lake in this state, just north of Syracuse. They run up the month of July and spawn, and they resemble the salmon more than the) trout. By a Memeer: Have any continued efforts been made to transport the grayling from the West to our waters ? Mr. Green: No continued effort. Returning to salmon, I Methods of Fish Culture. 13 think it very likely all the salmon family would spawn in a lake if there was plenty of gravel and a large spring coming out of the lake. Whether they all go up those streams we do not know, but the chances are that nearly all do so. By a Memser: Referring to Mr. Porter’s statement, it is something new to say that in five years’ time only 5 per Gent. of seges are, left in a “good ‘state ;~but: im. thespaper there is a saving clause. .He says he started out with one hundred thousand eggs, and further says that with a small amount of eggs, such as twenty thousand, a greater propor- tion would be saved. I want to ask if he did not have too many eggs? Mr. GREEN: Well, almost all of us could handle $20,000 better than we could $500,000; but we have men, of course, who handle great sums of money pretty successfully. Mr. REEDER, Fish Commissioner of Pennsylvania: The overstocking of water is an evil much to be dreaded. The loss in cases of fish put into the water, where water has insufficient food, arises from consumption of the fish by the other fish. That applies more particularly to trout, which are a good deal like men: they feed upon other trout. That is the distinction between sheep and trout. Trout will eat each other, and sheep will not; and the excess is consumed as food, and consequently it is to be apprehended that in a large number of fish the loss will be larger. When they get sick, the big ones eat the little ones, and they then become dis- eased, and when the disease seizes upon them it goes through the whole family, and only a few recover. We have no way of doctoring them. They get thin, and nearly all die. A very much larger percentage would die if put in the water in large quantities. There would be danger in introducing a 14 Fish Cultural Association. large number in a small pond, as there would in putting a large number of men in a small room. Mr. GREEN: Our streams can nearly all be improved by introducing food. My experience is, that when fish sicken most of them die. We bathe them with salt, and do many things, and once in a while save some. We have what we call a hospital, and go through operations and doctor them, and sometimes save them. Mr. Marner: In regard to moving fish at spawning-time I can give my experiences. I had two hundred fish ready to spawn. I removed them to a fitting locality, and they never spawned. I have moved the fish from one locality to another about the spawning-season, and found that these fish were barren. I would advise persons who wish to distribute fish) not. toi do: it just’ about>the aime they fare’ going ae spawn. Mr. GREEN: The grayling I spoke of had spawned. Mr. MatHer > »Those? 1 refer: tevhad ‘notispawned: > age next year I took the spawn from the living fish, and I think I can bear out Mr. Green’s assertion there again that they will not live after they have spawned. Mr. Green: We are hatching the frost-fish, too. Some four men have taken some hundred thousand of them. We hatch them the same as whitefish. THe Presipent: Would Professor Milner give us the scientific name of the frost-fish? (Some smelts were brought in from Fulton Market.) Mr. Mitner: That is the smelt—the fresh-water smelt. The President asked whether it is Mr. Milner’s opinion that the Raritan smelt is the same as the fresh water one. Mr. Mitner: I would not like to say that. Mr. BLAcKrorp: We have at the market smelts that come Methods of Fish Culture. 15 frozen from Nova Scotia, and many of them are peculiarly black on the backs. We call them black-backs. We obtain from Massachusetts and Maine green smelt, which term means that the smelt has not been frozen. We have sent us the Raritan and Passaic river smelt, which are very small, in- deed, but are considered very choice by the people in that vicinity, though they would not be appreciated in the New York market, because of the size. In New York the larger the;(smeltAthe:ibetter “the: price: THE PRESIDENT: Do you consider, from what we find in the Report of the Maryland Commissioners, that there are two varieties? Mr. Mitner: Mr. Norris had named a certain species osmerus sergentit, but I have not made a critical study, and I am not prepared to reply. I could not give any precise con- clusions, unless I obtain specimens of the different varieties from different waters, and had studied them carefully. A member from Newark, N. J., said: In Newark, New England smelts sell at five cents a pound, and smelts taken from the river, at Newark, at twenty-five cents. I do not know whether there was really twenty cents difference, but purchasers thought so in Newark. I have eaten the Rari- tan smelt the same time as the other smelt, and thought that, according to my judgment, there was twenty cents dif- ference. The Raritan smelt was a very much more delicate fish. Mr. BiackrorD: Would you not find the flavor of all smelts delicate if you took them the same size? A Memser: As to the Raritan and Passaic smelt, people seldom eat them, unless they are very fresh, which makes a great difference. Mr. BiackrorD: The best smelt we get in Fulton Mar- 16 Fish Cultural Assoctation. ket, and those which bring the largest price, are smelts caught in some little inlets of Long Island, Patchogue, and other places—smelts which average five to a pound. They are caught in the afternoon, and we get them next morn- ing, and the flavor is considered superior to anything in the market. Speaking of the Raritan smelt, the fish commis- sioner of New Jersey brought up a small basket at the time of the opening of the trout season last year, on March 15th, and quite a number of gentlemen of this Association were present and ate them, and everybody thought them the fimest sureltss they ever sate. Mr: “Green: .The fact is thatgphe fish caughturieltin your, homes:-is.-the»best’ fish: youjtever sate. - 1 think: thefdire ference is: due: to) the: time they, are out of water... When go, to,/market; I. inquire: for theyireshest fish) they: have! By a GENTLEMAN PRESENT: I find that this same question of excellence applies to shad. When I go to the South I find there is nothing like the shad there, and the same in the North. People in this state talk of North River shad. People in Philadelphia swear by Delaware shad. Mr. Milner then read a paper by Mr. LIvINGSTONE STONE on packing and transporting salmon-eggs. REPORT ON THE GENERAL SUBSECT OF THE PACKING AND TRANSPORTATION OF SALMON-EGGS. One of the features of the culture of the salmon family, which has contributed without doubt more than anything else to its efficiency and wide-spread usefulness, is the fact that it is possible to transport the eggs of the salmonidz Packing and Transportation of Salmon-eggs. iy alive over very long distances.** The California Salmon- Hatching Station of the United States Fish Commission fur- nishes a good illustration of this. From this station salmon- eggs are sent alive to points sixteen thousand miles apart. The sphere of usefulness, therefore, of the California establishment has a radius of eight thousand miles, which ‘enables it, theoretically, to inclose within reach of its beneficent influence an area of two hundred million square miles. | : This shows how immensely the possibility of the wide dis- tribution of salmon-eggs increases the utility of the efforts that are being made in the culture of salmon. Another circumstance about the distribution of salmon- eggs which deserves mention, is that it is no longer experi- mental, as was once believed. It was thought not very long ago that when salmon-eggs were sent to a distant point it was a mere matter of luck and chance whether they reached their des- tination alive. It is not so at all. The principles involved are so simple, and the rules of packing and transportation are so clear and so certain in their action, that if salmon- eggs are lost in the course of a month's journey, it is be- cause of ignorance or carelessness in the packing or in the care of the eggs in transit, and is not a question of ‘luck or chance at all, except in this particular, viz., if you are obliged to let the eggs go out of your hands, then it becomes a matter of chance whether the express agents or others in charge of them will faithfully carry out their in- structions. As a general thing, they do not. * The longest distance ever successfully overcome in the transportation or fish eggs, I be- jieve, was between Charlestown, New Hampshire, and Christchurch, New Zealand, being up- wards of eleven thousand five hundred miles. This) was in the case of a lot of ‘Sal- mo Fontinalis *’ eggs, which were shipped from New Zealand by Messrs. Stone and Hooper, Charlestown, New Hampshire, in the fall of 1876. 18 Fish Cultural Assoctation. When the rules for packing and transportation are faith- fully observed, you may be just as sure of finding your sal- mon-eggs alive at the end of a ten thousand mile journey, as you would be of finding your horse or your dog alive after a:trip from. Boston. to’ NewaYork,, The element ot wa- certainty in the transportation of salmon-eggs has been en- tirely removed in theory. When it comes to practice, it de- pends, of course, on whether the conditions of safety can be secured and carried out; but when salmon-eggs are lost in a month’s journey, it has been, not from any necessity for it, but because some of the rules for packing and transpor- tation have not been observed. The rules for packing salmon-eggs may be briefly stated, as follows: (1.) They should be packed at the right age. The right age is just when the choroid pigment, or eye-spot, as it is com: monly called, shows as a clear, distinct black spot through the shell of the egg.- The reason why this is the right age is because the embryo, previous to that stage, is too delicate to bear the journey, and every day after that stage is re- acted, the outer shell of the eee becomes more and. more fragile, and consequently less able to stand the pressure to which it must be subjected in packing. See’ Rule No.5. (2.) The eggs before being packed should be washed perfectly clean, so that every:'pore will be able to :do ‘its’ best ser- wicein ‘the severe, trial ‘avhichy as /Mbefore “them: (Mit is vere ident if the pores of the eggs are half stopped up with dirt, or half covered with fungus, it is in no condition to survive the ordeal of a long journey in a packing-box. I will not reflect upon my reader’s intelligence by saying that the eggs must be healthy eggs to begin with, but will say Packing and Transportation of Salmon-eggs. 19 that if their vitality. has been weakened by sediment, fun- goid growths, attacks from water-insects, or any other causes whatever, they had better be kept where they are, They are certainly not fit to be packed for a long journey. (3.) Lu packing, use as far as practicable fresh, living moss. This is very desirable, indeed, as the live moss takes up the effete exhalations from the eggs, and in return furnishes oxygen to sustain the life of the embryo. Indeed, so serviceable is living moss in this respect, that fish-eggs packed in it can be enclosed in a perfectly air-tight package safely for a long time. (4.) Use clean moss, from which all extraneous matter, such as «sticks, dead leaves, and the like, have been removed: Decaying vegetation or hard substances can do the eggs no good, and may do them harm. (5.) The eggs should be packed very tightly. There is very little danger in your exerting too much pressure on them if they are taken at the right stage, and if moss and eggs are all right to start with. In packing the California sal- mon-eggs, which have made the journey successfully from the Pacific to the Atlantic so many times the last few years, the moss is piled up an inch or two above the top of the packing-boxes, and then the covers are forced down to their place by a very strong pressure. If the eggs are healthy, and packed at the proper stage, it will not injure them in the least, and the close packing, consequent upon this pressure, will keep them in their place, which is one-half the battle. If you are afraid the egg-shell will not bear the pressure, try to squeeze a healthy salmon-egg between the thumb and fin- ger when the eye-spot first shows, and see how much pressure it will stand before the shell breaks. 20 Fish Cultural Association. (6.) Protect the box of moss which contains the eggs from changes of temperature by a competent outer packing of sawdust, or some other non-conducting material, to keep the heat or extreme cold to which the package may be subjected from reaching the eggs within. (The author thinks that moss is the best material for the outer packing, but does not here insist upon it.) (7.) When exposure to warm air is to be guarded against, wt 7s necessary to provide ice-chambers in the outer packing- boxes.. As this,is, merely .avpqueéstion ot-)mechanical cone trivance,.I will not enlarge upon at here any further than to say that the ice-chambers should be so arranged that the water and the cold coming from the melting ice should be allowed to descend upon the eggs. (8.) By all means, tf ice ts used, have apertures in the top and bottom of the egg-boxes to let in and let out the water caused by the melting ice. The openings at the top let the ice-water in to the eggs, which cools and refreshes them; while, on the other hand, the openings at the bottom let the water out, which is absolutely indispensable, as there is nothing more surely fatal to salmon-eggs than stagnant water. If the above directions are carried out, it makes very little difference what the size of the packing-boxes is, or the shape or the material, provided they are clean, strong, con- venient, and suitable for general packing purposes, it being desirable only to remember that the depth of the boxes con- taining the moss and eggs should not be over six inches. For the benefit of inexperienced amateurs in fish-culture I will repeat the programme for packing eggs, so well known to all professional fish-culturists, viz.: Place at the Packing and Transportation of Salmon-eggs. 21 bottom of the box first a substantial layer of moss, then a piece of -mosquito-bar the size of the box, then a layer of eggs, then another similar piece of mosquito-bar, then a layer of moss, then mosquito-bar and eggs again, and so on to the top. The layers of moss should be thick enough to effec- tually prevent the adjacent layers of eggs from touching each other, and this is about all that is necessary. The top layer of all should be considerably thicker. TRANSPORTATION OF THE EGGs. The whole secret of the successful transportation of sal- mon-eggs lies in observing this one rule, viz.: (1.) KEEP THE EGGS COLD. By cold, I mean as near the freezing-point as they can be kept without freezing. 1 cannot emphasize this point enough. If you pack the eggs properly, and keep them cold enough, you are perfectly certain, with the exercise of an or- dinary amount of common sense, leaving accidents out of ac- count, to take-them safely a month’s journey. There is no chance or uncertainty about it. Indeed, it is safe to say that if.1t were practicable ‘to. “keep + the’. temperature/aiig3 deg. Fahrenheit, you could take salmon-eggs around the world alive. On the other hand, if you let them get warm, you are perfectly certain to lose them. This was undoubtedly the cause of the loss of the ship- ments of California salmon-eggs to Europe in the fall of 1877. At some point between Sacramento and Liverpool the eggs, not, of course, through any conscious neglect of the messenger in charge, but undoubtedly without his knowl- edge, were allowed to get warm, and, as a necessary conse- quence, were lost. The disaster could not have resulted from 22 Fish Cultural Association. the;*packing, because ay largerplot) sent at the same time and packed in the:-same way, accomplished the journey of eight thousand miles, and across the tropics to New Zea- land in safety, and proved a triumphant success, only 5 per cent. being killed in transit. In the observance of the above rule lies the whole science of the transportation of the salmon family. | If from accident or otherwise the eggs should get warm or dry, drench them copiously with ice-water. If they have not already suffered injury, this will set them all right again tena, new. ‘start. [, meed) notwadd that. the. packing-boxes should never be allowed to ride on end, but should always be right side wp or) the reverse. If fish-culturalists would take pains to pack their salmon- eggs according to the rules given above, and_ would make sure of carrying out of the one rule for transportation, viz. : keeping the eggs cold, there would be no more of the very an- noying losses of eggs which have so frequently occurred. AFTERNOON SESSION. THe PrestipENT: The subject of the hatching and trans- porting the spawn of California salmon, as suggested by Mr. Stone’s paper, is now under discussion. Mr. REEDER: In regard to the subject of dry impregna- tion, that it had been discovered by Mr./Green in the#course of his experiments, who was able to obtain 80 to go per cent. mpresnated eggs», For a lone time Mr; Green .kept this va secret. I do not know why it is referred to as the Russian method. If the Russians have adopted it, it certainly has been sinceits discovery by Mr sareen, but the credit ongin discovery belongs to Seth Green; and*+ not to Russian SOUTCES. Packing and Transportation of Salmon-eges. 23 Mr. Mitner: The first published report on the subject was made by Mr. Atkins, and in the second Report made by the United States Commissioner, in referring to the subject, it was credited to Mr. Atkins. But in a translation made and carried into the same volume it was found that the fish-culturists in Switzerland had practiced the same thing with some success, and that the credit was due to these Swiss. THE PresipENT: The first report was made by Mr. Page. Mr. Green: In October, 1864, I took some spawn of the trout, and used the method that everybody else had tried as far as I had heard. I took the spawn in a vessely and filled it one-third or one-half full of water, and then stripped the spawn into the water, and then stripped the mutiny /and;-then;.stirred it . withthe. fish’s»:tail;. that avas the old style. That was all that was known of it when I commenced. Well, I kept on taking spawn for sixteen days. 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Wilmot and Whitcher, Fish Commissioners of Canada, expressing their regret at being unable to be present, as a freshet was just then endangering their hatching-houses. J. Carson Brevoort, in response to a call of the Presi- dent for remarks on Mr. Goode’s paper, said: In regard to the food of the menhaden, I have had occa- sion to see and feed them myself, both in the channels of Jamaica Bay and out in the sea, and they feed exclusively, as far as I know, on the small jelly-fish. They are from the size of a pea up to an egg. I have seen the menhaden in every di- rection in Jamaica Bay trying to secure these jelly-fish. I have seen them out in the ocean. Shad feed on the same thing in the ocean. I do not believe that the menhaden can plunge very deep; they do not seem to go below six or eight feet at the utmost. Many fish we know of cannot go beyond a certain depth. I do not believe that any fish live at the bottom of the sea during any time, though there are certain kinds that live at a great depth. I do not think mackerel go to any great depth. They live on the surface between twenty and thirty feet. The bluefish live on small fish. The reason why our fisheries have fallen off so much lately is, I believe, entirely owing to the bluefish on the coast. In 1840 I passed the summer at Newport, and we used to catch there bass, mackerel, and bluefish. From 1845 bluefish began to increase in size, and if you cut them open you find them full of small fish. Now they reach eigh- teen pounds, I believe. There is a limit to every species of fish. It would be curious to know what the extreme weight of fishes is. These bluefish every year, for thirty or forty years, have been increasing in size. They grow more slowly 66 Fish Cultural Association. after reaching a certain size. They reach two pounds pro- bably in two years, and then they grow more slowly. THe PReEsIDENT: You have the credit of introducing the carp into this country. Mr. BrevoorT: I: had “mothime to do myseli* with 26 Mr. Bell had introduced the carp at Troy, and was quite suc- cessful with them; but his dam gave way once, and all his carp went into the North River I have received carp lately from the North River, and found it was the small carp, not the;large carp. The carp/as probably not. much: better than some of our suckers, but with good cooking it is a very good river-fish. Old stories in Europe say that you can send a carp a six days joutmey and it will live. “Pier is a story of a carp which was sent to Paris, and nobody wanted it, and it was sent back to Strasbourg and put in the pond alive. Exception was taken by a member to Mr. Brevoort’s statement as to the introduction of carp, it having appeared that carp were introduced into this country by Captain Robinson. Proressor Batrp, United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries: In regard to the food of the menhaden IT have had many of them—thousands of them—and examined the contents of their stomach, and I always found the stomach loaded with black organic mud. It-is said by fishermen that mackerel plunge after the small jelly-fish, and eat out the centre of them. I have had a collection of mackerel stomachs since last fall, and in one specimen we found thirteen young fish of different species. .We know that 4c mackerel do eat young fish, the shrimp, &c.; but after an ex- feeding of Fishes tn Confinement. 67 amination of the stomach of the menhaden we were induced to believe that they feed upon the bottom mud. The men- haden is just the same kind of food and the same stomach as the gizzard-herring and the gizzard-shad of the South. What Mr. Brevoort has said as to the surface-living of the mackerel is true, but there are departures from this. In regard to the question of fish-food, we know that the men- haden is carnivorous, but as far as we have any evidence from examining the stomachs, it seems that the mud sup- ply has rather the first place. Professor Goode stated in regard to the plunging of fish into deeper water, that ex- periment had proved that both the menhaden and mackerel have the power of plunging to great depths. Mr. FREDERICK MATHER produced a little fish in a bottle, which he said he picked up on the ship’s deck, two hundred miles this side of Queenstown, and put up in the little bot- tle in which it now was, and that it had proved to be very valuable, only one other specimen having been found. Mr. Freperick MATHER read a paper on the Feeding of Fishes in Confinement. I think that the first intimation which I received that pos- sibly our system of feeding fish on liver and lights might not be the best that was possible, was furnished not by a fish itself, but by an animal as low in the scale as a zoo- phyte. It may be as well to explain to those who are not familiar with them, that anemones have but one orifice to their digestive system, which serves all, purposes of inlet and outlet. The-stomach is a simple bag into which the mouth opens directly, and when the animal takes food it closes like a flower, the stomach pours out its secretions and dissolves 68 Fish Cultural Association. such parts as may be digestible or required at the time, the remaining portions, as fish-bones, shells of crustacea, etc., are ejected, and the anemone has dined. One day a lady brought me one of her pet “sea-flow- ers’ in a fruit-jar, where she’ ‘had kept it for a few idaye while cleaning its vase, and said that it had refused to feed for several weeks, would take particles of beef, partly swal- low them, and in a moment cast them up. It was a fine specimen of Actnolobe dianthus, which nearly filled the jar when fully expanded, affording an excellent opportunity to study it in the comparatively- small space. It did as related with shreds of beef, whereas it is usual for them to remain closed for some time after taking food. I then tried it., with a piece)/of (iish,; which it’ took andiime- mained closed for two hours, when it opened and threw out a glairy substance with small particles of the food. Here was the solution: it had fed upon beef until tired of it, the hard muscle was not easily dissolved, or what is more likely, -did not contain exactly what the anemone re- quired. I had noticed that whena shrimp was caught, it appeared to be entirely digested except the crusts. Two days afterward the lady called, and was highly delighted with this small leaf fromthe “Book of Nature,’ vowing never to. offer it) beer again. J was a long time in finding the proper food for the Hippocampus, or in fact in getting them to notice anything ; but as this concerns the naturalist more than the fish-cul- turalist, we will pass it and kindred examples, and only con- sider those that have a bearing upon practical fish-breeding in which the members of the Association are particularly in- terested. All are familiar with the difficulty in feeding shad and TREASURER'’S OFFICE. New York, September 14th, 1878. DEAR SIR: The publishing of the proceedings of our Association involves a large outlay of money, and the treasury is largely overdrawn. Will you kindly remit, by return mail, the amount of your annual dues for 1877 and 1878, ($6 00), to Yours Respectfully, EuGENE G. BLACKFORD, 7Zyeasurer, $0 Fulton Market, New York. ARTICLE JII.—Members. Any person shall, upon a two-thirds vote of the Society, and a pay- ment of three dollars, be considered a member of the Association, after signing the Constitution. The annual dues shall be $3 00. ol fal it . ean (| Jc fy 26 griicild wy od v& » eye! § 89 ylevy int ON AE om 54 oa ite 4 ; win sihisve apis etis: 2 tee C 1k, dinoms sks r! Siezagqee Bam ¥ rae ¥ avanua yen an * 3 weiss (at Nyt. Mave ¥ x 5 bs sy Wort, weoFB - we “we af Lea, Aanl\pinae ©, av YA ares 4 tab ie ", ayer Feeding of Fishes in Confinement. 69 whitefish; the former can, with our present knowledge, be fed only by introducing fresh water from a stream contain- ing their living microscopic food, paying no attention what- ever to particles washed from a piece of beef or fish, at least, as far as my own knowledge extends. Then observe the hardy California salmon how it thrives on liver finely chopped, although I question if chopped fish, earth-worms, or the small red worm from the mud of trout- streams, if they could be obtained in quantity, or, in fact, any of the softer and more easily dissolved flesh of the kinds named, or crustaceans, would not be better, although liver and the other gland, known as spleen or milt, is far softer than the muscular fibre of beef. Fish and shrimps are more easily digested by anemones, as has been shown, and most likely are equally suitable for fish themselves as being their more natural diet. Our young brook-trout do not do so well on liver, but in the first months die freely until accustomed to the unnatural conditions, all the weaker members, like the “good,” die young. j ; Here are instanced three kinds of fish: the first rejecting all that man offers that in any degree differs from what nourished its parents; the second growing comparatively well on strange food, but never making as rapid growth, partly owing to confinement in small space ; and the third occupying a position between the two, with only the “ fittest ” surviving. I cannot think that the great mortality in young brook- trout at the time they begin to take food is at all a law of nature, but rather a deficiency of some important condition necessary to their existence. While engaged in trout-culture some years ago, I fed my 70 Lish Cultural Association. adult fish:on “lights,” as the) lungs of »beef are called) and when one died, often opened it to look for the cause of its death, without getting a very definite idea of it, as at that time I had not paid any attention to anatomy. Occasionally it was plain to be seen by the protruding eyes and inflam- mation of the brain where the trouble was, but of the cause of it I do not know to this day. I do, however, distinctly remember many whose “large intestine” was large, with its surface showing inflammation, which I now attribute to large pieces’ of indigestible mat- ter, perhaps the cartilage lining of the bronchial tubes in the! food.) Ikydid: not then ;know> that, the “large intestine? in many fish, as the genus salmo esox (the pike) and some others, is only so-called because it is analogous to that in the percoids, where it zs larger. In the salmon’s it is of the same diameter as the ‘small intestine,’ when it is in a nor- mal condition. There is also a well-marked difference in the lining of the small and large intestines in the salmon: the beginning of the large one is well marked by a long circular valve, or transverse fold, one edge of which hangs free; this is followed by several smaller ones resembling those known as Valvule conniventes in the human small in- testine. As I remember, the edges of these were highly in- flamed, and in one case appeared ulcerated, and in fact there was more or less inflammation of the entire lining of the vasculo-mucous membrane, caused no doubt by the continual passage of large partly-digested masses. Who that has seen it does not remember trout in ponds with a string of white, undigested fibre trailing six inches behind; which proves to be held very fast if pulled on, and which takes sometimes days to expel. Also note the appearance of the pendant matter from the wild trout, whose Feeding of Fishes tn Confinement. aT food is insects, fish, and crustacea; how different, and how easily it is passed; compare also the appearance of the vents of the two fishes: one small, with its edges sharply and clearly defined, and the other large, swollen, and hemer- hoidal in appearance. This, however, is only a mechanical objection ; for as fish contain much phosphorus, they must require a supply of it in their food, instead of the nitro- genous element so plentiful in beef. At our last meeting I exhibited to the Association the results of an experiment in keeping quinnat salmon at dif- ferent degrees of temperature, and the wonderful difference in their size at three months old. I also made another one not reported, I fed a few on curd, but they did not do as well as those fed on liver; in fact most of them died at five months old. It is well known that salmon, though a very oily fish, has but little of that commodity in its liver, while the cod has plenty there, but only a small quantity in its body. These little fish seem to have an oily liver, much increased in size, without a corresponding increase of the gall-bladder, and while their general condition was poor, the intestines were loaded with fat. I have found that gold-fish grow best on a mixed diet of worms and vegetation, especially those low forms growing in stagnant waters, on stones, etc., called confervz, and also that a sea-fish, known. as mullet (muzdl lineatus) does not grow in size in aquaria if fed on fish alone, as they are mainly vegetarians, feeding on the red sea-weed, known as fucus, and which can only be grown in dark places. This was told me by several aquarium curators in Europe. As another instance of the effect of feeding, I will say that I fed two small crabs on fish, and two on beef for four months; the former cast their shells and grew, while the a2 Fish Cultural Association. latter did not: This, however, was not continued long enough to be perfectly satisfactory, and the results require confirm- ing. The ever-shifting localities of my labors have for the past few years prevented the beginning of many most inter- esting experiments, and abruptly terminated others faigly under way, and I would be much pleased to have others fol- jow these imperfect trials, and either prove or disprove the views that at present I entertain, and which, I think, are sufficiently indicated by the tone of this paper. Tue PresipENT called on the United States Commissioner of Fisheries for some information in regard to statistics of fish in this country. Proressor Bartrp: I suppose you refer to statistics of production, showing a comparison between that of this coun- try and Canada. I would say in this connection that I was in attendance at the Fishery Commission, at Halifax, last summer, and found there the great necessity of coming to an appreciation of the great deficiency of our statistics. The Canadians have great facilities by which they get under almost a single head the statistics of nearly all the fish in the dominion. The results are very satisfactory and desira- ble. They have paid fish-inspectors, who are stationed along the coasts and gather in the number of fish taken, and re- port that number to a superior officer, who adjusts and tabu- lates them, so’ that at the’ end) of) the year they: can’ get ya complete account of every barrel of mackerel, every quintal of codfish, every pound of trout, and all the bass, and all the oysters, and all the products of the sea. We have nothing of that kind in the United States. Last year the Statistics of Fish. 73 Legislature of Massachusetts required all the fishermen of the coast to make a report to the state fishery commissioner. The latter sent out blanks to the fishermen, and they have just published a report of the year’s operations. This is a good begining, and I hope will be continued; but with that exception, we have nothing of the sort in the United States. It is a matter of the utmost importance, as it is of the high- est interest, that we should commence and have the facts re- ported. I have prepared, hoping that I might induce the fish-dealers of New York to make a beginning, statements of the number of fish brought in here from the Eastern ceasts, with a view to have them used in correcting the figures in the books, so as to make up some sort of a statement of the fish-trade of the city of New York, and I will place those in the hands of as many as possible, so that we may endeav- or as soon as possible to get these facts. I will be very glad to furnish to the wholesale dealers all the blanks I can. If we had had figures at Halifax, we might have done some- thing to prevent the excessive award against the United States. I believe the American in-shore fisheries to be worth ten times as much as those of Canada. Though the Cana- dians do not use them, they have the right to do so, and if we had had these figures to show the enormous wealth of our fisheries, we might have done differently. I think we have lost millions of dollars by not having our catch of fish tabulated. Now this question must come up again. The provisional treaty began in 1873. It is now 1878, and within six or seven years more the question must be gone into Over again, and I hope that by that time we shall have such figures as will enable us to hold our own in com- parison with the statistics of Canada. And this is impor- tant, first, on account of the abstract propriety of having 74 Fish Cultural Assoctation. these figures; and second, that we may have them for the use of our diplomatic agents in the future, and I hope all fishermen who feel outraged at this award will do their best to prevent similar penalties again. Proressor Batrp stated that the forms he had contained the enumeration of fish that enter into the wholesale market, and the number of pounds of each kind -held by. each dealer, which could be recorded, and at -the end ‘of jeack month made up and the aggregate tabulated, and then put together and the whole given at the end of each year. THe PRESIDENT? Last year our commissioner applied to the Legislature for authority to take some action in the matter, either to appoint a warder or counter, but no action was taken on the subject. The action was on account of a resolution passed in this Association last year, but nothing has come of it. We have frequently made individual appli- cations to persons, and tried to ascertain that way, but that was equally unsatisfactory, and no practical result was ob- taimed. If it is practicable, and any gentleman here will suggest whether it is possible to place the matter in a work- ing form, so as to have the Fishmongers’ Association acting either with this Association or with the commissioner, or with the United States Commission, no matter which, so long as the result is obtained, it will be very satisfactory to all of us, and whether a resolution had better be offered. If any of the Fishmongers’ Association are present and will suggest anything, I would be glad to hear it. It has been suggested that we should invite the members of the Fish- mongers’ Association to be members of our Association. Our interests are identical, We are both dealing with fish) lias as important to the fishmongers that fish should be plenty Statistics of Fish. 75 as it would be agreeable to us. We want fish to be plenty, not merely for amusement, not for sport, but as a practical question of economic benefit to the community, and it will benefit the gentlemen who deal in fish as well as any- body else in the community, so that our action really tends in the same direction. It has given us’ great satis- faction that the Fishmongers’ Association invited us _ to meet. here’'’'to-day.: “We ‘feel that “we” are> 4’ little “nearer to them. You are aware that there has been some slight feeling of jealousy between them and us. The fishmongers first thought that we had interfered with them, and a feel- ing of jealousy ensued. But this, I believe, has now en- tirely disappeared. There were gentlemen who dealt either directly or indirectly with the same subject of fish-culture, saying that it was a mere plaything, of no value practically, and was more theoretical than practical, both in process and results; but they, as well as we, are now, I believe, con- vinced that it is not so; that fish-culture has surpassed the expectations of those who took part in it, and I say that fish-culture can be made more interesting to those who take part in it, and I would like to see something decided come out of it in that direction. The appointment of a committee to nominate officers for the ensuing year, and report the ensuing day, was then sug- gested. Mr. RoosEvELT said a few words in favor of rotation of office. The nominating Committee was appointed. THe PRESIDENT announced the report to the next sec- tion, “On Fisheries,” would be presented. The meeting adjourned till Thursday, February 28, 1877, at 10:30 A.’ M. 76 Fish Cultural Assoctation. SECOND DAY’S PROCEEDINGS. TuHurRspay, February 28, 1878. The President, Ropert B. Rooseve.t, Esq., having called the meeting to order, the Secretary proposed the following amendments to the Constitution of the Association: First, That) the name of the American Fish Cultunsts; Association “be changed,: and that of the American), Fisk Cultural Association be adopted. Mr. Puitires explained how the former title of the Asso- ciation was a limited one, while the proposed change admit- ted of greater scope. The resolution was adopted. The SECRETARY proposed that the number of the Execu- tive Committee be increased from three to seven members. Resolution adopted. On the report of the Nominating Committee the following officers were elected for the ensuing year: President—ROBERT B. ROOSEVELT. Vice-President—GEORGE SHEPPHERD PAGE. Secretary—BARNET PHILLIPS. Treasurer—EuUGENE G. BLACKFORD. Executive Committee—H. T. REEDER, FREDERICK MATHER, J. W. Mitner, W. F. WitTcHEerR, SETH GREEN, and H. D. McGovern. Peculiar Features of the Fish-Market. ay Mr. Eucene G. BLackrorp read a paper on the “ Pecu- liar Features of the Fish-Market.” GENTLEMEN: Your section has thought it best to report upon the staple fish—shad, trout, and salmon—which are lead- ing objects of sale at various seasons in New York. The supply of shad was not remarkable, either as to size or quality, during the season of 1877. It was not abundant, either in Northern or Southern waters. In the South shad made its appearance about the usual time, towards the close of December in Florida, followed later with the fish caught in Georgia, in the Ogeechee, and ending for southern fish in shad caught in the Neuse River, North Carolina. These North Carolina shad are the best of the southern shad as to quality, and almost rival those fish caught in the Connecti- cut, both as to size and flavor. In the Middle States, Virginia and Maryland supply but few shad to New York, a much smaller proportion coming from the Potomac than for several years past. One pecu- liarity of the shad of the Potomac, to which we would call the attention of the Fish Commissioners, is that the female fish are all very fully matured, with eggs much further ad- vanced in condition than those of any other shad coming into the market. In these Potomac fish the quality of the flesh is somewhat impaired by this over-ripeness, being rather dry and insipid, in many instances the roe being worthless as food. 3 From the Hudson River we had hoped, during the last year, to have reaped a rich harvest, but we regret. to say thé yield was hardly up to the average catch of the last five years. Fully appreciating the work of the New York Fish Commissioners, and the great intelligence they have shown in their labors, we are more insistant than ever that 78 fish Cultural Association. a in order that we may derive any advantage from their ef- forts, that a law should be passed restricting fishermen from using their nets for at least one entire day in the week during the fishing-season, so that spawning-fish may have an oppor- tunity to ascend the stream and effect their spawning. We are quite positive in asserting that until this is done. we never shall be able to increase the number of shad in the North’ River.’ Young fish may be put into the -Tiver pura we stop them when mature from ascending the river, we are working in a blind and senseless way. We call, then, par- ticularly on this Association to give their aid, both indi- vidually and collectively, to remedying this over-fishing, and to use their efforts to induce legislators to pass such laws as will restrict the periods of shad-fishing. In the Connecticut River the shad, as usual, surpassed all others’ as to flavor, and ‘size, Webrvare torced to j\declame however, from information we have obtained, that the catch here, too, was less than for a number of years. We are in- clined” £o\.eive the same reasons for the scarcity of shad in the Connecticut as are found in the Hudson. It is not for a single year, then, that the efforts of legisia- tion should be directed towards preventing over-fishing in a river, but for a.series of years,, If it takes, as it is aseeme ed, three years to produce a crop of shad, in 1877 we caught all the fish which were bred im 2673. This spring wevare about preventing the gravid shad, born in 1874, from re- producing their kind. As to the price of shad during the last season, it must be understood as having but little to do with production. The price of shad is affected by a great many accidental causes. Shad may be in good demand in not very large quantity, when mackerel may come in and make shad very Peculiar Features of the Fish-Market. 79 cheap. We may state that the leading position shad occu- pied some ten years ago in the New York market as an arti- cle of fish-food has somewhat lowered of late. The reason is that New York, with increased facilities of transporta- tion, draws to itself all the best fish of the seaboard, and is not as dependant as it used to be on a single variety of fish. ERO: The consumption of trout (Sa/mo Fontinalis) has been no- tably increased in New York during the last three years. This increased favor in which trout is held is owing to the fact that its excellence has become more widely known. Spe- cial efforts have been made at the opening of the season to bring together on exhibition all the varieties of this beauti- ful fish. As many as thirty varieties of the Salmo Fontinalis, from the British provinces to California, have been displayed at one time in Fulton Market. It should be remembered that this year the season opens fifteen days later than for- merly, it being against the law to sell or catch trout in New York before the first day of April. In trout, the cultivated fish from Long Island stand the first in public favor, not only on account of their beauty, but fine flavor. Owing to the depressed state of the times, trout being rather an expensive fish, at least when first brought into the market, they were not as readily disposed of last year as on former seasons. The average price was about eighty-five cents a pound for cultivated trout from Long Island. Some of the finest specimens were sent by Mr. Livingstone Stone, of Charlestown, N..H., which readily brought seventy-five cents a pound. Large quantities of trout were sent into market, raised by Mr. F. H. Douseman, of Wisconsin, who 80 Fish Cultural Association. is probably the most successful trout-raiser in the United States. Moose Head Lake, in Maine, as usual, sent the largest fish into market; but large trout are not the most esteemed. While fish weighing not more than half a pound fetch forty cents a pound, larger fish only bring from twen- ty-five to thirty cents. The supply of trout at present seems quite equal to the demand. In fact, as many trout are mar- keted as can be sold.. We :do not think that-,an-<éxcess "ar production with diminution of price could cause increased consumption. SALMON. We receive in New York salmon from the Pacific and At- lantic coasts. | From California the quantity of the Salmo Quinnat was not more than one-half of that received in the year before. The Pacific salmon is not as; lighly esteemed as thew lantic fish, and does not command as high a price. When expense of handling and cost of transportation are con- sidered, the margin of profit is quite small. This business in California salmon is due very much to the enterprise of Mr; A. Booth, of Chicago: Of the Atlantic salmon (Sa/mo Salar) we are pleased to state that the quantity sent into market was unusually large. Owing to improved facilities in transportation we can ob- fain fish trom new ‘Sources: =) We can get our fish “agp time: hands from the Bay of Chaleurs, from the Restigouche and Mirimachee Rivers. The salmon caught in New England form but a very small fractional proportion of the total quantity, though they command the highest price. Salmon never were as cheap as during the season of 1877, good, sound fish retailing as low as ten cents a pound. The first salmon coming into New York are derived from the pro- Peculiar Features of the Fish-Market. 81 vinces, and when arriving in the latter part of February will bring as much as $1.50 a pound. The consumption of salmon, we are glad to say, has been very much increased by its cheapness. If it were not for the methods’ of refriger- ation, which prevents a glut in the market—which process absorbs the surplus—salmon might be sold at six cents a pound. In presenting to the notice of the Association the three fresh-water fish most in use in the markets, it happens that all of them are especially of the kinds to which your la- bors as fish culturists have been directed. It is to these particular fish, as objects of commerce, then, that we have more particularly directed our attention. To conclude the report of your section, we may allude to the pompano. Having in former years, after some slight difficulties, succeeded in introducing this most delicate of all fish—a fish which we believe to be the finest of all table- fish, being in fact the rival of the turbot—we have to note that the pompano last year was rarely received in our mar- kets from Southern waters. The supply from Norfolk and from Chesapeake Bay was almost entirely wanting. Per- haps the Commissioner from Maryland can inform the Asso- ciation as to the peculiarities of this fish. in the waters over which he has supervision. Referring once more to salmon, and endeavoring to ac- count for its great plenty in the waters of the Dominion, we think we can see very clearly why the fish have been in such abundance. It is because the provincial commissioners have wise legislation to back their efforts. Granting their well known skill.as fish culturists, we believe their efforts as to the introduction of young salmon in their waters would be of little avail if it were not for their care and 82 Fish Cultural Association. watchfulness in carrying out the law, which prevents the fishermen from catching salmon day in and day out during the open season. Fish have, then, in the waters of the provinces, a breathing-spell. Gravid fish may mount the stream and repro- duce their kind. The decreased catch of salmon on the Pacific coast this year may perhaps be attributed to this want of care in providing for certain close-days. We believe, then, with regard to shad at present, and for salmon ini‘the.) fu- ture, that without some protective legislation we shall never be able to gain the full benefit of the harvest sown if we consume the grain entirely, keeping none for the seed. Tue Presipent: I will say in confirmation of Mr. Black- ford’s paper, that the necessity of a closed term, espe- cially for shad, was manifest to the New York Commission- ers when they were appointed in 1868. It was necessary that for at least one day in the week the fish could go through the barriers to their spawning-ground. That was strongly recommended, and a law authorizing a weekly closed term, from Saturday to Monday, was recommended and drawn up and submitted with their report. No notice being taken of it, it was in the second year again recom- mended and submitted, and the same result following, the same thing was repeated the third year, and so we went on for four or five years, pressing this closing strongly on the attention of the Legislature, but not lobbying to carry it through, because we thought that improper and undigni- fied, until at last we made up our minds that we would have to get the community waked up. We considered that it was necessary to fill the North River with at least two hundred millions of shad. The greatest number of eggs which we could obtain did not reach more than ten Peculiar Features of the Fish-Market. 83 or twelve millions, and no more could be done until this closed term was increased. The difficulty has gone on. The fishing increasing as the fisheries improved. I am very glad that Mr. Blackford has presented this subject as he has, and I hope that it will meet with such support as will enable us to get more closed time, if not for two days, at least for one. Mr. Green said: Beginning where the President left off, the fact is that there are now twenty fishermen where there was one when we commenced shad-hatching. The consequence is, as he says, that so many do not reach the spawning-ground now as when we commenced. The farmers and everybody that had nets and used to put up their fish year after year, had stopped fishing, because it was too much labor to get them; but now, unless we have a closed term, so that the fish can get to the spawning-ground, they will run out in time. Our great opponents in this have been the net-fishermen at the mouth of the river. Above that, every man wants a closed time; but, he says, “Every one is going in, and I will go in too;” and they do, and catch all they can. Now, if we can get twenty-four hours’ closed time, we can hatch several million more fish in the North River. Mr. Blackford was talking about the Hudson River shad in the New York market, that it had decreased, in- stead of increasing. Well, the Western people have learned that they can get shad, and now all our Western markets are furnished with shad. It is sold in the market, and has been for the last five years, from Albany to Buffalo, for twenty-five cents apiece—No. 1 shad, too. We never had those before, not in twenty years; but now we have No. 1 shad, and get them from the first hands, not from the second 84 Fish Cultural Association. dealers, and therefore we get much nicer fish and save ex- pense. Well, anyhow, they have learned that they can get shad in the Western country, and they do not come this way, they go that way; that is all. But to return to the nets. The river is full of nets from one end to the other— pound-nets at the mouth of the river enough to stop a loco- motive .if it came’ that way and the nets are set. dunn the spawning-season. Now, how can it be expected that the fish are going to be kept up if the facilities for fishing continue as they are now, unless by artificial propagation ; and it can be done by artificial propagation ; and one of the greatest mistakes our United States Commissioner has made is in not stocking these waters’ as they ‘should be.) They should have been stocked with whitefish and trout ever since the Commission has been in existence. THE PRESIDENT: Has not the yield of spawn obtained the last year or two on the North River diminished ? Mr.’ GREEN: ' Yes 5° for the” cause 1 have ‘explameds There are more fishermen than there were before, and they stop the fish before they get to the spawning-ground. Tue Prestpent: Would not a closed term give us that fish ? Mr. GREEN’: Yes, Give us a?closed term, and’ we wl fill the North River with shad. THE PRESIDENT requested Mr. Campbell to give the meet- ing his views in regard to pound-netting on the Jersey coast. Mr. CAMPBELL: Previous to the introduction of pounds there was no difficulty in getting a boat-load of fish. About five years ago they commenced putting down pounds early in the season. In time it was usual for the weakfish to Pound-Netting. 85 come into the bay or river to spawn. When I moved down in May, these pounds were as full of spawn as they could be, and the next year it was a rare thing to catch a weakfish. These pounds took all the weakfish that came in, and when there was no market for them, they were dumped out. I have seen thirty bushels dumped out in the lower bay. A fish that escapes these pounds is a very clever fish. I sug- gested to the President before the meeting that it would be difficult to suppress the laying of pounds. In Massachusetts there is a law to compel the owners of pounds to leave them from Friday to Monday, for the purpose of giving the fish power to spawn. I would suggest that it would be well if we could make the fishermen understand that it is for their benefit-to have a law passed. Bass-fishing and weak-fishing will be stopped in New York altogether soon if this is not done. Dr. Green: I am familiar with South Bay. What Mr. Campbell says is precisely the case in South Bay. Mr. SerH Grern: I perfectly agree with what these gentlemen have said. Permit me to say a word about the locality of fish. Fish are local. There is a certain fish that goes into a certain water—the Great South Bay we will take for an example. There is a family of fish that never go into any other bay but Great ‘South Bay, and these nets set across the inlets will in a very short time clean the whole thing out, and there never will be in this generation any more fish there, unless they are hatched artificially. I will tell you something about pound-nets. It is a fence made with nets, and on the head of it is a trap which takes everything which comes along. The trap is as effectual as if you put up a fence outside your field, and there was nothing there that looked any different from the regular cattle-place, 86 Fish Cultural Association. but when the cattle came through there they dropped into a pit. Well, the pound-netting started in the New England states, exhausted some localities there, and then came West. say ‘that: theyicame’ to (mes ljowm (ai fishery.) shavers place where I haul a net. It was a nice bay, and every- body had a little net all around it, and caught fish, and did a, good (thing, sl, lived ..on, the; corner” ‘of one \-of (these points, and there was my fishery, the best fishery on the bay. A‘ man eomes “to. ‘me,jandi says,’ “Mr. Green; om many fish did you catch last year?” I tell him so and so, which brought me so many dollars good to windward. He asks, “Why don’t you set a pound-net over here?” I reply, “I haven't got the means; it will cost $1,000 or $1,500:7 Well,’ she replies, ‘i. will furnish the net, ‘and 1 ~will come and set it and show you how to work it, and give you half what it takes.” “All right,’ I say. Then this fellow goes to the other side and says the same thing to the other man, and: so on, and uthey) all« sayy? * Allyimight .iwe. will “dotaes He comes with his nets, and shows me how to work them. letisiavbig thing.) JP get: all the ash, pwant. it amotiekted to death over it. Next “yearn, T)/demtiget quite ‘so’ mack but! still) it is’.a. pretty good’ thing.) The next) year) alens towards the end of the fishing, he comes along, and _ says, “This is a good thing. You ought to own this. It seems to) be a): pretty good) .thing.” yy Wellwthat ds the end\senue The fellow knows that we have caught all the family of fish that come into that bay, but I do not know it. He is smarter than we are. .It is the family of fish that live in that bay that we have caught there. Well, I say to him, “How much will you take for the net?” He says, “About half »what.it ucost:””, The dact.as, the thing (has cone ups but I want to get rid of giving him half the profit. Well, I Shad-fatching. 87 have not quite money enough to pay for the net, but I mortgage my place. Yes, he accepts the mortgage. Time goes on. ' The’ next: year. I set my’ net. The -fish ‘do not come. The next year I patch up the net, grow poor, live on liver, and all sorts of things. Well, I get through that year. “About the,end of three years he’ comes around/at have no money. My children are all ragged, the fish are not coming, and I am giving out, and my place is sold for the mortgage. I know lots of places that have gone up the same way, and I know lots of men who have sold their places the way I have told you. ProFessOR MILNER read the following paper on “The Work of Shad-Hatching on the Head Waters of Chesapeake Bay,” describing a new plan of hatching-machines. The work of shad-hatching in 1877 and distribution on the part of the United States was carried on as in the pre- vious years in connection with the Commissioner of Mary- land, Major T. B. Ferguson. No work was done south of the Susquehanna, at Havre de Grace. The Maryland Com- mission began operations about the 8th of May at Havre de Grace, Maryland, near the point where the Susquehanna pours its waters into Chesapeake Bay. The seines and gill- nets in this vicinity are very numerous, and by stationing men at points conveniently near two or three nets a great many fish can be handled. On the night of the r4th, Major Ferguson’s men took 1,250,000 shad-eggs. About this date, having received word from Major Ferguson that he was ready for codperation with the United States in the work of hatching and distribution, we went to Havre de Grace with a force of men, and between that time and the 13th of June 88 Fish Cultural Assoctation. 1,495,000 fish were distributed in waters of the southern At- lantic coast, tributaries to the Mississippi, and to the Sacra- mento, of California. Altogether, at this station, under the joint work of the State and United States, about 8,444,000 fish were hatched, the larger portion being consigned to ad- jacent waters. The hatching was done with a novel and exceedingly efficient apparatus, which marks one of the greatest ad- vances in fish culture yet made. It must certainly appear to you as a novel proceeding to hatch fish by steam, but this is precisely what we did. We didn’t steam the eggs in a cul- lender, but a ten-horse-power steam-engine was set in motion at a slow revolution. A long shafting with eccentrics moved the long arms of the levers up and down, and sus- pended from the ends of the short arms were sheet-iron cylinders, with wire-netting bottoms, half-submerged in the river. The slow up-and-down movement, when a quantity of-eggs were put ‘into the ‘cylinders, kept them ‘in’ g@entie motion within the arms until they were hatched. As the engine and machinery were fixed upon a large scow an- chored out in the stream, it was possible to have levers pro- jecting on each side the inner ends, being coupled in a sli- ding knuckle-joint, so that one eccentric moved both. The fish hatched with perfect success, and proved vigor- ous and hardy in the longest trips made, as the one to Cali- fornia. There are great advantages in this apparatus over any previously used for the purpose. The more especially de- sirable features being the possibility of complete success when there is no current whatever; the advantage that the cylinders can be closed with wire-netting covers, and when the temperature rises to a dangerous point they may be Shad-Flatching. 89 sunk to the deeper, cooler strata of water, and the eggs kept in motion the same as at the surface; the portability of the whole apparatus over and to all new points for work. The covers similar to the Bell & Mather apparatus, but consider- ably improved, were also used successfully. Early in July operations were begun at South Hadley Falls, Mass., and at the time the work closed, July 2sth, about 3,018,000 were distributed and turned into the Con- necticut. To sum up, 110,000 shad were sent to California, 1,263,- ooo were put into tributaries of the Mississippi River, 1,365,000 in the South Atlantic and Gulf rivers, and 1,588,- coo in the streams of New England, the larger portion in the Potomac—in all about 4,500,000 shad. At South Hadley Falls, Mr. Charles G. Atkins conducted a series of experiments on the estimation of shad-eggs, and is disposed to reduce the standard of estimation about 20 per cent. below that we have used. There have been re- ductions of the standard from time to time from the first hatching of shad. Whether there is necessity for so great a reduction I shall be better able to say after testing the matter the coming season. Mr. Green differed as to what was (alluding to the ap- paratus described) the best apparatus for shad-hatching. -Some years ago, Mr. Green stated, the New York, Massa- chusetts, and New Hampshire Commissioners wanted him to come and hatch shad. He went, and got up a box to hatch shad with, and hatched 15,000,000. (Mr. Green described the hatching-apparatus by a diagram on the board.) A discussion arose in regard to certain infringements of patents, as alleged by Mr. Green. go Fish Cultural Association. Mr. -Rosert, B. \RoosEveLT) yread’:a paper on) the) Sie- productive Power of Eels.” REPRODUCTIVE ,HABITS JOR (EELS: The trout-ponds on Long Island are infested with eels, which are undoubtedly very injurious to the fishing and destructive to the trout. These ponds communicate directly with the Great South Bay, which is a long and narrow lagoon on the’ south ‘side of The islamd;) Hels are not only tamen in the ponds, which, of course, are wholly fresh, cold, and springy; but in much larger numbers in the saline water of the bay, which is strongly impregnated with salt, al- though somewhat less so than the ocean. Having pur- chased a country-place, including a trout-pond, on Long Island, I determined to study the habits of these fish, which, while pernicious to trout, are exceedingly beneficial and valuable to man, and of which little has been accurately determined. With this object in view, I built below my pond two small preserves, leading one into the other, and the upper one connected with the main pond by a wooden trough. In the lower pond I had nothing at first, but af- terwards some trout of from one-quarter to one-half a pound in weight. In the upper preserve were placed six hundred California salmon, from those hatched in the New York Aquarium, and the trough was half-filled with sand and gravel to hatch a few thousand trout-eggs. These arrangements were merely temporary, as I had great doubts about their working satisfactorily. Nearly ten thousand trout-eggs were laid down, and hatched beautifully by April rst, the loss .being immaterial... A’ few young eels) ner thicker than a lady’s hair-pin, and one inch and a half long. passed the: screens, and wefe, seen in, the troughs.) |) Tey The Reproductive Power of Eels. gl were semi-transparent, evidently just hatched, and came from the pond. They grew rapidly when not killed, and some escaped our notice. During my temporary absence I was in- formed that they were eating the trout-fry, and although I returned on April 17th, many of the latter had been de- voured. In moving the rest, I had to dig up the sand, and found it filled up with eels from two inches to six inches long, which had buried themselves in it, and were hidden away wholly out of sight. There were three screens of fine wire-netting in the trough—one at the head, one at the foot, and one between the two. Now that the sand was gone, the young eels were to be seen in myriads passing from the main pond down the trough, and thence into the first pre- serve. The salmon had grown so large that they would oc- casionally eat one, and in the lower pond were now the large trout and few or no eels. It was impossible that the eels could have come up stream from the salt-water bay, as the discharge from the lower preserve was through a pipe, also grated, which had a fall of two feet perpendicular clear of the bank. Besides, we saw them descending the trough in black masses, and while doing so they endeavored to get through the lower screen, never seeking to pass the upper one. By April 26th, as they collected at the lower screen, they were taken out by millions in a small net, made for the purpose of mosquito- netting. Most of them were so young that the heart could be plainly seen, and its pulsations, which were rapid, noted under a microscope. I could find nothing of the supposi- tious heart in the tail, and I decidedly doubt its existence ; but my magnifying-glass may not have had sufficient power. In a few days after their first appearance the young eels would lose their translucent color and became black and g2 Fish Cultural Association. opaque, with the delicate seration on abdomen and reticula- tion on their sides of the perfect eel. Towards the last of April the supply of young diminished, and we almost cleared the trough and upper preserve of them. There never were more than a few in the lower preserve, but by May roth they were more plentiful than ever, and as the lower screen in the trough had been removed, they poured into the upper preserve in myriads. Now, none of these eels came from the bay. They were all descending from the pond, where they must have hatched or been born. To be sure, they kept their heads up-stream, but fish of all kinds in descending a stream invariably do that, as every one who has watched them knows, and for the reason that in that way they can escape danger, and can regulate their rate of descent. Salmon descend rapids and shad go down our rivers head up-stream, and so does every kind. of. fish. s~when,, left; to .1ts);; natural course,’ [tpais “trie they would occasionally climb back up the side of the pre- serve, into which they had wormed their way with so much persistency, but that was probably due to eel-perversity. It was seeing them climb perpendicular flood-gates in that manner which had'convinced me, as no doubt it had con- vinced others, that eels were ascending, not descending, the ‘Tivers. inthe spring.,,) If.my:present) .conclusion. is) rieiiiae accords with the practice of all migratory fish, and brings eels into the ordinary catalogue of breeding in fresh-water and growing in salt. It seems to me impossible that I could be deceived. There were very few eel-fry in the main stream, into which the preserves emptied; there were scarcely more in the lower preserve, through which alone they could obtain access from below to the upper preserve. In the latter they existed in millions, their numbers increasing 1m- The Reproductive Power of Eels. 93 mensely about May ist, when the lower screen in the trough was removed, and in the trough they were also found in solid masses of wriggling life. Eel-pots were set during this time in the main pond, and caught some large eels, but none of these contained spawn, and I have no knowl- edge whether they are viviparous or oviparous. But I am firmly persuaded that the supposition that they produce their young or deposit their eggs in the salt-water is a mistake. In the preceding year they had been in inky lines of countless numbers in the main stream. They had probably gone down the fish-way, which is placed in the dam at the flume; but last year they discovered the new and more feasible passage of my _ breeding-trough, and followed _ it, none, so far as I could ascertain, having recourse to their former method of descent. A few were seen at the outlet of the pipe which supplies the hydraulic ram, that is fed from the pond, but none, comparatively speaking, were to be seen in the stream below the pond or preserves. The trough and preserves were .an effectual eel-trap, from which I sent thousands of eels to other parts of the country, and which proved a good method of eradicating what I regard as the most fatal enemy of trout in Long Island waters. One event occurred, which at first seemed inexplicable, but which finally confirmed my theory. About May 22d, and when they had been over a month with me in immense quantities, and in spite of my efforts at extermination cov- ered the upper part of the bottom ‘of the first preserve in black masses, they suddenly disappeared. In a single night they seemed to leave together. At the time I was utterly puzzled to determine what had become of them. I won- dered if they had hidden themselves in the sand and gravel at the bottom of the preserve, or whether they had climbed 94 fish Cultural Association. over its sides during a shower which had taken place. This result seemed at first to cast doubt upon all my conclu- sions, but when I discovered, as I did by accident, the true explanation, it confirmed, as I have said, my previous de- ductions. The sides of the preserves were boarded up, and the water had worked its way through a knot-hole, not into the lower preserve from the upper one, but directly into the stream. The eels had found this out, although it was wholly under ground, not much larger than a lead pencil, and not visible on the surface, and had followed it down all together> and the moment it offered them a passage to the salt-water without danger of encountering the ravenous jaws of their "enemies in the lower preserve. Nothing could prove more conclusively that the eel-fry were descending and not ascending the brook than their immediately taking advan- tage of this opportunity when it presented itself. They had undoubtedly been waiting for just such an event. When I discovered it and proceeded to fill it up, I exhumed an eel of nine inches length remaining in it, and waiting, perhaps, to devour such of his brethren as might come along and were ‘of. appropriate ‘size: I “ean’see no escape from: ithe mime evitable conclusion from these experiments. The accepted opinion of their method of reproduction goes on the idea that they deposit their spawn in the salt- water during the winter or early spring months; that the spawn hatches in the months of April and May, and that the young ascend the streams in May to find some suitable mud- endowed pond where they can live, luxuriate, eat, and grow fat. All this is contrary to the habits of every known va- riety of fish, and was only approved after considerable inves- tigation, and on what seemed sufficient evidence; but there was always more or less doubt about it, and it required the The Reproductive Power of Eels. 95 confirmation of the actual taking and hatching of the eggs under those conditions. These eggs, however, were never found in salt-water, nor, for the matter of that, anywhere else, and I too have not found them, and consider it possi- ble that eels are viviparous, and produce living young. Cer- tain it is that the oldest fishermen assert that they have never seen eggs in eels anywhere or at any season. But, unfortunately, fishermen, both the oldest and youngest, are like the rest of the world, and never seem to see anything, even when it is perched on the ends of their noses, if they did not expect to find it there. It will be of interest to cast a glance on the endeavors of the more distinguished naturalists to find the ovaries and the spermatic organs of the eel, and on some erroneous as- sertions with regard to this matter, and for this purpose I quote from the last Report of Professor Baird, United States Commissioner of Fisheries. Aristotle (fourth century before Christ), the greatest natu- ralist of antiquity, the founder of zoology, recognized the ovaries of the “grongo” (Conger vulgaris) by the cracking of eggs when placed over the fire, but maintained that the eel, notwithstanding that its ovaries resemble those of the “grango”’ in every respect, is born from worms produced by mud. Pliny (first century A. D.), who in great part, like a ma- jority of his compatriots, only copied Greek works, especial- ly those of Aristotle, differs from him as regards the repro- duction of the eel, maintaining that it rubs itself against rocks, and that from the fragments coming off during this rubbing process the young eels are born. Albertus Magnus (thirteenth century a. Dp.) accepts Pliny’s 96 fish Cultural Association. hypothesis, but says that he has heard that eels are also born alive from eels. Rondelet (sixteenth century A. D.) asserts that eels are born not only from putrefied matter, but also from eggs pro- duced by the copulation of male and female eels. Conrad Gesner (sixteenth century) attributes the repro- duction of eels to putrefying matter, and also to copula- tion. Walpiglie (seventeenth century), a great naturalist and ex- pert microscopist, declares that the ovaries, not only of the eels, but also of similar fish,.such jjas».the , “crongo4 ane the “murena” (AZuraena helena), are fatty productions, and calls them “stz@ adipose.” Redi (towards the end of the ‘seventeenth century), who ’ has dissected many eels and “murenas” (JZuraena_ helena), and also illustrated as such the ovaries of the last men- tioned fish, nevertheless does not recognize the ovaries of the .cel... Ele: opposes ».the, hypothesis; that, the eel ,canynenre- produced from putrefying matter; he proves, moreover, that what are called young eels are nothing but intestinal worms, and therefore eels are not viviparous animals, but are re- produced by means of eggs in the same manner as other fish. Leuwenhocek (towards the end of the seventeenth cen- tury), who has occupied himself much with microscopic ob- servations, and was the first who made known the zxzfusorza, having found in the urinary bladder of an eel very small parasitic worms, mistook them for young eels, and the blad- denjitself for the: uterus; George Elsner relates that a fish-vender showed him an eel whose uterus was full of young ones, which, to. quote r Statistics of Fish. 97 his own words, herebant in diversis membranits tinvolute an- guille. Vallisneri (beginning of the eighteenth century) has given illustrations of the true ovaries of the eel, but, follow- ing Walpiglie and Redi, calls them vas? adiposi (fatty vessels); and having accidentally found in an eel a_pathologically- deformed swimming-bladder, announced with great joy to the Academy of Bologna and the whole scientific world that he had found the true ovary of the eel. Luine maintains that eels are viviparous. Carlo Mundini, Professor of Anatomy at the University of Bologna, was the first discoverer of the ovary of the eel, of which he gave a detailed description to the Academy. of Bo- logna the 19th day of May, 1777, which, however, was not published till 1783. Otto Miiller writes, in 1780, that he has found eggs in the fringed bodies, but the description which he gives of them being in some respects inaccurate, preéminence must be accorded to that of Mundini. Shallanzani, a distinguished naturalist, who lived towards the end of the eighteenth and in the beginning of the pres- ent century, basing his opinion on the examination of four hundred and ninety-seven eels, casts doubts on the discovery of Mundini, remarking, “That not content with destroying, he wishes to erect on the Vallisnerian ruins a new edifice.” These words, however, lead us to suppose that a certain anl- mosity towards the anatomist Mundini, whom he possibly considered as an intruder among the zoologists, has led his judgment astray. In another place, moreover, he contradicts himself when he adds, “If the masses of little globules were eggs, and if they were found united with the fecundating emen, the eels would be true hermaphrodites.” 98 fish Cultural Association. I cannot say that I have solved the doubts and ques- tions which are here raised, but I think | have gone a step towards it in showing that the spawn of eels, when mature and extruded, must be sought for in fresh, not im salt- water. In response to. a .questiom of ithe, President, Hrotessar Baird said: We have within six weeks received eels with ripe ovaries. I will say without hesitation that we have eels with ovaries extended and eggs nearly ready to be dis- charged—not hatched, but showing the eggs separate from the ovaries. THE PRESIDENT: Did you find any males? Proressor Barrp: No. 2 THe Presipent: Did you find anything to lead you to suppose that they were hermaphrodite in their character ? PROFESSOR BatrD: No; that was the theory of the Ital- ians, but that theory is exploded. Mr. Hewitt: I have heard with great interest this subject of eels. In Pennsylvania we have never, as far as I know, discovered eels of the size you speak of in the headwaters of the Juniata or the Susquehanna. It is stated somewhere that it took 2,000 years in conflict of opinion to discover the ovary of the eel, and that is confirmed, in my opinion, by what Professor Baird has said. PROFESSOR BairD: There is no doubt but that there are males and females—ovaries and spermatazoa. PROFESSOR GOODE said that in Connecticut he had _ fre- quently found young eels, not more than an inch or two inches in length, along the shelly banks of the shore at low tide. These were quite immature. They were taken in the net when the net was full of the thrown-up seaweed. They Statistics on American Fishertes. 99 were brought inshore in great quantities, and we have many specimens, some not so much as an inch in length, and those young eels were in precisely the same localities where the large eels were in greatest quantities. The young were suf- ficiently abundant to warrant the assertion that the supply was not diminishing but that there is a young family of eels coming up every year. AFTERNOON SESSION. Proressor Goope produced a paper on “Statistics of American Fisheries.” In introducing the subject, he said: Professor Baird, in his report yesterday, treated of the im- portance of exact statistics for many purposes, and especially for use in the diplomatic relations of the government of the United States in treaties between Canada and this coun- try. When the United States Commission was summoned to Halifax last summer to give evidence before the Arbitration Committee, which was composed of a commissioner from the United States, one from England, and one appointed by the Emperor of Austria, to decide the question of the claim of the Dominion of Canada for remuneration for the use of their fish- eries, it was found that the United States had almost nothing in the shape of exact statistics to offer. The Canadian gov- ernment, on the other hand, had very valuable reports, col- lected by government officials for many years, in which the statistics of fisheries were given in the fullest detail. | In order to offset these statistics of the Canadian government, it was necessary to compile some sort of a counter-state- ment, giving the value of the United States fisheries; and this was done from matters in the records of the United States, from statistics furnished by various gentlemen, among whom was Mr. Blackford, and from replies to letters sent to 100 Fish Cultural Association. various ‘fishermen,:, and ‘ from: thése datas there’: was; filed statement. The most important is our oyster-fishery. It is a disgrace that we have no statistics. The only means of as- certaining the annual trade in oysters is from a report to the: French ‘government: by: Wiettenant). P:) de. Broca, wae the French navy, who was sent here in 1869 to investigate oyster-culture in the United States, and it is supposed that there has been no diminution since. He made a complete report, and this report "will be found in the. report \oi‘tie United States Commissioner. In 1875 the total amount of sperm-oil from the Ameri- can whale-fisheries was 1,000,951 gallons; of other whale-oil, 1,414,136 gallons: in all, 2,505,537-gallons. The amountyos menhaden-oil for the same year was 2,681,487 gallons, an excess of 176,350 gallons. In 1874, the amount of menhaden- oil was 3,372,837 gallons, which was very much in excess of whale-oil for the same year. In 1876, 2,990,000 gallons of menhaden-oul.. were’ made,’ and: sm) ;1877, .2,426,000. , Forgas year ending June 30, 1877, the production of whale-oil was 2,140,047 gallons, and for the year 1877, 2,151,765 gallons. Inv the \O7,. Paint, and \ Drug) Reporter for Januaryyiie 1874 (page 4), the following statement is made: “Tt is asserted that while the amount of oil produced is equal to that derived from the whale-fisheries in this coun- try, the menhaden interest is ahead of the whale; for though the menhaden-oil sells at a less price per gallon, for every barrel of oil made there is three-quarters of a ton of scrap, which readily commands $15 per ton at the factory.” The oyster-fishery is by far the most important of the fisheries of North America, its value being at least double that of all the other fisheries together. It is a national dis- grace that: there are no reliable. statistics of jthis;amdusiny, Statistics of American Fisheries. IOI There has been no statistical inquiry into the subject since 1869, when M. P. de Broca, a lieutenant in the French navy, was sent by the government of France to this country to in- vestigate the subject of oyster-culture. De Broca published an elaborate report, which is reprinted in the Report of the United States Commissioners of Fisheries, 1876. He esti- mates the commerce of New York in this direction at $5,- 000,000, and that of the whole country at 50,000,000, al- though these figures were not supposed to represent the total amount of products, since along the coast and the rivers there is a daily consumption which cannot be estimated. The Merchants Magazine and Commercial Keview for 1859 estimated the trade in oysters in the principal cities as fol- lows: Bushels. Virginia (State).......--.-++-+5 SP as ta Be I,050,000 TB | Ta scat a Slat ape ae I eae a a as 3,500,000 Pdelpiia as ets. ee te ae ea Sale ees 2,500,000 je lier AG vale AEA ON Aa SS eI aa eer ae a 6,950,000 Bee Ea it me ee oe oa ec tele) cre evens Hrehage nanenens 2,000,000 Other cities, such as Providence, Boston, &c... 4,000,000 BC GN sre AR es oi Gn gk Bp eee CS an re 20,900,000 2 Calculating 200 oysters to a bushel, we here have the enormous amount of 4,000,000,000 individual oysters con- sumed. The cod-fishery is the most valuable of the fisheries prop- er, the proceeds of the United States fishery in 1876 being estimated at $4,825,000. The number of pounds of fresh fish is put at 214,000,000 pounds, or hardly half the amount ob- tained from the menhaden fishery ; 25,000,000 pounds are brought fresh to market, and the remainder is salted. About 200,000,000 pounds are estimated to be obtained from the off- ‘FO2 Fish Cultural Association. shore banks by regularly equipped vessels. The largest sup- ply is, of course, obtained from the banks of Newfoundland. This is many times the most.productive fishing-ground in the world, and has been frequented by English, French, and Dutch vessels for over three hundred years. The export of Newfoundland in 1876 represented about 390,000,000 pounds of? fresh:' fish * (1,300,006 quintals)s the’ entire catch or “We French fleet about 56,000,000 fresh fish (500,000 quintals); the entire catch of the Dominion fleet 250,000,000 pounds. In. round numbers, the yield of codfish on the fishing-banks of North America in 1876 cannot have fallen far short of 1,000,- 000,000 pounds. The whole amount.taken on the coast of Northern Europe does not probably exceed half that amount, while the catch from the North Pacific is probably not more than 5,000,000 pounds. The intrinsic value of the annual catch of codfish for the world, at five cents a pound for the green fish, is not less than $75,000,000, and their value is considerably increased by the process of curing. Codfish are found on all soundings of less than two hundred fathoms in the North Atlantic. To the north they range far beyond the’ Arctic Circle, on the eastern’ side te Spitzbergen (lat. 78 deg. fi.), and on the American coast to Davis Straits at the Riscoll ‘Bank (67° deg:"n.): Their south= ern limit on the European coast is near the Bay of Biscay (40 deg. n.), and on our own coast at the Winter Quarter Shoal, near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay (37 deg. n.). About 1,500 vessels are employed in the cod-fishery of the United States. Maine has about 540, principally from Castine, Booth- bay, Portland, and Cape Porpoise. Massachusetts has about goo (according to the census of 1875), chiefly from Cape Ann, Cape Cod, and Boston. Statistics of American Fisheries. 103 —_e— Connecticut has about 60, mostly’ from Noank and New London. There are also extensive boat-fisheries at Eastport (150 men), Southwest Harbor (150), Belfast (250), Castine (250), Boothbay (180), Portland (300), Cape Porpoise (80), Bristol and Matinicus (100), Cape Ann (350), Provincetown (260), Chatham (100), Hyannis (70), Nantucket (366), Edgar- town (40), Nomans Land (50), New Bedford and Dart- mouth (220), &c., &c. Probably 5,000 men are thus em- ployed on the New England coast. The most satisfactory account of the Columbia River salmon-fisheries was published in Afpleton’'s Journal, May 20, 1076, by Mr. Barnet Phillips. He estimates. :the ‘value tien the products of the canneries at $2,500,000. The mackerel-fishery is the fishery upon which the decis- ion of the Halifax Commission hinged. It was claimed at the time of the session in July, 1877, that almost all the mackerel brought into the United States were taken in the waters of the _Dominion of Canada, and the award was fixed accordingly at $15,000,000. It was proved conclusively before the commission that nine-tenths of the mackerel brought into our market were taken, not in the waters of Canada, but on our coast. It was really an unjust award, if it were desirable to pursue this subject fully. In regard to the distribution of the.mackerel, that is another of the- fishes which extend over the whole of the North Atlantic and the European coast, as well as our own. It extends farther? south ‘than ‘the!:cod; but not | so.-far::north” Ht is found as far- north as the Straits of Bellisle, and south at Cape Hatteras. In regard to menhaden: This industry has grown almost beyond the knowledge of those who have even studied it 104 fish Cultural Association. T ia 7 5 zi aa, ioe ian ad a a closely during the past four or five years. Five years ago there were four or: five’ steamers, employed; now ‘therey#are sixty-six. There are some 1,500 men, and several millions of dollars employed: in ‘it. The amount of oil we. obtam from the menhaden is. .greater than we- derive, from/ tie whale. A large amount of what is called whale-oil is nothing but menhaden-oil. One house in New York offers more whale-oil than is actually brought into the United States. I am indebted to Mr. Milner for statistics in regard to the lake-fisheries. The halibut-fishery has not been thoroughly investigated ; and Lieutenant de Broca, spoken of before, has furnished us with valuable estimates. The estimate given of the lobster-fishery is far below the truth. As to the herring-fishery, this does not include nearly all the product of the American fisheries. It does not in- clude the Newfoundland and Labrador herring brought by the vessels which go up there and employ the Newfound- land fishermen to catch them. These are in the Canadian re- ports, and to avoid duplicating them they have been in- cluded, There are probably thirty or forty trips made every year to the Magdalen Islands to bring back herring. As to flounders: These are taken in fyke-nets in Narra- gansett Bay, in Connecticut, and,in winter on'the coast of Maine, and in summer in smacks on the shoals of Long Island Sound. * i 3 = i 3 ey ‘3 ad = ** «In «regard te the imperfection ‘of the gstatinties furnished by the United States Census, I will only say that there is no reference whatever in the last industrial statistics to the menhaden-fishery, which we have seen amounts to al- most $2,000,000 in yearly value’; and if anybody who will Statistics of American Fishertes. 105 take any trouble to glance at the tables published by the United States heretofore, they will see that in every other particular it is as absolutely incorrect and imperfect as it can be. There was no effort made, as it appears, to cover the fisheries. As an example of the. way the statistics of every kind have been jumbled together, I will state that the white- fish of the lakes and those of Long Island Sound, which are the menhaden, were all placed in one category. The herring of the sea and the herring of the lakes and the herring of the Chesapeake, which is the alewife, and the herring of the St. John, which is the menhaden, are all under one name; and so I might name a dozen instances of inaccuracies, in addition to the total inadequacy of the whole report. I have the honor of submitting to the Association, a series of the estimated values of the Fisheries, with some details which may be of interest. Estimates of Value of United States Fisheries, 1876. GENERAL SUMMARY COMMISSION. Oyster: Pisheries 7... eek elie 2 ae Mod sBisheries. sales wed oiethl op ie : Whale Wisheriestcee eee ee ne Oreson Salmon Pisheries.... 0.05.50. Mackerel WiSh€FIGs: jcc Wik. co ees es Menhaden, BRisheries. 2s io3 co ee Great Lake Fisheries (1872)........... Shad and Alewife Fisheries (est)...... Bahibwt Misheriess 0.) 64 OOD. ae Hobster Fisheries. i... | PERE VEVISMETIER to) 8 ee sie eae hes seupor: Porsy Fishertes.1.. 0050000 Bimetish Nisheriess 0% 2 6yas 6 vse ot ee Swordtish Wisheries y2 Jt eS a IBOMItO ANIGHENIES!. 1025. cies oe hel malereasue nishenies: Sees eo. Jk 3 Flounder and Flat-fish Fisheries. ..... Sea-Bass Fisheries. ....6...00.4- Migs MRA UEOS EE ISHENIES . 0) ee cosie Sia am se es pe IG BASHOTIES 5 7.2 essa len ou as Sea sieas LED LAE GATOS 6 (2h GUESS Pegieig i ae Osuna gin er EG BEnIped soass mM ishenes, (2 .. 22/6285) 6.9.6 Spanish Mackerel & Pompano Fisheries Sheepshead Fisheries. .........6..005 BAMMGN TE ISMeres oe a eae $50,000,000 4,825,540 2°841,000 2,500,000 1,657,790 1,600,000 1,550,000 1,546,240 1,000,000 504,400 424,000 165,000 143,000 138,000 109,620 75,000 75,000 71,000 50,000 37,000 30,000 30,000 13,000 10,000 3,000,000 $75,278,829 POUNDS: 214,322,000 30,000,000 49,000,000 462,000,000 32,250,000 30,000,000 22,000,000 28,000,000 7,760,000 7,068,000 1,500,000 2,200,000 1,800,000 1,827,000 600,000 1,000,000 616,000 400,000 250,000 180,000 80,000 75,000 50,000 400,000,000 ‘({RUOTIPPB YAXIS-dUlO) JYSIOM U9e1s EY} 07 palojsar Wood OABY [OLOYOVW Pe}[’s OWL ‘(YON 8G SOUT] 99IT[}) JYSIOM W9dIT ILOY} OF PIdoO}Sar U9aq Sey POD peINO eqL—"A “N ‘sjtodey [VIOWO WolT} ‘SOTISIIIG JO nvoIng Wodey Wold, eet ee ee ake. 268‘ L8% (@IL° 1) ‘aury 1@8‘0e0ET S| OSL eG8'SF0 T PSP P90 PS £9889 PS IF9'OTL'SS| |OG66LGH1E |ISBOO Jo o[IU 079 OTVVY GES‘ESh —_ 00L' BEE eee eS cee tinct eens cg ea ee ea (poamo) ,, PPL‘SE 008°F09'S 000°000°F FPL‘SP € |@6I'F9 b |960°8E GOGO eens * *Suloyy 88'S 000‘°C8E"L Hqyeeag | V [0S8"eL I |Se6‘98 PDO ORCL igs ayIMOTY 020'8 OOL‘OF +5 OOLOF Br Ra ke LE9°S8s =: [008 0LL'E HLEgGes |WHgQ |S9L'e8e 2 0TS Ser fs ee N22 I ee PByg ves cB9'°g 000'S2 $29"S SL |00S'2 OL OS2's OOD malts ret aoe “= yoasaNyg O0S2E — |000'0S% 00S LE GT |000°SF ST e00'0g: (ET O00". | ng cee ae 061'299'T4 |0NS'9FL‘8OL QOO'PES' FSS fO uopeyuoW 000‘0¢ 000‘00F 000‘0¢ 84eT 00009 GT |000‘0F OL/000'00F af" s "8 ee ee O80F3r —-|000°890°2 080'F&h g |0FP‘S9g 8 |08L‘°Ss P 71000800 Y.-- aha eee “*-yspontg O9S*T% 008 ‘EBT O9S* Te SLI 0F9'F% 0% |O8F‘ST Slide eet > sta “"sseq pediig BIS" be 009'06S ACIS FL |S4@1|S22'68 GT |0¢8'6S OT 00S: R6G)- — « ailiss apace eee sseq vag OOF FOS = |000°092"2 OOF FOS 1849. |008‘0%9 g joco‘sse |% j000°09%'2 joo 7g eles dnog Gor ‘el 000°C GBI‘ 3 111000: cI 08 jOS@IT SOUL. vs Sah te Sa eee praysdaoyqs Ce9°S 000°¢2 GZ9'G 4 |00¢° OT jog.’ { 1000'S! “""** Jayvorg pus jodg 000°% 000‘0T 000° 0% {00S 2 GB |00S‘T S1}000‘0T eet Gee * YSIpsury 808'88T [009° 264'T 80% RET 8 JO9LSLT OT [9G0°Ok. “}9 O00 Aas te ie ansvajenbs 092% 000‘06 USB"% He |00L°% € |008‘T & |000‘06 Yoda OY M SUIGOY vas 000°S 000‘0¢ LEAS 9 |000'F 8 000° r 000‘0¢ pus ‘sung AM ‘Ysysoyng 000‘e91 — |000‘00S"T 000°¢ IT |000°G% Gt 000 SOL “a000-00S Sia ase YSYPIOMG 000‘F 000°¢ 0007 08 |000°¢ 00° 1/000" OB ONG.» al eee ee ae ourdwog 0O00'EFE | 000‘00%"S 000'SFT —- [349 ]000°9LT @ 1N00';0TE 12 J000000'S— =) ae ** oyUOg CL8‘86 000‘COT G18‘8% $4 1z|009' TE O€ |0G%‘9B $61000°COT eee jaqoyovyN ystuedg wet 9'T |006‘eE9°SE ‘ 006%E9' CE 8" ea . 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SAGOHY GNV SLLASNHOVSSVW NYSHLNOS JO SFINSHSI4 JANINVW 40 SLONGOUYd General Discussion of Toptcs. 109g THe SECRETARY: You heard yesterday Professor Baird speak of the necessity which existed that some data should be found or furnished by which the number of fish caught in the United States could be determined. The United States Commissioner explained to you what the advantages would have been if, in our late dispute with the Dominion of Can- ada in regard to the fisheries, we had had some data which might have been relied upon. You have just listened to an exceedingly valuable paper, read by Professor Goode on the same subject. It would be then of very great service to the United States if some measure could be adopted by which statistics could be furnished. We have been very for- tunate at this meeting in having received. the assistance of a great many gentlemen who are largely interested in fish in its most practical sense. I mean the Fishmongers’ Asso- ciation. I have, therefore, the honor to offer the following resolution: Resolved, That it is very desirable, in the interests of the trade and fisheries, that an accurate knowledge should be had of the consumption of fish in New York, and that in the absence of any authoritative provision for this purpose, the Fishmongers’ Association be earnestly requested to take such steps as may assist in the publication of such an an- nual report of fish or marine products used for food as may pass through their hands. The resolution was carried. General discussion of topics being now in order, Mr. Genio C. Scort said: I think it would be an improve- ment in the trout-fisheries of this country, particularly in the neighborhood of New York, if the Canadians were in- vited to send us their estuary-trout. They are similar to IIo Fish Cultural Association. those of Long Island, and I have been informed that they could be furnished here for twenty-five cents a pound. I think it would stop poaching if they could be furnished as cheap as that, and I do not think it is a profitable em- ployment to cultivate trout, though it is very amusing. We all know black-bass are profitable, and it might be worth while to cultivate striped-bass. The best way to do that is to have a law passed by the Legislature to stop the bring- ing of them into New York. for atime. There should be a law preventing the sale of striped-bass weighing less than a pound. These are the only two things which I know of by which the fisheries could be improved. I think from the lht- tle data I have that if the estuary-trout of Canada could be brought in here, and the striped-bass could be _ protected, there would be great improvement. THE PRESIDENT requested Mr. Reeder, Fish Commissioner of Pennsylvania, to give the conclusion Of the expenence which he told of some years ago in regard to black-bass. Mr. REEDER: I presume that you refer more particularly to the expemence which I had in reeard to the erowtiiaes bass. I am fully satisfied, so that I can say without hesita- tion, that black-bass spawn where food is abundant in early summer og late: spring: (AT that’ time ‘the next ‘yearjemey will weigh three-quarters of a pound to a_ pound, and. be mature fish.-+] have been so. often called upon beiGregiae Association to give my experience in regard to bass, that I do not feel as if I could say anything which would be enter- taining or interesting ; but there is one subject on which I think I can state some new facts. In 1871, before any com- mission was appointed by the State of Pennsylvania, Mr. Norris and myself purchased some salmon-eggs from Mr. General Discussion of Topics. Ill Wilmot. They were put in charge of Mr. Chrystie, who had a hatching-house in this state, near Poughkeepsie. After hatching the fish and bringing them on for the purpose of introducing the young into the river, they met with such an unfortunate detention in the city of New York that very few were put in alive. We repeated the experiment in 1872, when we succeeded in hatching about 10,000 of the salmo salar, and we introduced these into a tributary of the Dela- ware River. In 1873, Professor Baird put into our charge, I think, some 40,000 eggs, of which we hatched 27,000 young, and introduced these into another tributary of the Delaware River. The Fish Commission of Pennsylvania was formed that year, and I became a member. My connection with the introduction of salmon has been unofficial. After the introduction of the salmo salar in 1873, we introduced them in 1874. We then thought it unwise to experi- ment. further, thinking: \it -would bea ‘failure: “We abandoned that idea, and have been introducing the sa/mo guinnet, or California salmon, ever since. This year, how- ever, there have been nine mature salmon caught in the Delaware River. One of them was quite a large fish, but had a very weak back, in consequence of the length of time it had been out of salt-water. I judged from the size of that salmon that when it was a fresh-run fish it would have weighed sixteen pounds. When caught it weighed ten and a half pounds, and was ready to deposit its spawn. After ex- amining the fish, I was forced to come to the conclusion that the fish was not a California salmon, but a salmo salar. In order to have my judgment confirmed, I sent the fish to Professor Gill, of the Smithsonian Institute, and he pro- nounced it a salmo salar. This was the only fish that we subjected to a scientific examination. The other fish were 112 Fish Cultural Association. caught by the fishermen during the shad-fishing season in nets. One was caught in a shad-net below Philadelphia. Prior to that time a fisherman had caught a salmon weigh- ing eleven pounds. As he saw it before it escaped, he said he thought that salmon was so much larger than the one that weighed eleven pounds that he thought it would have weighed at least twenty-five pounds. As we introduced no fish into the Bushkill until 1873, I am of the opinion that these fish were five-year-old salmon, and the product of the eggs hatched in 1872, and I have no doubt that the product of 1873, returning next year, will give us many more sal- mon in the Delaware River next year than this year, and I hope to have, among others, the pleasure of forwarding to Professor Baird the first California salmon. This is but a-very small return, it is true, for the number of eggs -in- troduced into the Delaware, but to my mind it is a solu- tion of the problem. I know that one swallow does not make a summer, but where we see one swallow we can in- fer that more are coming. We know this, that the salmon that are introduced and have been introduced into the Dela- ware and its tributaries have been there as young fish, and returned there from the sea; that they came back full of ripe spawn ready to deposit and reproduce; and if that is not a solution of the question that salmon can be introduced as far south as the Delaware, I do not think that any theory can be discovered from a statement of facts. Mr. Hatiocx: The object of my getting up was to say that in view of the suggestions of Mr. Scott, and of the concurrence of all of us with his ideas of the desirability of introducing the estuary-fish, and estimating the growth of all fish, I wish to say that there has been started with- General Discussion of Toptcs. 113 in a week a large club of influential men, whose province it will be to take charge of the fishing interests of Harlem River, the Westchester creeks, and all the little tributaries around the city, and they hope that, by the codperation of ourselves and other gentlemen here and elsewhere, that they will be able to make a better showing in a short time than at present. Mr. Scott: Bass-fishing this last fall has been better around New York than for thirty years. So all the boat- men say. I went down late in the season, and I found most beautiful bass. I took from fifteen down to five fish, and never found so good fishing before ; and that reminded me, as we supposed that by the fishery of the menhaden we were de- pleting the water of the ocean, but instead of that, menhaden have been more numerous than ever. How can you account for that? Perhaps some gentleman will state why bass, after the streams have been fished and netted and hacked for so many years—why we found bass more numerous. than ever. Tur Presipent: I would like you to seek an explanation why the price of bass has risen from twelve to twenty cents a pound, as it is now. Mr. Scorr: I am led to conclude that bass for the mar- ket are taken in bays, and have decreased. I was speaking in regard to what were immediately about New York—fishes taken with the rod and reel. I suppose Mr. Blackford could tell how the waters of the East are depleted, and that they are obliged to charge more for bass, because they sup- ply a great share of them. One thing, moreover, we know, in connection with bass-fishing near New York, that on the south side of Long Island the fishing was better last fall than 114 Fish Cultural Association. at Basque Island and Cutty Hunk. I was speaking of the fish that come in from the sea and we take in the Kill von Kull and the outlet of Newark Bay. Tue Presipent asked Mr. Haley and Mr. Lamphier to tell about the number of bass in the market, Wc. Mr. Duptry Haury: dt is.antact -that, there are notijas many bass through the market as there were twenty years ago. Then we used to catch as many bass as we wanted. Now there are very few. The same thing occurs with cod- fishing. Some séasons there are no sea-bass, other seasons any quantity “of. them. ‘1 am sure that I ‘cannot ‘explia why it is. THe PrestpENT: Has there been a gradual diminution of the supply of bass? Me UEIALEY 2 No- sir. ‘Semre? seasons they are scarcer than others. | THe PRESIDENT: How do -you account for the mse price: Mr. HaLey: Scarcity and more demand than there was twenty years age. I do not know but that they are more popular. I think so. Mr. Bracxrorp offered the following resolution, which was agreed to: Resolved, That the thanks of this Association are due to Professors Milner and Goode for their exceedingly interest- ing papers on subjects of the highest importance to the As- sociation, and that in affording the opportunity of acquiring information, these gentlemen are fulfilling not only roles of useful members of thevA)«F. ©. A. put of public, mastime tors. Mr. ANNING asked for information in regard to putting the ‘eggs \of! trout in ,soft of hard) water; amd said (thatyie General Discussion of Toptes. I15 his experience that eggs put in soft-water will not stand as much as those placed in hard water. Mr. Green: My opinion on the subject is from one of our men who has charge of the hatching in Greene county. He took a great many eggs in that county last fall, and took a great many from our state. The eggs from Greene county were all from soft-water. The water the spawn was taken from was soft-water. His experience showed that the eggs taken from the fish in the soft-water were very much thinner than those taken from the hard-water—that is, from the lime-water, and I am of the opinion that they will not bear transportation as well. The soft-water fish will not bear the transportation that the hard-water fish will. When you come to ship the eggs, the advantage would be very much in favor of the hard-water trout. By hard-water, I mean any water impregnated with lime. Mr. Pace described an establishment for hatching the salmo fontinalis at Rangely Lake, Maine. Trout had been taken with the- fly during the spawning-season ; also, that a large number of the blue-black trout and their eggs had been distributed through Maine. The fact is of great in- terest, as it is the first establishment of a permanent hatch- ‘ing-house for the purpose of propagating that species of the salmo fontinalis, or of that variety which, I believe, is now admitted to be the largest known in the world. The nine- and-a-half-pound trout from the Rangely Lake was sent to the Smithsonian Institute. If it reached Professor Baird, I think it will be on record as the second largest trout known. The largest was that of ten pounds, taken in 1867 in the same water, Mr. Marner: Mr. Page stated that the trout had been 116 Fish Cultural Association. taken with the fly during the spawning-season. I would say that I have taken the grayling with the fly, and taken the spawn from the fish immediately after, and also that there is to be an effort this spring to take grayling spawn. Mr. BLAcKForD suggested certain changes in the organi- zation of the sections whose duty it was to report on spe- cial subjects. The following gentlemen were appointed for 1878-79 : SECTION 1.. Ma. S. Green, Mr. S. Wilmot. SECTION 2. Nr C.B8, Eyvarts, Bir. Stone, Fishery Laws and Fish- Ways. Methods tn Fish-Culture, ete. TB. E ersitsen, SECTION: 2. Mir. J. W... Milner, Mr. F. Mather, Natural FHrstory, ete. Mneo GC. Waiyddallock: Section 4. Mr. E Mirnwb . G. Blackford, ie Fisheries. . Phillips, Mr. MiLner offered the following resolution : Resolved, That this Association tender their thanks to the officers and members of the Fulton Market Fishmongers’ Association for the use of their rooms. At the same time the American Fish Cultural Association are desirous of expressing the pleasure they feel at having had associated with them so many gentlemen directly representing, in a commercial sense, the fishing interests of New York, and that they are quite sanguine in the belief that the impres- sion of such a practical working element must advance the interests of the Association. Tue PresipENT: I would like to say a word or two to General Discussion of Topics. EEG express ‘even more fully than the resolution does our appre- ciation of the great benefit that can be obtained in the la- bors which we have at heart by the codperation of the gen- tlemen in this city interested .directly’ on: indirectly, 1m, the fish-business. We can obtain from their experience a very large mass of information that will be exceedingly valua- ble. All sides hunger after statistics. Upon satisfactory sta- tistics we must depend for any conclusions to which we may arrive. As you have heard here, one gentleman arrives at one concluston from his experience, and another at another from his experience. You will find a difference of opinion on points on which you would suppose there would be no difference, and it is only by obtaining a mass of facts, a large number of results, that we can finally attain some absolute conclusions. Now these gentlemen, dealing as they are largely in fish, can give us their conclusions on a much larger scale even than we can reach, and they, too, form a test of our knowledge that puts us to the requisite care in forming conclusions, and makes.us careful in our statements. I knew to-day, when I had to read before you the statement that nobody had ever found mature spawn in eels, I was making a statement in the face of all of those gentlemen through whose hands pass millions of eels every day. At the instant some one might get up and say, “You are mis- taken. We find eels with mature spawn exactly the same as other fish;” and it was with entire satisfaction that I re- ceived the assurance from Professor Baird that we had un- der a microscope discovered spawn of eels in a mature con- dition. We can also, with the codperation of these gentle- men, obtain proper legislation. The object of this Associa- tion is principally to increase the business and supply of fish. I think we will meet with the hearty codperation of those 118 Fish Cultural Association. gentlemen, of the Fulton Market as our purposes are the same. For instance, I might speak of what Mr. Scott has alluded to in regard to bass, and might add something in regard to the selling of immature blue-fish. Now should the wholesale market fail to recetve them with the other fish sent here, they would know that in seliing those little blue-fish they are destroying their own business, recognizing as we do that in destroying these half-grown little fish, they destroy their own supply. In this and many other points the Fulton Market Fishmongers’ Association can be of* great service to us; and it has been of great satisfaction to us, and I know to all members of the Association, that they have tendered to us the use of their rooms, invited us to meet here, and shown a disposition to unite with us in our action. In al- luding yesterday to a feeling of jealousy, I did not allude to these gentlemen, but to the gentlemen who were taking the fish, and who were at first a little jealous. There isime reason for jealousy between the fishmongers and ourselves, and I am sure that the resolution just offered will meet the hearty approval of every member of the Association. Resolution put and carried. The Treasurer read a list of new members who had been proposed. On motion, the meeting adjourned, to assemble again in February, 1879. [In changing the name of the Association from Fish Cul- turists to Fish Cultural, the Secretary proposed that in the Constitution, after the final word Fish Culturists, the follow- ing be added: “and the treatment of all questions regarding fish, of a scientific and economic character.” This change and addition to the Constitution was adopted.] Og ers 68 StI © © 6 HeHee ¢e 6 « wy 6 8S "*"ployyovig “4 ‘q onp oouveg Nae ahiee; Bem) (of! s) sees ee (ae (eS 6) 6 eae 6) bw a) a ew 6.6 1p pelieul s}10daxy uo dSVISOT 59 . “LZ e CGT be ee oe Ss ete SUIJULIG JO [[Iq Sl{ JO JUNODON UO STAR ‘Wf ,, - ‘g Areniqay ‘BL8L eo | ta Bie nO Ne Rp a ote «ae ea ToS Masso] pue WBIS9[9 J, TOT. aye iy rae iG Op RL [crt teense cee ee ees solapung ][Iq oJ spunwpy “aq_,, . 6 tudy 0G aly al 8 Ydqey eae eMe as been. areal a in eke: ee \wle te ete. a eh ieite ‘SUIJULI I0J Avoy ie jo 98 1ST ‘i a “62 - OOS SS] -o > SS ee a ee ne “Sspunudutpoy “TTA modaj aSByIVq uo oovssoldxiy OF 29 Ar “92 a5 00 Of iiitttitttttrce tte teers sees 5 [eraueyuag ,, ‘7 . 5 Te e 0g OL Rife aise) a eel ate ale) ave die ne [eel is Bite el .elge (ase) cera latin ShSee Tele aa SUT] wuniienby jo I9y10dayy - 5 ‘9 YOIvy CZ OL quis @ sce, ogs maleate hehe < uate e One), ©) leuaa sie 8% a mca se, elkemerioug a 0.8, queice.< SutyuLtg IOJ STAC mE ue ~ Fe werd ay Ke ry, & Serie) a make vhs) a se.s' o 10! sb) w6p.e, ce 1a 6 ake? 60 (60 mite: fee alist? on eaelie SUI}OOW 1v SALVO jo osn. I0J pred yseg OL ‘6L AIVNAGA FT "LLOI ‘W@@ ‘TYOTMNOIVTY “D ANZOAT Wim 199" Ut NOTLVIIOSSV TEFXALITAD HSTIX N¥OTATNV ‘8Z3) ‘AUWNegdad ‘HUYOA MAN CONSTITUTION. ARTICLE I.—NaAmeE AND OBJECTS. The name of this Society shall be “The American: Fish Cultural. Association.” Its objects shall be to promote the cause of Fish Culture; to gather and diffuse information bear- ing upon its practical success; the interchange of friendly feeling and intercourse among the members of the Association ; the uniting and encouraging of the individual interests of Fish Culturists, and the treatment of all questions regarding fish, of a scientific and economic character. ARTICLE II].—MEmpBEeErs. Any person shall, upon a two-thirds vote of the Society, and a payment of three dollars, be considered a member of the Association, after signing the Constitution. The annual dues shall be $3.00. | ARTICLE III.—Orricers. The officers of the Association shall be a President, a Vice- President, a Secretary, a Treasurer and Executive Committee of seven members, and shall be elected annually by a majority of votes; vacancies occurring during the year may be filled by the President. ARTICLE IV.—MEETINGs. The regular meetings of the Association shall be held once a year, the time and place being decided upon at the previous meeting. ARTICLE V.—CHANGING THE CONSTITUTION. The Constitution of the Society may be amended, altered, or repealed, by a two-thirds vote of the members present at any regular meeting. MEMBERS OF THE American Fish Cultural ‘[\ssociation. Ambler, Andrew S., Danbury, Conn. Anderson, A. A., Bloomsbury, N. J. Annin, James, Jr., Caledonia, N. Y. Baird, Spencer F., U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, Washington, D. C. Benjamin, Pulaski, New York. Benkard, James, New York. Betteman, C. G., Greenville, N. J. Blackford, E. G., New York City. Boardman, H, G. Boyer, B. Frank, Reading, Pa. Bradley, Richards, Brattleboro, Vt. Brewer, J. D., Muncey, Pa. Bridgman, J. D., Bellows Falls, Vt. Burges, Arnold, West Meriden, Conn. Bush, John T., Niagara Falls, Canada. Campbell, Anthony, Brooklyn, N. Y. Carman, G., New York. Comstock, Oscar, New York. Chandler, F. J., Alstead, N. H. Chappel, George, New York. Chrysley, Gifford W., Kinderhook, N. Y. Clapham, Thomas, Roslyn, L. I. Clift, William, Mystic Bridge, Conn. Colburn, Charles S., Pittsfield, Vt. Collins, A. 8., Caledonia, N. Y. 122 Fish Cultural Association. ee EE —— — us Coup, W. C., New York City. Crocker, A. B., Norway, Maine. Edmunds, M. ©., Weston, Vt. Evarts, Charles B., Windsor, Vt. Farnham, C, H., Milton, N. Y. Farrar, Benjamin, St. Louis, Mo. Ferguson, T, B., Baltimore, Md. — Gill, Theodore, Washington, D. C, Goode, J. Browne, Washington, D. C. Green, Seth, Rochester, N. Y. Hallock, Charles, New York City. Haley, Albert, New York. Haley, Caleb, New York. Harris, J. N.. New York. Hessel, Rudolph, Oftenburg, Germany. Hewett, C. L. Holidaysburg, Pa. Heywood, Levi, Gardner, Mass. Holley, W. P., Katonah, INU GS Hooper, H. H. Charleston, IN: Ee Hunt, J. Daggett, Summit, N. J. Hunt, N. W., 70 Lee Avenue, Williamsburg, L.4. Hunt, Luther B. Huntington, Dr., Watertown, IN Os Hutchinson, Chas., Utica, N. Y. Jerome, George H., Niles, Mich. Jewett, George, Fitchburg, Mass. Kent, Alexander, Baltimore, Md. Kingsbury, Dr. C. A., 1119 Walnut St., Philadelphia. Lamberton, Alexander B., Rochester, Ni Y. Lamphear, George, New York. Ledyard, L. W., Cazenovia, N. Y. Lees, Edward M., Westport, Conn. Lowrey, G. P., Tarrytown, N. Y. Lyman, Theodore, Brookline, Mass. Maginnis, Arthur, Stanhope, Pa. Malcomson, A. Bell, Jr., New York City. Mann, J. F., Lewiston, Pa. Members. rey Mather, Fred., Newark, N. J. Middleton, W., New York. Miller, S. B. New York. Miller, Ernest, New York. Milner, James W., Washington, D. C. Mull, B. E., New York. McGovern, H. D., Brooklyn, N. Y. Neidlinger, Phil., New York City. Newell, W. H., San Francisco, Cal. Page, George 8., New York City. Parker, Wilbur F., Meriden, Conn. Paxton, E. B., Detroit, Mich. Phillips, B., Brooklyn, N. Y. Porter, P. B., Colorado. Price, Rodman Moe Ji Redding, B. B., San Francisco, Cal. Redding, George H., Stamford, Conn. Reeder, H. J., Easton, Pa. Richmond, W. H., Scranton, Pa. Rogers, A. L., New York. Rogers, H. M., New York. Robinson, R. E. Rockford, A. P., Salt Lake City, Utah. Roosevelt, Hon. Robert B., New York. Saltus, Nicholas, New York City. Shultz, Theodore, New York City. Smith, Greene, Pelerboro, Va. Sprout, A. B., Muncey, Pa. Stetson, J. A., Gloucester, Mass. Sterling, E. Cleveland, Ohio. Stone, Livingston, Charleston, N. H. Stoughton, E. W., Windsor, Vt. Tagg, Henry, Philadelphia, Pa. Thomas, H. H., Randolph, N. Y. Tileston, W. M., New York City. Van Cleve, Joseph, Newark, N. J. Van Wyck, J. T., New York City. 124 Fish Cultural Association. Ward, George E., New York City. West, Benjamin, New York City. Whitcher, W. F., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Whitcomb, T., Springfield, Vt. Whitin, Edward, Whitinsville, Mass. Wilmot, Samuel, Newcastle, Ontario, Canada. Willets, J. C., Skeaneatles, N. Y. Woods, Israel, New York. Worrall, James, Harrisburgh, Pa. Yarrow, Dr. H. C., U.S.A., Washington, D. C. hoe <0 a puntse? fate AiG Ms i ¥ 0 a , = ’ er ff - 7 . ; . F - om \ . m ‘ . : ‘ ‘ avs 3 = 4 5 F ‘a s a , er é « ‘ 2 S . a \ 2 _ ‘ 5 , , / i . F. - A ¥ " . ‘ eck a Prac FE / . Oe : a ’ is ‘ ~ re ' rs . “ . m Z . = = LY if" . - i => it ’ z eran 7 . oy a ott ee es ) ' , rs f ‘ Yor . > es r - wn Ss » e ci ’ = A J 7 ee 2 4 ‘ > é . : \ : ; ¢ . sc by . 5 . ; ; - F ' Se ‘ Fe . : ‘ c at Pi > a . Tipe iy ’ x - - ~ * ' : ¥ ‘s > = 5 . ’ : . a = n : i r : 4 - f ) - ,; . . > . : — ag . ' 4 - * S 2 - ’ OR SLE E Os el 1 ELIAS) GERMS E AG =) Se oY QO (ey) N39} DN. x EC \ VE OLA Ket 2. = Nols} th AN OAG PIONS —OF THE— AMERICAN HSn CULTURAL ASSULIATION EicgutH ANNuAL MEETING, fTeld at the Directors’ Rooms of the Fulton Market Fish Mongers’ Association, in the City of New York. February 25th and 26th, 1879. New York: Fohn M. Davis, Typographer, No. 40 Fulton Street. 1879 OFFICERS, 1879-30. ————————— ROBERT B.oROOSEVEBT.E i - . PRESIDENT, New York City. GEO. SHEPARD AGE on ; - VICE-PRESIDENT, New York City. EUGENE G. BLACKFORD, - - - TREASURER. New York City. BARNET PHILLIPS, - CORRESPONDING SECRET ARY.. Brooklyn, NV. Y: JAMES ANNIN, Jr., - . RECORDING SECRETARY. Caledonia, N. Y. v EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. Hi Dy MATHERS | ss - - - Newark, N. F. BENJAMIN L. HEWITT, - - flollidaysburg, Pa. G. BROWNE GOODE, : - Washington, D. C. SAMUEL WILMOT, - - - Ottawa, Ont. BENJAMIN WEST, - : ie New York City. Dry THEODORE Gib, = - - Washineten De THOMAS: B. . FERGUSON) - Baltimore, Ma. EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING THE FISH GULTURAL ASSOCIATION. Turspay, February 26th, 1879. THE meeting was called to ofder in the Director’s room of the Fulton Market Fish-Mongers’ Association, in the City of New York, by the President, Hon. Ronert B. ROosEvE Lt, at rr A. M. The President made some introductory remarks on the pro- gress in fish culture during the past year, mentioned the hatch- ing of cod-fish by the United States Fish Commission, calling at- tention to the objects of the Association, and the importance of carrying them out. So far the New York Commission had devo- ted their attention to two or three kinds of fish, but what scope there might be in the future no one could tell. The President regretted that a confused nomenclature of our fishes in the matter of common or popular names. still existed. He told of his own difficulties in making a man in one portion of the country understand what fish was meant when he called it by a name in use in some other part, an example of which was given in the Stzostethium, which is called a “pike” in some parts of the State of New York, a “pickerel” in Canada, and a “salmon” on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers; while the “great lake pike” (sox luctus) is called a “pickerel” in some localities and a “pike” in others. 4 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. Thevsecretary,: Mr. B: Paituirs, then- read. the minutes oF the previous meeting, which were approved. Numerous letters of regret from various fish commis- sioners were read, their absence at the meeting having been accounted for by their peculiar duties usually taking place at the close of February. It being evident then that the present date of holding the meeting was inconvenient for many of the members, it was resolved to hold the future meetings of the Association in March or April, the exact. date to be decided by the Executive Committee, who were empowered to fix the time and make the call. The reading of papers being now in order, the Secretary then read Mr. THomas CiapHam’s Paper on Food for Brook-Trout : Two years ago when I .commenced trout breeding and rearing, I knew nothing about the business except from such information as could be gleaned out of the directions given in various works on the subject. The rules laid down by these authorities, particularly as regards food for trout, both young and old, appeared so vague and contradictory, that I concluded to strike out for myself, take advantage of what nature offered, and thus, while suffering by experience, I might at the same time gain useful information from that harsh yet thorough teacher. Believing there must be others who, desiring to rear trout, find themselves placed in the same position, I am glad to have the opportunity of giving them the benefit of what lit- tle I know. In the first place I would say that the very best situation for rearing trout is on a never-failing spring-brook which discharges into the salt water, because in this combination we have all that is necessary, so far as nature is concerned, for success, with comparatively little trouble or expense. Almost every living thing found in the sea is the very best of food, when properly prepared, for brook-trout. For very young fry I have known nothing better than the belly of the common soft-clam. This may be fed in a raw EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 5 state, passed through a fine sieve, to the little fish, but it is not well to do soin this manner, for the reason that in this condition the food is in a glutinous state, partially dissolves in the water, and, adhering to everything it touches, quickly causes foulness, and consequently death, unless the greatest care be used. { therefore boil or steam the clams until their shells open, separate the parts I wish from the rim or tough portion, and give it to the young fish through a fine brass seive. The boiling or steaming appears to granulate the mass in such a manner that the resulting particles are of exactly the size and condition required, while being of a very light color, they are readily seen, and the fry will gather up every atom even from the bottom of the rearing-trough or pond. Enough food for a million little trout can thus be pre- pared in fifteen minutes. Such portions as are not given to the fry are fed to the large fish. My trout contend with each other to take these scraps from my fingers, and I do not know of any more fattening food. As the troutlets grow I simply use a coarser meshed sieve, and by midsummer, when they can swallow larger particles, [ run the clams, either raw or cooked, through a chopper. The eggs of the horsefoot or king-crab are also excellent food for trout of three months old and upward. These horsefeet are found in great numbers on some shores. Their eggs and flesh are fine fish-food, and should be prepared by boiling, or roasting on an open fire. a Sait water minnows and shrimp are just the thing for large trout, and during several months I use them almost ex- clusively, as they can be taken at Roslyn, L. L, by the bushel. Of course to those who establish themselves away from tide- water these. hints will not apply, and to such I would say that calf or sheep liver, docled until it becomes brittle or granulated, is an excellent food for the young fry. This, too, should be passed through a fine seive, and requires no other grating or chopping. If one has for neighbor a large slaughtering-house, he need go no farther for cheap food, but in this case cheapness will be secured at the expense of delicate flavor in his trout. 6 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. I beg indulgence for consuming your time with matters which, to the old fish culturists, may appear self-evident trifles, but my own brief experience has taught me that these trifles are the stumbling-blocks over which we beginners have to trip, and I am satisfied that the difficulty of providing proper food at reasouable cost has been the one great cause of failure in rearing trout with profit for market. The Secretary then read the following. paper by Mr. H. D. McGovern of Brooklyn, on the New Enemies of Trout : The question has been asked me more than once, “ Why is it that our streams, which used to abound with fish, are so deple- ted, particularly of the young trout ?” I at once commenced an investigation, and began to think why it was that the good old streams of Long Island, that used to furnish so much pleasure to the sportsman, were now almost untenanted by large trout. The question, I thought, could be easily answered, knowing that there were so many pot-hunting sportsmen around, in and out of season, who would not hesitate to kill a large trout even if they knew it was on the spawning-bed and in the very act of spawning. This, with the assistance of the mink and snake and other enemies, I thought would answer the question. But I was mistaken. I will pass the large trout for the present and give you the result of my investigation of the small fish. When I say small, I mean from one year to eighteen months trout. I was in the habit of placing some of the fish in a spring-well for general observation. As the water was clear, and the space nar- row, it afforded me a good opportunity to watch the growth, habits, and movements of the speckled beauties. Several times I came to my spring and found some of the number missing. I examined the screens and found there was no chance of escape by that means. I then placed six eighteen-months-old fish in the spring. Next morning I found one missing. At 4 P. M. on the same day two were missing. On the following morning only two remained. Then I became alarmed and thought the fish were playing cannibal; so I determined to solve the mys- tery, if it took me the balance of the year. Knowing that one EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 7 of the fish was taken or disappeared between ro A. M. and 4 P. M. the previous day, I began to watch, and was rewarded at 2 p. M. by noticing something crawl from under a bunch of water-cresses which grew on the edge of the spring. It first appeared like a mouse. When it reached the water it dove down, and like a flash it was up again, with something attached to it. I was not slow in capturing the intruder, and found to my surprise that it was a large bug, resembling a good- sized locust, having one of my small fish in his grasp. Now, gentlemen, as I am no entomologist, I do not know the name of it, but from the manner in which it held the trout, I should call it a bear-bug, for indeed the poor fish was getting a bear’s hug. Having placed it in a jar of water, it still held on to the fish, and seemed to enjoy its imprisonment. From obser- vations with the naked eye, while the bug was in the glass jar, I could see that it tortured the fish from a tubular prong, which it cast from the tail and fastened on the fish. In a second the bug became inflated to double its size. Now, gentlemen, as our worthy Treasurer remarked, I think this is a ‘“ blood-sucking fisherman, and largely the cause of the depletion of our small fish.” Being inquisitive to know if the thief would live out of water, | emptied the jar and placed some screen-work over the mouth for the purpose of procuring air. Next morning I found the bug, with his toes turned up, and his victim beside him; so 1 found, good fisherman as he was, he differed from the many anglers of the present day. Nothing but spring- water would suit his bugship, and enable him to feast on his dainty morsel. ‘Now, to return to the large fish. It is not very pleasant to find a large trout dead or dying without any seeming cause, as the fish would look healthy, and as proof of such, when cap- tured and opened, you find that it had eaten a good feed a short time previous. One day last month I was feeding some large trout that had come down from the spawning-beds. Suddenly I noticed one of the number jump clear out of water, wriggle a moment, and then turn over. I took it on the bank and first examined to see if it had choked itself; but that was not the cause of death. I at once opened it and discovered a four-inch 8 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. red worm coiled up near the heart. I closed up the fish and folded it in paper, intending, as I did afterward, to take it to Mr. Blackford until we could hold an inquest. In the meantime some friends came to the pond. I went to show them the fish and worm, but, to my surprise, the worm was gone. I searched all the intestines, but without success, and was about giving up the search when, noticing a small swelling on the skin of the fish close to the ventral fin, about the size of a small pea, I cut the same, and found the worm coiled up under the skin as it was in the breast when I first discovered it. I have not yet received the name of the worm from persons versed in such matters, but I know, gentlemen, that it is able to enter a fish that it may at- tack and make its exit from it in less than a minute. From later observations, I have seen the worm crawl out and then disappear in the body of the fish in about half a minute. The spot attacked in this case was also near the ventral fin. Gentle- men, that this worm, in connection with the bug, accounts for the scarcity of fish in our streams, I have not the slightest doubt, and hope that all of you engaged in fish culture will look out for such things. A discussion here followed as to the particular kind of “ bug” mentioned by Mr. McGovern. It was finally decided by Prof. A. S. Fuller to be the Bedos- toma grandis, and later in the day Prof. Fuller sent in a specimen which was recognized by Mr. McGovern as the one to which he referred. Mr. McGovern here showed a trout which had been attacked by a parasitic worm which had eaten into its side. He stated that he had seen many such worms, and once found one which had bored its way through a trout from side to side. Mr. Maruer: The larve of the dragon-flies (Zibel/ulide), are the most destructive to young fish in ponds of anything which I have met. I once placed five young gold-fish of half an inch in length in a bowl with a dragon-fly larva, and it devoured the five fish in about half an hour. EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 9 Pror, Futter: The larva of all the dragon-flies are carniv- orous, living upon the larve and purpe of other insects, and no doubt will attack small fish. They are exceedingly strong and flerce. Mr. Puiuips read an article from a newspaper on the Belos- toma grands, Showing that it had before this attracted attention, and had been well defined.* The order of proceedings and papers to be read ‘was then given by the Secretary, and the meeting adjourned until the af- ternoon. . AFTERNOON SESSION. On assembling, at 2 p. Mm. Mr. Cuartes Hatiock read an article on co-operative game-laws, which referred mainly to deer, birds, and other game. It noted that the state laws for protecting black bass (M/icropterus) were very different in ad- joining states. Mr. Hatwock desired that a uniform law for the protection of fish be made, and the following resolution was passed : Resolved, That this Association approves of any measure that will tend to simplify the protective laws for fish and game and make them as nearly uniform as possible in all the states; and that the plan offered by Mr. HaLuock goes far to secure the re- sult. Mr. GREEN: The bass season in New York is from the a of June to the ioth of July. Mr. BLAacKFrorD : Black bass come into market in the month of October; the largest source of supply is from the South, in months of January and February, or during the close season in New York. ° THe PresipENT: IJ will read from the amendment to the laws, as recommended by the Society for the protection of fish and game, those portions relating to trout, black bass, musca- longe, and wall-eyed pike. *A full desription, with an engraving of the Belostoma, may be found in the last Report of the New York State Fish Commission. 10 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. Src. 21. No person shall kill, or expose for sale, or have in his or her possession after the same has been killed, any speckled trout, save only from the first day of April to the first day of September. Src. 22. No person shall kill, or expose for sale, or have in his or her possession after the same has been killed, any salmon trout, or lake trout, in the month of September, October, and N ovember. Sec. 23. No person shall kill, or expose for sale, or have in his or her possession after the same has been killed, any wall- eyed pike, black bass, Oswego bass, or muscalonge, during the months of March, April, May, and June. Mr. BLackrorpD: A stringent law is very desirable, but as the law now stands, a dealer may be punished by fine when per- fectly innocent. On two occasions I have had trout shipped to me out of season, of which I had no knowledge until their ar- rival. A year ago five boxes were shipped to me from Canada without my knowledge. I supposed they were smelts. They had arrived before any word of advice. On opening the boxes, what did I find? I found they were Canadian trout. Quite inno- cently I might have been subjected to a fine of $30,000. The trout law varies in the different states, and in Canada they are allowed to be caught earlier than in New York, and persons ig- norant of this often ship them. The law should be altered so as to protect innocent men. I should recommend that they be ai- lowed to turn them over to the Society for the Preservation of Game. Mr. JoHNsON: Possession of them should be prima facie evidence of guilt. Mr. Roosrvett: This is a delicate matter; if fish are al- lowed to be sold out of season at all, it opens doors for an evasion of the law. Mr. BLackrorpd moved the appointment of a committee to frame recommendations on this subject, to be submitted to the Fish and Game Association for incorporation in the proposed amendments to laws. EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. EI THE PRESIDENT appointed Messrs. BLACKFrorD, MATHER, and ROOSEVELT as such committee. Mr. E. G. Biackrorp then read the following paper on Whitebait : The object of bringing to the notice of this Association the fol- lowing tacts and opinions of this tiny fish, that has been the subject of so much discussion, is, if possible, to clear away the uncertainty that has surrounded the question since it has been added to the menu of the American icthyophagist. There have been, from time to time, as in the case of most other fish, some very learned disputes as to where it comes from, how it grows, and whether or not it be a distinct member of the herring family, or the young of some other fish. In order that we may fully understand and comprehend what Whitebait are, let us ex- amine into its history in England, where the name first origi- nated. Mr. J. H. Cannon, a gentleman who was examined before the English Fishery Commission, in June, 1878, states “ That the toothsome little fish was not ‘discovered’ until about 1780, and that it was his grandfather who had the honor of in- troducing it to the British public. It would appear that its pre-eminent merits were not at first appreciated even by its ‘ dis- coverer.”’ Old Mr. Cannon was a fisherman, and the first use to which he applied the tiny creature was the baiting of eel- pots. It wasin this way that it came to receive its name, by which it has ever since been known. In the Natural History of British Fishes, by E. Donovan, published in 1809, is a plate, giv- ing a beautiful picture of English Whitebait, and in the text Mr. Donovan expresses the opinion that they are the young of shad. In 1828, Dr. Yarrell, in a paper published in the “ Zoo- logical Journal,” entitled “On the Supposed Identity of White- bait and Shad,” discusses the subject at great length, and gives it as his unqualified opinion that it is a distinct species of the herring family, names it C/upea alba, and claims to have exam- ined specimens in which he found roe, and that he believed that they deposited their spawn during the winter. Yarrell states that the fishing commences at the end of March and continues until September, and that no other fry of any value swims with 12 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. the Whitebait. Richard Parnell, in his “ Fishes of the Firth of Forth,” thus describes the appearance of Whitebait: ‘Color of the upper part of back, from the nape to the tail, of a pale greenish ash; sides, gill covers, pectoral, ventral, and annul fins, of a beautiful pure white; dorsal and caudal fins, straw color; scales thin, very deciduous; under jaw longest. In their habits they appear to be similar to the young of the herring, always keeping in shoals and swimming occasionally near the surface.” Gunther, in his “Catalogue of /zshes in the British Museum,” states: “As regards the Whitebait, this is a purely nominal species, introduced into science by Yarrell and Valen- ciennes in deference to the opinion of fisherman and gour- mands.” All the examples of Whitebait he examined were young herrings, from one and a half to three inches in length. At the present time it is accepted asa well settled fact by all English ichthyologists and naturalists that the Whitebait is neither more or less than the young fry of the herring family, which is fully assured from recent experiments at the aquarium in Brighton, England, where some live Whitebait, about one and a half inches long, were placed in one of the tanks, and in a few months developed into herring of about nine inches in length. Much of the discussion in England over this fish arose from in- vestigators having confounded different species of the genus Clupea. Keeping the results of the investigations of our Eng- lish cousins in mind, let us now take up the history of White- bait in American waters. In the early part of the year 1876, Mr. Charles Waite, one of the proprietors of the Windsor Hotel, in this city, suggested to me that I get some of our fishermen to bring in some very small fish, about one inch long, as they would be a great delicacy for the table, and, in his opinion, would equal the famed Whitebait of England. This led me to make inquiry in various quarters as to the character, appearance, and habits of this fish, and in April, 1876, I received from Liverpool, through the kindness and courtesy of Professor T. J. Moore, of the Derby Museum, some specimens of English Whitebait. Af- ter examining these, | was convinced that the same fish could be found in our waters.- Shortly after, I met Mr. J. Carson Bre- voort, and knowing that he had fished the waters of New York EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. Mo as Ss a = = Bay very extensively, while engaged in his researches into the habits of fish found on our coast, I asked him if he ever found any fish in his nets resembling Whitebait. He assured me that he had, and that they would be found in the vicinity of Bay Ridge. Inthe spring of 1878, 1 requested a shrimp fisherman to bring me all the small fish he might find in his net when fish- ing for shrimp, and on April 16th he brought me three small fish that were identical in appearance with the English White- bait. The next day he brought about fifty specimens ; some of these I sent to Professor Spencer F. Baird, who, after examina- tion, wrote me that they were “the young of two distinct spe- cies—one the Pomolobus pseudoharengus, the common Alewife, or Gaspereau; the other the Pomolobus mediocris, or Sea or Taylor Shad.” Having determined that they were not the fry of any of our valuable food fish, I took measure to procure a supply for table use ; obtaining which, I sent them to the Union Club, where they were served, and the superintendent, Mr. Chisholm, informed me they tasted so much like the English Whitebait that some of the members supposed that they had been imported from the other side. After receiving this verdict on their superiority as a table fish, it only remained to introduce them to the public, which was done at a dinner given upon the opening of the Manhattan Beach Hotel, Coney Island, on May 15th, 1878. This was the first Whitebait dinner ever served in this country. The demand at once exceeded the supply, as at no time during the season was over sixty pounds taken in one day. They were sold at fifty to seventy-five cents per pound. The great call for these dainty little fish led the fishermen and some of the dealers to supply the demand with a small fish that is found in our harbor in large numbers, and called by the fisher- men “spearing,” a very inferior fish for table use, which fact epi- cures soon discovered, and the price soon declined so low as to make the catching of them unprofitable. These spearing are a species of anchovy, Lugraulis vittatus, and differ but slightly from the famous anchovy of the Mediterreanean, Engraulis encrasicholus, which is so prized by good livers in the form of anchovy sauce and anchovy paste. They may be easily distinguished from the Whitebait, as they are totally unlike . 14 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. in appearance, the anchovy being marked by a bright silver band running from the opercle to the caudal fin, the entire body of the fish. with the exception of this band, being semi-transpar- ent, of a milky color, whicn turns to a red soon after they are taken fromthe water. Still another species, the “ Silversides,” or “Friar” (Chirostoma notatam), is often sold as spearing. The true Whitebait, the young of the Pomolobus family, present a uni- formly silver appearance over the entire body, and are covered with minute deciduous scales ; the color on the back is greenish ash, the abdominal line serrated from the pectorals to the caudal fin. They are caught in our harbor at Bay Ridge and along the shore of Coney Island, but the most plentiful supply is found in Gravesend Bay. They are usually seen swimming about a foot below the surface, are most numerous about the first of June, and disappeared entirely last year about the first of July. Mr. Albert Voorhees, fisherman at Gravesend, informs me that when he lifts his pound-nets. in which he takes weakfish, he could see thousands of the Whitebait going out through the meshes of the net, and that the stomachs of the weakfish are often full of them. In his opinion they are the principal food of the weakfish during May and June. If he lifts his nets at another time than in slack water, no Whitebait are to be seen. Some apprehension has been felt by fish culturists, that in tak- ing the Whitebait, the young fry of the shad might be destroyed, thus neutralizing the efforts of our New York State Fish Com- mission in stocking the Hudson; but when Whitebait are most abundant, the shad has only just commenced to spawn, so I think we may sit down to a Whitebait dinner without any feel- ing that we are inconsistent with our professions as fish cultur- ists. Mr. BLackrorp here exhibited a jar of Whitebait in alcohol, to show that it contained no young shad. Mr. RoosktveLt: Have you ever found young shad among them ? Mr. Biackrorp: No. The only other fishes which I have found have been one mackerel and two young bluefish (Pomatomus). After the month of July the only fish mixed with Whitebait is EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 15 93 the “spearing,’’ or anchovy. Professor Bairp informs me that on the coast of Maine the young of the alewife (Pomolobus pseudoharengus) can be caught by the ton, but if Whitebait are not cooked on the same day on which they are caught they are valueless. Mr. Hatvock : I think that Whitebait are two-year-old her- ring. The herring spawns near shore in the seaweed. Mr. Brackrorp: Too many young fish are destroyed when they should be protected. I would advocate prohibiting the catching of all fish under a certain size, as small bass, etc., and even, it were thought necessary, I would include Whitebait. A question was put here by a member as to the method of capturing striped bass (Roccus lineatus) on the Hudson, in win- ter, and whether it was not hurtful to the fishing interests of the State. Mr. Brackrorp: A net, the twine of which is as fine as sewing-thread, is set in a canal, or trench, cut in the ice. The large fish seem dormant. Though many fish are caught, their number does not diminish. What we all are opposed to, is the catching of striped bass two and three inches long. The Fish Mongers’ Association is in favor of such a prohibition, and a penalty for catching such fish. Mr. JAMES ANNIN, JR., then read a paper on Trout in Hard mater : I have no doubt that this subject has been well understood by many of you for some time, but I trust you will have pa- tience with me while detailing some of my own personal ex- periences in the matter. At the last annual meeting of this Association I asked for information as to eggs of brook-trout, taken from hard and soft water: “If those taken from the fish inhabiting soft waters would bear transportation as well as those taken from the fish of hard waters ?”’ By the Report, it would appear I was not properly under- stood. | 16 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. Mr. Seth Green gave his opinion, based on information re- ceived from one of his men engaged by Green & Co., in this state, that eggs taken from soft-water fish did not appear to stand handling as well as the others. For the past three years I have had my attention called to this subject several times, and will, in a few words, present some of the conclusions I have come to as tothe advantages and disad- vantages of soft and hard water for trout breeding and rais- ing. The eggs taken in soft water (as I have found them) have a much thinner shell. After they have made a journey and are unpacked and put in hatching-troughs, for the first day or two some dead eggs may be picked out ; but in about a week, the time depending on the age of the eggs, many begin to hatch prematurely, head first, and die before getting entirely out of the shell; and many others, after hatching, have what is termed the “ blue-swelling.” I have seen some lots of eggs of which 50 per cent. have been picked out dead from the time of unpacking to a period of 30 days after hatching, owing to their shells and “ blue-swelling ;” but on the other hand, I have often seen a much better showing. But soft water has its advantages. When the eggs are undis- turbed, they turn out well, the fry tlourish and grow faster and with less mortality than in hard water. At one year old they are in many cases as large as two-year-olds of hard water. As a general thing, I donot think, from what I have seen, that food alone, or a variety in food, makes the difference in the: growth ; for in our stream at Caledonia, the water of which is hard, | never saw as much and as many different varieties of food, but for all that our fish grow slowly. Eggs taken from hard-water fish seem to have a very strong shell.) -Mr. A. S. Collins once: said tome, “It ‘was abewgethe same with them as in the case of hens that had plenty of lime —that their eggshells would be very hard and strong. I do not wish to be understood by this that I consider one kind of eggs any better than the other, only as far as transpor- tation goes. I have planted eggs from Caledonia in soft-water streams EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. L7 and ponds, and know that they have done better than they would in our own hard water; and, on the other hand, have received eggs from soft-water establishments, and after the. first month found that they do no better than the natives of our water. But I do consider our trout as good as the best in the coun- try for the table. In New York many consider the Long Island fish best, but let the streams of Long Island be four or five hundred miles from the New York market, and I doubt if such would be the case. Mr. Weeks: I would ask if Mr. Annin includes all soft waters ? Mr. AnNIN: I could not well do that, as I have not handled eges from all the soft waters in the country. I only include those with which I have had experience. Mr. Weeks: Our water in western Pennsylvania is soft. I obtained my first stock of trout-eggs from Mr. Annin, and they were good. I have bought many eggs, some from Cattaraugus County, N. Y., from soft water, had a very thin shell, and were nearly all lost in transportation. Mr. 8S. M. Jounson, of Warren Bridge, Boston, then read the following paper on Lobster Fishery and how to protect it. This, like all questions having for their object the best method of economizing and preserving our supply of sea food, has become not only of great interest, but of great importance. and the discussion of such topics are looked upon with increasing interest from year to year, as the necessity for a law in relation to them becomes more apparent. With these facts in view, I esteem it a privilege to accept the invitation of the Secretary of this Association to consider briefly the causes of a very apparent decrease in the size of lob- sters offered for sale in our markets. The first question seems to be what relation the supply bears to the demand, and the ability of the former to meet the later in the future as well as the present. In looking for a reasonable solution of this problem, an in- quiry concerning the means taken to provide the supply now as 18 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. compared with those taken in former years, might properly be prefaced by a statement of the fact that not as many lobsters are consumed now as formerly. A tew years ago fifty or sixty traps per man was considered a good ‘number, while at the present time from seventy-five to ninety are used, and even with this addition it requires twice the number of men to catch the same amount of lobsters. These facts seem to show the danger of depletion in our ef- forts to keep up the supply, even if size and quality are disre- garded. It may be fairly estimated that from twenty-eight to thirty millions of lobsters are taken annually off the coast of New England, aggregating in weight not far from 15,000 tons, These figures may be considered only important here when taken in connection with the ability of the source of supply to furnish this amount without endangering its perpetuity. This calamity, however, I think most likely to ensue unless some proper restrictions are enforced limiting this continual drain. When we compare the lobsters seen in the market to- day with those of former years, this danger becomes still more evident, and if this decrease in size goes on, the industry will in a short time become of little or no importance. , The reply to the oft-repeated question, “ Why do we not get larger lobsters?’ must be, “ We catch them faster than they can grow.” The smaller the lobsters we retain, the smaller they will become in the future, and as a natural consequence, if we con- tinue indiscriminate fishing, practical extermination must fol- low. This ground I am anxious to maintain, and wish to have some remedy applied to obviate the evil; still, however, per- mitting a partial supply. Before going further, I would here give you a brief descrip- tion of the process by which a lobster discards its old shell and assumes a new one. Having grown to fill the old shell, a new one begins to form under it, at first no more than a film, which, gradually thicken- ing, becomes in appearance not unlike India rubber. The line seen running lengthwise of a lobster’s back indi- cates the opening point which, when opened, room is provided EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. Ig for the extraction of the tail, together with the legs and bony structure of the body. Next comes the interesting, but apparently difficult operation of drawing the large claws through the small joints, by which they are connected to the body or trunk, but this is easily ac- complished by a beautiful yet simple provision of nature, viz.: the decay of a portion of the shell, thereby forming a larger aperture. The place is indicated by an oval spot, seen on the inside of the first joint of the arm. This done, the animal is free from its shell and bony struc- ture; for let me state, the bones assisting in the working of joints are also withdrawn from the flesh, leaving him helpless, and as if dead, the beating of the heart being the only visible sign of life. Ina few days, however, the new shell is hard enough to permit the seeking of food, which is done with great eager- ness. But more especially to the result of this process would I call your attention. From actual observation, I have found that a lobster measur- ing ten and one-half inches in length will, after shedding, have increased to twelve inches; but if we make the comparison in weight, it may be better understood ; for instance, a lobster of ten and one-half inches will weigh one and a quarter pounds, while one of twelve inches, on an average of two and one-half pounds, or double its former weight, which will add to its mar- ket value in the same proportien, or too per cent. Nowif a lobster sheds his shell once a year, which is approximately true, I think that it shows that by establishing a reasonable standard of length (which must not be so high that it would prohibit fish- ing, neither so low that a sufficient age for reproduction may not have been attained), we may, in time, get back that which we have so foolishly sacrificed. Lobsters of a less length than ten and one-half inches have been found, bearing eggs, but by careful observation and inquiry I have found the exceptions to be very rare; therefore this stand- ard could not be safely fixed under that length, but should, on the contrary, be as much above it as possible, still not so high at first as to cause hardship to the fishermen, while from time to 20 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. time an advancement might be made as the supply of the re- quired length increased and more nearly met the demand. Having pointed out the necessity of such a law, and indicated the best mode of its application, it only remains to be shown how it may be made effective. | I think it is an established fact that protective measures can only be carried out in the open market, where the possession of unlawful fish or game is “prima facie” evidence of guilt. Such a law has been in full force in Massachusetts since 1874, but the possibility of finding a market outside the state has been a barrier to the best results, and just so long as there is any place where lobsters may be indiscriminately sold, we can- not justly judge of its efficiency. I am fully aware that in advocating a measure of this kind opposition will arise which must be met and answered in the most tolerant spirit, for fancied rights of individuals are not al- ways in accordance with the reasonable demands of the public good. The first opponents of the law for the protection of lobsters in Massachusetts were the fishermen, whose testimony at the same time was the best evidence given of the necessity for such alaw. These, however, after a trial of one year, not only be- came reconciled to it, but even its strongest advocates, and real- ized year by year more fully the wisdom of the measure they so bitterly opposed. There has been one circumstance noticed which I think quite significant, viz.: that the first year the law went into effect one- fourth of the whole number caught were obliged to be thrown back on account of their insufficient size, which proportion has gradually diminished, until at present scarcely more than one in ten is discarded. The state of Maine, which possesses the largest lobster-pro- ducing grounds on the coast, has, from time to time, passed laws for the protection of the lobster fishery, but has had a powerful and important interest in opposition to a limit which no other state has, the size being of less importance for canning pur- poses than for other consumption. This year, however, a law has been enacted by which the EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 21 canners are obliged to confine their operations to four months of the year, while for the remaining eight months a limit of ten and one-half inches is required, and I think may be looked upon as a great step in advance of any law previously passed. This movement was made by the fishermen in the form of petitions to the legislature, numerously signed, and from one end of the state to the other. ; Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut, each have laws practically corresponding to each other, while New York, without a law, which might so much assist in protecting the other States, only helps on illegal and wasteful practice. Mr. Biackrorp: | would like to hear the fish dealers’ opin- ion on protecting lobsters; they often buy small, cheap, and worthless lobsters because there are no others offered, and com- petition is so strong that they must supply their customers with something in shape of a lobster when they demand it. Mr. Jounson: A lobster, immediately after shedding its coat, increases in size fully 100 per cent., and if thrown back into the water for another season would double its size. Mr. S. B. MILLER : We would only ask Massachusetts not to send us small lobsters. Mr. Oscar Comstock: Asa dealer, I would approve of pro- tective laws for lobsters; that is, to forbid their being sold under a certain size. Mr. RoosEvELT : Asaconsumer I find that nine out of ten are worthless and light ; it is difficult to get lobsters of a decent size; the large ones have become very scarce. Mr. BLACKFORD moved that the lobster question be referred to the committee before appointed to suggest additions to the fish and game laws, which was carried. 22 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. The following gentlemen were proposed for membership and elected : C. F. Fearing, J.C. Roach, i. stuart, G. H. Brush, G. W. Van Siclen, C. H. Andariese, John E, Devlin, J. Reynal, S. M. Johnson, E. R. Wilbur, H. H. Thompson, S. Weeks, Townsend Cox, J. B. Morgan, rH. ‘f. Carey! P. Kelly, W. M. Fliers, ' J. H. Layard, J. H. Thompson, G. N. Lawrence, W. A. Conklin, E. Gilbert, C. G. Whitehead, T. Reinecke, W. Holberton, J. 8. W. Thompson, H. C. Hilmers, | Theo. Morford, C. A. Lewis, | A. Conselyea, J.A. Lowery, | J. P. Trimble, E. M. Stillwell, " . Henry Steers, E. J. Anderson, J. L. Janney, Owen M. Chase, J. Mullaly. SetH Green then read the following paper on Stocking Waters with various kinds of Fish: The key to the successful stocking of our waters with fish, is in putting the right kind in their respective waters—those that are suitable for them. There would be quite as much sense in sowing wheat on the bare shingles on the top of your house as to put fish in waters that are not suitable for them. You would be astonished to read some of my correspondence, and to see how little many men know about the waters that are suit- able for the different kinds of fish. That is the reason that all parties writing me are requested to give a full description of the waters they wish to stock, and if they give me a correct description, we hardly ever make a mistake. I frequently have men who insist on trying certain kinds of fish in their waters that I know would not live, and I have made some enemies by not giving them the fish. But I would rather have their dis- pleasure than to put them to an expense and be no benefit to them, besides killing just so many fish. EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 23 I am like most of men that have been successful in raising anything. We look on it with a good deal of pride, and love the little fish that we have watched from the time the egg was impregnated to the time they are to be put in the water to take care of themselves. It would be avery wrong thing to put them in waters where they were sure to die. Brook-trout are only suitable for clear, cold waters of which the temperature never goes above 70 deg. They will die before the temperature reaches 74 deg. Salmon-trout will live only in clear, cold, deep lakes. They need the purest water of any fish in this country. I have put brook-trout, salmon-trout, greyling, California and Kennebec salmon and California brook-trout in a large aquar- ium, and as the water became warm the salmon-trout began to suffer first. There were two each of the above kinds of fish in the aqua- rium. They all died before the mercury went up to 74 deg. The salmon-trout died first, brook-trout next, greyling next, Cali- fornia brook-trout next, Kennebec salmon next, and California salmon last. The salmon-trout died twelve hours before any of the rest, and all of the others died within four hours of each other. The above fish were all three years old, and I have tried all of the above kinds of fish by roiling the water with the fol- lowing result: The salmon-trout dying first and the brook- trout next, and the others soon aiter. All of the fall spawning-fish want clear, cold water. The whitefish will not live in water above 72 deg. I have seen a haul of whitefish come in in a seine, and when they got in shallow water where the temperature was 74 deg., ten rods from shore, the fish began to turn up, and all were dead by the time they were hauled up on the shore. When water gets to a suffocating state the fish will not live as long in such water as they would live out of water. The spring and summer spawning-fish, such as the bass, will live in water as high as 86 deg., or even warmer. Black, or lake bass, need purer water than many other kinds; they will not do well in small waters. They want large, rocky rivers, or lakes with rocky bottom, where there are craw-fish and dobson. It is useless putting them in waters that have no rock bottom. They will not do well in any waters that have all é 24 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. mud bottom. Lake George is a beautiful lake for black bass, and they have been in the lake for a number of years, but they do not seem to do well. Last summer I went down there and madea thorough examination, and I. found there were no craw-fish in the lake. So I had 18,000 put in, which will soon stock the lake, and I have no doubt will make Lake George one of the best bass lakes in the state. Craw-fish are great breeders. They carry their spawn under their tail until hatched, and after these are hatched they carry their young until they can take care of them- selves. I think it is safe to say every mature female craw-fish raises 500 young every year. The black bass is an excellent fish to stock waters that are suitable for them, for the reason that they make a nest and lay their eggs and watch over them until they are hatched; then they take care of their young until they have learned to feed and provide for themselves. The young are hatched with- out any, or scarcely any sack, and need a mother to teach them to feed. Black bass can be hatched artificially as surely as any other fish, but the mother hatches as large a percentage as could be hatched artificially, and it would be difficult to feed the young after they were hatched. The black bass is a hardy fish. They stand transportation well. 1 sent last spring 113 to California by my son and Mr. Mason. They arrived there with ninety- -nine in good order. They were mature bass, and I have no doubt they will be heard from. Waters suitable for Oswego bass should have a mud bottom, with weeds and flags and pond lilies. They do well in millponds or in any still water. They eat any living thing that is of the right size for them to swallow. They breed the same as the black bass. They are a very difficult fish to transport in cans. It needs the best of care to get a shipment through wichout losing a good many. Striped bass (occus lineatus) are easy fish to transport in cans. Last summer I transported 140 from the Hudson to the Genesee river. They were six inches long. I do not know what the result will be. I have not heard from them since they were-put in. It is too early yet. White, or silver bass, are a good fish, but do not do well except in a particular water. They would livein any waters that black bass would. It is the next thing EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 25 to an impossibility to transport white or silver bass in cans. We have lost a larger percentage in transportation than any other kinds of fish. Rock bass and yellow perch and bull-heads are good fish to put in some waters. All large waters with soft bot- toms are suitable for bull-head. They are great breeders. They make a hole in the muck or bank large enough to admit them- selves, and then dig out a room two feet in diameter and lay their eggs and watch over them until they are hatched, and take care of their young for three weeks. Six years ago I put 600 bull-heads in Chautauqua Lake, and for the last two years any parties wishing a quantity of these fish can go and take a pailful inashort time. This is but one of many successful attempts with these fish. Four years ago, Mr. Newell,a gentleman living in California, sent me 500 California brook-trout spawn. I hatched and raised them, and have now 264; some of them weigh two and one- half pounds. Last March we took 60,o00 spawn from them. We distributed all but 20,000, which we are raising. They are a great deal easier raised than our brook-trout, and I would like to see large shipments of the spawn made to the Atlantic states. I think they will do well in many of our waters. Iam quite certain that we have many waters that the Meland river-trout would do well in, and would like to see larger shipments of the spawn made here. Grayling seem to lose their breeding faculties as soon as they are removed from their native streams in Michigan. Seven years ago I went to the Ausable river and took some grown fish. I brought eighty-four to the New York State Fish Breed- ing-house. I arranged good places for them to spawn, but they never have shown any signs of going on the beds, and never have spawned since we have had them. I do not think that grayling would be a profitable fish to put in our waters. I hatched the spawn that I took at the river and raised the young, and they never have shown any signs of breeding. Salmon are a good fish to stock any waters that are suitable forthem. They want rivers with no obstructions from the sea to the head, and that head must be clear, cold water. We have not salmon streams enough in this state to pay the expenses. 26 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. We have distributed agood many salmon, and never have heard of any of them after they were one year old, except one that floated ashore in Cayuga Lake, weighing three pounds. We have some California salmon at our state works that are four years ‘old; the females weigh one and one-half pounds, and the males three- quarters of a pound. They stopped growing when they were three years old. Of the Kennebec salmon, the females of the same age weigh two and one-half pounds, and the males one and one-half pounds. There are various opinions as to the time spawn can be taken and left in a pan before the milt is put on them. I think I have heard parties say that they had put the milt on the eggs an hour or more after the spawn was taken, and impregnated a fair per- centage. I have experimented, but it was so long ago that I had forgotten, and I could not find any minutes. This winter I had my brother make the experiment. He took fifty brook-trout spawn in a pan, and in five minutes, exact time, he put the milt on them. Then he tried fifty more, and left them ten minutes; fifty more, and left them fifteen minutes; fifty more, and left twenty minutes; fifty more, and left twenty-five minutes, and so on up to forty-five minutes. After thirty days we could tell what portion of the spawn was impregnated, We found of the first fifty only two impregnated, and not one impregnated after five minutes. My opinion is that when the spawn is taken from the fish, the sooner the milt is put on the better is the impregnation, and the more carefully they are handled the better. I have seen parties handle fish-spawn as though they were peas, and claim that they hatched a fair percentage. My experience has been such that I cannot believe it, and I think it wrong to have such publications go before the community as facts. The meeting then adjourned until 11 a. M. the next day. EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 27: SECOND -DAY’S PROCEEDINGS. WEDNESDAY, February 26th, 1879. THE PRESIDENT, Ropert B. Roosevett, called the meeting to order. Further discussion was held on other insects attack- ing fish, and Dr. A. S. Heath, chairman of the Farmers’ Club, read the following : Dytiseus Marginolis—Water Butts. An oval body, legs curved and widened into oars, provided with hairs. They imbibe air at the surface of the water like the porpoise. They are amphib- ious, and fly from pond to pond to satisfy their voracious appe- tites. They are of a dark greenish brown color, yellowish on the sides. The front legs of the male are provided with suckers. It pierces the fish between the head and thorax. The Dytisci and Cybisters are both insect sharks, and attack everything which lives in still water.—JZnsect World, by Louis Fignier, 1869. Dr. Heath illustrated his communication with sketches on the blackboard, and the form of a French insect was shown which resembled a water-beetle. Dr. Heatu: I was not aware that water-beetles lived upon fish, although they are generally carnivorous. Some insects have a long ovipositor, which is often mistaken for a sting, but is only used to deposit their eggs in such favorable places as the nature of the larva may require. Mr. GrorceE S. Pace presented the following paper on the Meredo : The name of our Association indicates that its transactions refer solely to the increase of food fishes, and heretofore the papers and discussions have been confined almost exclusively to that department of science; but I have assumed that information con- cerning the most destructive of marine animals, and practical 28 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. appliances for preventing its ravages, would certainly be within our province. Asthe boundaries of our field of observation and inquiry must rapidly enlarge, permit me to suggest that a change be made in the designation of the Association. Would not “The American Fishery Society’ be far more expressive and inclusive? This would correspond to the title of the great- est of the European associations, “The Deutscher Fisherei Verein” of Germany. I deem it of equal importance to instruct our fellow-citizens concerning the vast losses incurred by the unceasing ravages of the destructive denizens of fresh and salt water, as to enlighten them upon the subject of the best modes of propagating trout, bass, shad, and salmon, or restoring depleted public and private waters. We have all been deeply interested in the graphic re- marks of our friend, Mr. McGovern, concerning that terrible freebooter of the trout ponds, who lies in wait for the unsus- pecting salmon, pounces upon him with the speed of an arrow and with the cruelty of a shark, soon returning for other vic- tims. It is true the teredo does not attack our food fishes. It con- fines its assaults to the boats, vessels, and docks of the fisher- men, to the bridges, wharves, and piers of our harbors, and to the shipping that is engaged in domestic or foreign trade. Its habitat is from Newfoundland to the River Plata on the At- lantic, and from the Straits of Magellan to Alaska on the Pacific. It is also found in the salt waters of nearly every quarter of the globe. It is most destructive in warm climates. A low temperature of the water destroys them. In view of the five thousand miles of our eastern and western ocean front, our numerous harbors, the millions of dollars invested annually in the construction of docks and bridges, this question is one of vast importance to our country. The teredo is developed very rapidly from an egg. In four days the hard, shelly head is in condition to begin its action upon wood. Aided by the current it comes in contact either with the planking of a ship, the piling of a bridge or pier, and attaching itself by the use of its sucker-like tongue, it speedily makes a minute opening by the aid of its hard, shelly, combined EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 29 é auger, file, and gouge. The best invention of the kind was patented a short time since—a Massachusetts mechanic copying exactly the tuol of the teredo. They enter the wood perpendicular to the surface, and they usually turn and follow the fibre upward. They grow rapidly, and their galleries increase in diameter. As they progress they deposit a white, calcareous coating on the interior. The sawdust enters the abdominal cavity, and is ejected by one of the two siphons that remain extended from the opening in the wood. Some naturalists have stated that the teredo feeds upon the wood. The best authorities claim, and undoubtedly with truth, that they enter the wood simply to create a home, but procure their food from the water, using the second of the two siphons. In the Gulf of Mexico they grow to the length of a foot in one year. Their galleries are then about one-fifth of an inch in diameter. They rigidly respect each other’s rights cf occu- pancy. They never cut into each other’s openings. They have the power of retraction to the extent of an inch. When they approach within the thickness of a sheet of paper to a fellow- traveller’s path, they withdraw, and go around him or start in another direction. So thoroughly do they excavate the interior of massive timber, that the piles break off by their own weight. During the year 1875, twenty-one heavy oaken piles, driven on the outer end of one of the new coal docks of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Co., Hoboken, N. J., were attacked by the teredo. In six months they were actually eaten completely off at a point about ten feet below mean low water I have a section of one of these piles given me by the foreman of the dock-builders who constructed it. The teredo requires clear, pure salt water. They are never found in timber situated near the outlets of sewers or gas- works. Fresh, or even brackish water kills them. Hence the number of uncoppered steamers, sailing vessels, and barges that are seen in the summer-time moored at Rondout and other points on the Hudson River, sent there to insure the destruc- tion of the marine worms that have lodged in their planking. The teredo cannot exist except in his woody chamber. With- drawn from it he dies in twenty-four hours. It will live for 30 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. several days in wood well moistened with salt water. An inter- esting experiment is to obtain a section of wood containing the teredos, separate it so that the gallery of one or more is exposed, place it in an aquarium, and its remarkable action can be plainly observed. In addition to the shelly head, the teredo is provided with an ingenious appendage at the other end. Should sediment, a bar- nacle, an oyster, or other disagreeable neighbor, attempt to close up its minute orifice, two small, shelly attachments, resembling a half-round wood-file, are protruded from the opening, and the intruder kept away, while the entrance is slightly cut and cleansed by these files. In Aspinwall harbor, the East Indies, and a few other places, the teredo grows to the length of four feet, and over an inch in diameter. I have in my possession a section of a mahog- any log from the former port, filled with perforations seven- eighths of an inch in diameter. In the Museum of Natural History, Boston, I have seen the hard, calcareous case-lining of the teredo, from the East Indies, over one and one-eighth inches in diameter. Its occupant must have been four feet in length. The wonderful boring apparatus of a mature teredo con- tains 20,500 cutting surfaces, forming its ingenious file. Its sound is frequently detected by seamen while lying in their bunks. A sea-captain informed me that during a recent voyage he was caused much anxiety by the presence of the teredo in his ship’s timbers. He could plainly hear them boring through the wood as he ‘lay in his berth at night. Undoubtedly many a fine vessel, never heard from, met her fate through the per- sistency of these “ wreckers.”’ I have brought here many interesting specimens illustrating the ravages of this animal. In these glass tubes are several teredos from 12 to 22 inches in length, and from one to two years of age. They were obtained by my friend, J. W. Putnam, Esq,., Superintendent of the Wood Creosoting Works of the New Or- leans and Mobile Railroad Company, at Pascagoula, Miss. Here are specimens of yellow pine, spruce, white pine, and ma- hogany, obtained respectively from the Gulf of Mexico, San Francisco, Wilmington, N. C.; Norfork, Va.; New York, at the EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 31 Battery ; Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Co.’s docks, Hoboken; New Haven, Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Aspinwall. You will notice several sections that are only partially eaten. The teredo plainly avoided the dark, stained portion. This lat- ter part was saturated with the creosote oil of coal-tar. This substance has been found to be an entire protection against the ravages of the teredo. Please notice that the two speci- mens of yellow pine are creosoted, the other not. They were sent by my friend E. R. Andrews, Esq., of Boston, to Capt. Truxton, Commandant of the Norfolk Navy Yard, June rst, 1878, and exposed five months in the harbor. The uncreosoted speci- mens are extensively perforated ; the creosoted section are untouched. Piling and timber are placed ina large iron cylinder, one hundred feet long and six feet in diameter. Steam heat at two hundred and forty degrees vaporizes all the sap, which passes off through pipes. The oil is passed in, and powerful force-pumps press the oil to the centre of the heaviest timber. Ten pounds of oil to the cubic foot is sufficient to protect it for many years from not only the teredo under water, but also decay above water. ‘Extensive docks and piers in Great Britain, France, Belgium, and Holland have been thus preserved for over thirty years in waters where the teredo would otherwise have destroyed them in from two to four years. It is only seven years since creosoted timber was first used in the sea in this country. All that has been done here is still perfectly sound, and will undoubtedly equal the life of creosoted struc- tures in Europe. The average life of uncreosoted docks and bridges is but seven years. Extensive works for creosoting have been erected at Elizabeth- port, N. J., Boston, Mass., and Pascagoula, Miss. Others are in contemplation. I sincerely trust that the result of this presentation of facts, which are undoubtedly new to most of our fellow-citizens, will serve to hasten the time when our commercial marine, as well as our harbor improvements, may be thoroughly armed against both the teredo and decay. 32 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. Mr. Pace showed some specimens of the teredo in alcohol, and samples of its work on wood, as well as one piece of timber one half which he had treated by his process, while the other half was in its natural state. This had been exposed under water for several years, and while the unprepared half was freely bored, the other was untouched. Mr. Henry STeers: The work of the teredo is the great pest of the ship-builder, and is a subject which I have given some attention. I have treated wood with several preparations, and once sent some piles to Florida where the docking had been destroyed, and a check to the boring of the “ship-worm” seemed most desirable. The wood which I treated was saved, but the expense attending its preparation was so great that it prevented any general use of the remedy. I have labored to | interest people in this question, but have found them indifferent to it, even where their interests were greatly at stake in it. Dr. TrimpBut.L: It was from the boring of Zeredo navalis that Brunell got the idea of his tunnel. Its engineering is perfect ; it bores its way and securely lines it as it proceeds. Here is some marble which is perforated by the larva of a fly, one of the Ephemeride, but instead of being bored after the manner of the teredo, its tunnel is accomplished by chemical action—by means of an acid secreted by the larva. A vessel loaded with marble was sunk on our coast some years ago, and upon raising it, it was found to be ruined. The following paper on the “ Reproductive Habits of Eels” was then read by Ropert B. ROOSEVELT: At the meeting of the Fish Cultural Society, held February 27th, 1878, I read an article on the generative habits of eels, and then, for the first time,was made public an authoritative announce- ment of the discovery of their eggs, Prof. Spencer F. Baird sta- ting that he had received, some six weeks previous, several eels in which the eggs were not only visible, but so far advanced as to be nearly ripe for emission. ‘This statement at the time, and without further explanation, seemed to conflict with other well- ascertained habits of these fish. It went to show that they ma- tured their spawn in winter, when they were dormant and em- EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 33 bedded in the mud, and when they could not unite with the male. But it subsequently appeared that the parent eels, to which Mr. Baird referred, had been caught in the fall of the year, when they were in full activity, and in the fresh water pre- paratory to spawning. I believe they were part of those taken by Mr. Atkins in Maine, a locality in which it was probable that the eg¢es would mature more early than with us. At the pregent there is no doubt about the truth of Professor Baird’s discovery. The action of this Society andthe discussion before it attracted public attention to the characteristics of eels, which for two thousand years had been a stumbling-block to the physiologists. Valuable information came pouring in from all quarters, and although there was, as there always had been, much contradiction as to fact and opinion, important progress was made in our knowledge. The received theories of the des- cent of the mature fish to the sea in autumn to spawn, and the ascent of the young in spring to the fresh waters to grow were discredited, and if not disproved, are now shown to be at least exceedingly doubtful, or at the utmost local, while their entire method of reproduction is being freed from the strange theories which once surrounded it. It isno longer supposed that eels are hermaphrodite—the two sexes united in one fish—as occurs only with the lower forms of animal life, nor that they produce their young alive, nor that they have more than one heart in their bodies, although we have not yet ascertained accurately where and when they spawn, nor has an impregnated egg or milt, or a living spermatozoon been obtained. The presence of the eggs in the spawning fish was so appar- ent when the proper part was examined, that it seemed impossi- ble that any difficulty could have ever arisen about it. And it now appears that many investigators claimed to know of the ex- istence of the eggs, and had seen them previously. Notwith- standing these posthumous discoveries and assertions which al- ways appear in such cases, to Mr. Atkins, Professor Baird, and especially to Mr. Eugene G. Blackford, who popularized the discovery and confirmed it, is due the credit of being the first persons who, in the course of two thousand years of experi- ment, discovered the procreative methods and organs of the 34 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. eel. It is gratifying to think that so desirable a result is largely attributable to the action of this Society. In my paper of last year I suggested as a probability that spawn would be found, if at all, in the fall months, just previous to the time when eels hide themselves in the mud in the process of hibernation. Not that this is hibernation in the broadest sense of the word, as the fish are during all of it not absolutely torpid, but perfectly capable of motion if disturbed, and of taking food from time to time. I have seen them when driven from one locality swim rapidly against a strong current with as much apparent ease as in summer, and I learn that on warm days they will occasionally feed. But in winter eels le dormant if undisturbed, and conceal themselves in the mud whether they happen to be in salt water or in fresh. Of this there is no question, and this hibernation commences in this neighborhood in November and continues till April. My pond on Long Island has been drawn off forthree succeeding winters for the purpose of digging out the muck which had accumulated on the bottom, and many grown eels were found in it, and were dug up with the muck. On the same subject I quote an article which appeared in the London /’e/d : “ At a meeting of the Wernerian Natural History Society of Edinburgh, in 1841, Sir Walter C. Trevelyan read an account of some tame eels in a small pond in a walled garden at Craigo, the seat of David Carneghle, Esq., near Montrose, where it was stated eels have been kept fornine or ten years. They le torpid during the whole winter, except the sun is shining brightly, when they will occasionally come out of their hiding-places under some loose stones and sprawl about the bottom of the pond, but refuse to take any food. The 26th of April was the first day in 1840 that they rose for worms, but they eat sparingly until the warm weather begins, when they become quite insati- able; one of them will swallow twenty-seven large worms, one after the other. ‘When they were first put in the pond and had no food given them, they devoured one another. They generally lie quietly at the bottom of the pond, except when any of the family go out EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 35 and look into it, when they invariably rise to the surface, some- times for food, and at others merely to play with the hand or to take fingers into their mouths.” . And in this connection I will quote the following from the Chicago /veld, although it bears important testimony on another question of which I shall speak presently : “How Eets are Caucut In Maine. Frank E. Dyer of Belfast, now at South Deer Isle, in charge of an eel-fishing es- tablishment, writes some particulars concerning the business. The fish are sent fresh to New York markets. At South Deer Isle there are two large ponds, three miles inland, which are connected with a creek by small running streams. In the autumn the fish run up through these streams into the ponds, where they pass the winter imbedded in the mud. The run be- gins the first of September, and ends the last of October. In order to capture them, traps are made and placed in the streams through which the eels pass. These traps are wooden boxes, ten feet long, four feet wide, and two feet deep, with ends made of wire netting. The end in which the fish enter is constructed after the style of the lobster-pot, so that when a fish enters it cannot easily get out. To make the fish enter the trap a dam is built across the stream, the only opening being the mouth of the trap. Some will not enter, but will bore a hole un- derneath the dam. This is the fisherman’s greatest annoy- ance, having more or less of these holes to close every day. The fish only travel in the night time ; not one is to be seen after daylight. They prefer dark, stormy weather, and on such nights as high as ten barrels are taken from the traps. At high water the fisherman visits his traps in a dory and dips out the catch, which is taken to floating cars in the creek, where the fish are kept alive until wanted. This company has now sixty barrels, or 15,000 pounds of the fish. After the weather becomes freezing cold the catch is prepared for market. The skin is stripped off and the fish is laid straight on a board, where it freezes. They are then packed in boxes and shipped, and often bring from fifteen to twenty cents per pound.” In salt water eels are not taken in pots after the fall months, 26 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. but are often speared in considerable numbers through the mud. This is done with a broad spear, a foot across, which is thrust into the bottom without special direction, but in such localities as the fish are in the habit of seeking for hibernation. These places are probably springy, with the fresh water oozing from the bottom and penetrating upward through the mud. It seems, from the article above quoted, as read before the Wernerian Society, that the habits of eels in England are substantially the same as in this country: they are dormant during the winter and begin to move and take food about the middle of April. Here, while the young make their appearance in large bodies by April rst, the mature eels do not feed, and are not taken in eel-pots until later, and probably have not left their winter quarters. So it would seem either that the eggs are deposited in the autumn, which is probably the fact, or that impregnation takes place, not in the ordinary way, but by bodily connection. Mr. Atkins, and many other gentlemen, insist that spawning- eels descend the rivers in the fall to the salt water, and point to the construction of eel-weirs as proof; but it is possible that they are not descending, but are only roaming about looking for an appropriate place to spawn. They are caught in weirs late in the season, when the ova must be well matured, as was the case with those taken by Mr. Atkins, and just before they hibernate. They would scarcely get to the salt water before they would have to spawn, if they were to do so before hiberna- ting, and yet it is a general rule that fish cannot change instantly from a fresh to a salt water element, or wice-versa, and never spawn immediately after making such change. Salmon remain for months in the running streams before they deposit their egos, and return to the sea with almost equal deliberation. Ex- periments have been made in the New York Aquarium in mov- ing fish from one of these elements to the other, and although I cannot speak positively about eels, sudden changes killed most varieties. I had long ago ascertained that even minnows could not be taken from salt water and placed in fresh ponds without killing them. If the eels have sufficient vitality to endure the change, it must be a shock to them which would be disastrous at so critical a time as that of spawning. EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 37 ——___—_—_—. Mr. Dyer’s testimony, quoted above, is positive that eels as- cend the streams in the fall,and he points out that they do this in stormy weather, which is a curious statement when taken in connection with the following testimony of Mr. Chalmers, who insists that they descend the streams in the fall, but also says that they do so in stormy weather. It is possible that this idea of their descending in the fall comes from the fact of their moving about at that time, preparatory to spawning, especially as they could easily be taken in nets by being driven down stream, and could not be taken up stream against the current in an ordinary net stretched across the stream. Mr. Chalmers speaks as follows, after first stating that eels always descend in the fall : ‘“ At the first heavy rain and wind-storm of a dark night, on or after the fall of the leaves, and every storm after until frost sets in, he would find eels moving. The harder and darker the night the greater the fisherman’s harvest. After the storm clears off and the water begins to get clear, the run stops until the next storm, when the eels move again. By holding the lantern close to the surface of the water you can occasionally see one pass tail first. In the same water we have helped catch several barrels full in a night, and for many nights in a season. We have caught them in early spring with hook inthe same stream, as plenty as if an eel had not left there the previous fall. The net will have to be visited at least every twenty or thirty min- utes, as we have known nets carried away from side stakes by weight of fish and leaves. Many eels will be found drowned in the net, while others are full of life and vigor. “THOMAS CHALMERS.” In suggesting these possibilities, 1 do not mean to say that eels do not breed in the salt water. Bertram, at p. 13 of his “ Harvest of the Sea,’ asserts this very positively, and I know nothing to the contrary, but I do know that they also breed in fresh water, and that on Long Island the young go down stream in the spring as soon as they are hatched. Absolutely mature eges are yet to be found; for although Mr. Blackford has found 38 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. them in various conditions of maturity, and those first discov- ered by Professor Baird were far advanced, none, I believe; were actually ripe for emission, and until eggs are discovered in this condition we shall be in the dark as to the exact time of spawning. Bearing closely upon this question is the second contingency which | have mentioned, that there may be con- nection between the sexes of eels instead of the fecundation of the eggs after their extrusion. There is certainly consider- able evidence on one side of this question, and as yet none on the other. Mr. Andrew S. Fuller is reported, in a recently published in- terview, to have said that “the researches of the naturalists have not yet thrown light upon what are known as ‘eel-balls.’ Eels, like snakes, link and twist themselves together, forming large clusters or balls. These balls are frequently found in streams during the fall. The clusters are sometimes so large that they roll into mill races and clog the wheels of mills. Pliny speaks of this habit of the eel. He says in the river Mincius, in Octo- ber, a man may see rolling among the waves a wonderful num- ber of eels wound and tangled one within another, sometimes a thousand of them wrapped together in one ball. The object of their rolling themselves up in this way is a mystery. Mr. Roosevelt is doing his best to fathom it. It would be very in- teresting to know if all were of one sex, or if both joined in making up the mass. The careful examination and dissection of every specimen in one of these clusters might throw some light upon the relation of the sexes, about which there is still much that is obscure.” The creatures referred to above may not be eels, but if they are the explanation would seem to be that which is intimated by Mr. Fuller, namely, the sexual act. I have never seen this operation, and cannot vouch for it; but other persons, even in this country, have asserted it in the course of the discussions brought out by the investigations commenced by the Fish Cultural Association. No male eels have yet been discov- ered, that is, no eels containing mult... It has been /sug- gested that the males may be much smaller than the females EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 39 and not caught or marketed, and even a difference is sup- posed to exist in their appearance. But these suppositions are not borne out by proof, and eels are found during the fall with neither milt nor spawn. These may be barren, or spent; but they may also be males, and should be examined anatomi- cally under the microscope to see whether traces can be found of genital organs. This is merely a suggestion, as I have no opinion to offer on so curious a question ; but as it is a possi- bility, it should not be neglected. I have not referred to an article which appeared lately in a monthly periodical, claiming to have discovered the milt in eels, for the reason that it was so wholly unsatisfactory to me, seeming little more than an attempt to appropriate undeserved credit, and one of those discoveries, as far as it was correct af all, of what had already been discovered. It omitted any refer- ence to Professor Baird’s statements, which had been announced some nine months previously, and ignored wholly the investiga- tions of Mr. Blackford, with which the public were familiar through the newspapers. But more than this, the account is con- fused and unsatisfactory in every particular, assertion taking the place of fact, contradictions being numerous, and the language inaccurate, and at the close the writer admits the uncertainty of his own conclusions, as they are totally at variance with those of Dr. Syrski, who had already shown that what he claimed to be milt, or spermatozoa, were merely undeveloped eggs. But leaving anatomical questions to be setttled by others, as fish- culturists we know that eels containing ripe milt have never been seen, and until we can get the milt in that condition it is of no value to us. For our purposes one of the first things to do is to study these fish more carefully at night, which is the time they seem to prefer for many of their movements. Since the foregoing was written, an article has appeared in the February number of the same periodical, in which it is ad- mitted that the previous statements were an error, and that “the male sex has yet to be discovered” among eels. My conclu- sions were fully borne out by subsequent investigation. During the month of February, 1879, however, spent-eels have been found in New York market. It could not be determined from 40 FISH: CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. what part of the country these were obtained, so the time of their spawning, as affected by locality, is not certain, but the membrane of the ovaries was clearly visible, and was lax and empty, and the extrusion must have been just completed. Turning to another peculiarity about eels, the fish-culturist will observe that there is one common inconsistency about them. Mature eels can be transported readily, packed in barrels, and will live twenty-four to forty-eight hours without water. They are capable of great endurance treated in this way, although they will not live in stagnant ponds, but the young are exceed- ingly delicate, and cannot be carried any distance without fre- quent changes of water. From my experience, I should say they would die as quickly as young trout, although the Michi- gan Commissioners claim they can be transported in mud mixed with water-grasses. They grow rapidly and feed freely on one another. I have seen salmon fry choked’ by trying to swallow an eel of two inches in length, and I have opened an eel of nine inches, whose stomach was swelled out into a round protuberance by the number of little eels which it contained. They eat all manner of little fish, and almost any sort of food. The fry when they first appear are like white threads in the water, but in two weeks they are dark on the back and yellow- ish on the belly. The run of the fry on Long Island begins April 1st, and closes entirely by May 24th. As to their increase in size later in their life, we have the testimony of Mr. Wells, who placed some twenty thousand in a fresh-water pond which had no outlet. In a printed letter to the Forest and Stream he makes the following statements: “RIVERHEAD, N OY. Aug, -E4Aaegee “T do not know about their spawning. There are other fish, pickerel, pumpkin-seeds, and yellow perch, who may eat the spawn. My eels are so tame that you can hold a horsefoot by the tail just under the water, and all that can get their heads into it will do so. You may catch them in your hands (if you can hold them). They have grown this summer, some from twelve to a pound, to six pounds a dozen, dressed. They gain very fast while feeding. Now they are very fat. They will eat EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. AI 250 horsefeet, or 15 bushels of soft clams ina night. The next day they will not be seen by any one. I have fed about six or seven thousand horsefeet this summer, at fifty cents per hun- dred. The pond is aclear sand bottom excepting about three acres in the middle, which is mud, from one to five feet deep ; the water is some five or six feet in the middle. Whole pond covers about five to seven acres. The margin is sandy all around. It is a spring-bottom pond. I put twenty-three small eels in the pond twelve years ago. In three or four years they weighed from two and a half to four pounds each, which was the cause of my trying this experiment. “J. N. WELLS.” So far I have considered this question of the procreative habits of eels on the theory that the eggs are deposited, whether impregnated previously or not, and that they hatch after extru- sion. I believe this to be the most natural and altogether the most probable theory; but I cannot ignore a considerable mass of testimony sustaining the idea that the young are born alive. It is barely possible that the eggs are developed in the body of the female in the fall, that they are fertilized by an act of co- ition with the male, that they are matured during the season of hibernation, that the young issue alive in the spring, the first moment their parents begin to move. There is nothing abso- lutely inadmissible in this theory when it is tested by the facts which we may regard as established, although for my own part Iam not ready to place faith in it. I cannot, however, totally ignore it, and I offer the following statements, taken from a con- siderable number which have been presented to me. There is an impression in the minds of some persons, who should be well informed, that the lamprey is the female of the common eel ; and one of the shrewdest observers of natural history, al- though not an educated man, gave me his personal evidence to that effect. He said that on one occasion he noticed a lamprey _ swimming upa small creek in the meadow, with a black fringe hanging to her neck. On close inspection this fringe turned out to be innumerable young eels clinging to her breathing- holes or gills, and his curiosity being aroused, he watched her 42 FISH CULTURAL sASSOCIATION. further proceedings. She ascended the rivulet till she came to a sandy spot, where she stopped, and the young immediately left her and squirmed their way into the sand out of sight. After they had disappeared she dragged stones over the spot, using her mouth for the purpose, till it was entirely covered. Then she left it, and my informant immediately proceeded to dig it up and remove the young eels, which he found there as he ex- pected. The most remarkable fact, however, was that he was positive that a large proportion of these young were common eels, he assuring me that he could distinguish the difference in the mouths perfectly. In this he may have been mistaken; but, from his description the parent must have been a lamprey, and it may be that the lamprey alone is viviporous' He also said, what I already knew and had stated, that the color of eels is no indication of their sex, but is determined by the nature of the bottom and water where they live. Eels that remain in fresh water become golden yellow on the abdomen, while those that live on a sandy bottom in a salt tideway are so light-colored as to be designated “silver eels.” This is important to those investi- gators who would distinguish the sexes by their color. I should give little weight to these statements were I not aware how close an observer of the habits of wild creatures my informant was. His opinions are further endorsed by the strong assertions contained in the following letter, which I have lately received from Mr, Wells, the gentleman already referred to as having raised eels in a pond on Long Island: “RIVERHEAD, N.Y .,. Jan. 27,9370) “ Dear Sir: Yours of 18th received. In reply I state the fok lowing facts: My pond has no outlet commonly, but sometimes, in very high springs, the water runs to the river some quarter of a mile through the woods in the valley. ,The distance is about two miles to Riverhead, the head of the bay or salt water. My pond is supplied by the springs the same as a well, and when the springs are low in the well they are the same in the pond. As to the eels spawning, I can say I have seen the young just spawned. I have put the mature ones in a barrel at night, and in the morning there were numbers of young eels about as / EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 43 large as a No. 3 needle, perfectly white, with the perfect form of eels. Last spring Mr. William Downs, an old eeler, told me that finding small eels by the quart in his box while he was salt- ing the old ones, and never having seen anything of spawn in eels to know how the young came, he made up his mind to find out. He was skinning the eels, and did as others do, and saw nothing; he then began to examine the entrails; in cutting these open he found a small sack or bag, in which he saw the young sticking their heads out. He examined several eels until he was satisfied about one-half were she-ones, as about one-half had small eels in them, and the others none. I have got informa- tion from others to corroborate the above facts, but a man may dress eels his life time and not see one, because he does not look in the right place. They spawn or hatch the last of April or the first of May; they lay their young in springy places in the sand, or in the fresh water around the bays or creeks, and always find as fresh or brackish water as they can. They will spawn in a pond if there is any way for them to escape from being devoured by other fish or large eels. I could give you more proof of the above if I had space. Eels generally go into the mud when the weather becomes cold, but if there is a warm day or spell they move about. The common eels “mud,” or go under the meadows in holes, by thousands together in salt water. Eels start in spring as soon as the weather is warm, say the middle of March or first of April, according as the weather may be, and about the middle of April they come out of the meadow. You will not get any out of the mud unless by the spear. They bed anywhere that there is mud, in large bays, rivers, creeks, or ponds. My pond has a sandy bottom, and is sur- rounded by woods; the shore is sand and the mud begins some three to five rods from the shore. The water, which is clear, then deepens till it is some six feet deep in the middle. If you will come here next May or June I will show you the greatest sight you ever saw. The eels then come like a flock of young ducks to a pan of bran. You can throw them away with your hand and they will come right back. I don’t want any ‘young eels in my pond, so I keep fish to eat them up. They spawn like a sow has pigs, which I will prove next May, for 44 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. one thousand dollars, or forfeit that sum. If they are fed well they will grow fast, if not fed well they will not grow at all. ‘They will grow in three years to weigh four pounds a piece, from one-twelfth of a pound fo start with. ON OUTS; KC), “JAMES N. WELLS.” I have, in the foregoing pages, given the best testimony and evidence as to the procreative habits of eels that I could obtain, even at the risk of repeating a part of what had already been published. The contradictions are positive and apparent, and there is room for much further. study and investigation. We have, however, made a decided advance in our knowledge. We have found the eggs. We are sure these mature in the fall or winter. We know that the young appear in spring, and must be born during the winter. We are getting further insight into the habits of these curious creatures ; and having aroused the public attention, we shall undoubtedly soon ascertain the actual facts in all their necessary detail. If we have not learned all that is needed by the fish-culturist, we have at least discovered the foundation for requisite protective legislation, can enact laws intelligently for the protection of a fish which is of con- siderable economic value in many parts of the country, and which is, like so many other of our fishes, rapidly diminishing in numbers. Mr. Green: I would like to call attention to the young whitefish which I have seen in the markets sold as herring. Now, some folks have got an idea that every fish as big as a her- ring that looks like a herring is a herring. Now, here is a young whitefish (showing a cooked one) which I brought down from my hotel, which I got when I asked for herring. There is a difference in the bones of a whitefish and a herring, and this is a whitefish. If this fish had lived another year it would have weighed two pounds, and have made a dinner for several men. ' They fish with nets having too small a mesh. I object to the destruction of small fish. Here is Mr. Theodore Reinecke, a man owning pound-nets, who will tell you the same. EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 45 Mr. REINECKE: Fish are getting scarcer, and if they con- tinue to decrease at the same rate for the next ten years, they ~will be a luxury, instead of food for the people. I hope that something may be done to stop the sale of small fish in the mar- ket. I will make the meshes of my nets five inches. (Ap- plause.) Mr. Green: I never heard a pound-netter talk so before. Mr. Hatiock: Here isa piece of pumice thrown up by vol- canic action in the Gulf of Mexico, where fish have been killed by the thousands by a submarine volcano, and the fishermen im- poverished in consequence. The same thing occurred in 1853. The eruptions are intermittent. Mr. A. S. FULLER sent a specimen of the belestoma, which was examined by the members, and declared by Mr. McGovern as identical with the one which he found attacking his trout. Mr. Trimsie, said he had seen eels going up Fairmount Dam at Philadelphia, and in the spring young eels can be seen in countless numbers in the eddies for a distance of one hundred miles above. A member asked what was the smallest eel ever found, but no one semed to know. Mr. RoosrveLt: There would seem to be a difference in the spawning season of eels in different localities. Long Island appears to form an exception in this respect. Mr. Buackrorp here exhibited a large eel with full ovaries. Mr. Green: If this is spawn it is what we have always called “ eel-fat.’ There are no eels above Lake Ontario except those which have been placed there. Mr. ConseLyea: Young eels are plentiful in Long Island streams in April, and can be seen in swarms at that time. Mr. Roosevett thought that eels move at night. 406 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. Mr. BLackrorp : We have found spawn in eels since Octo- ber, always more or less developed. About the rst of December last Mr. Fred. Mather measured the eggs of a six-pound eel, and estimated their numbers at nine millions. That eel was caught at Gravesend, Long Island. The eel shown here to-day came from Cape Vincent, near the head of the St. Lawrence river. I think it highly probable that the male eels are small, and that if Mr. Roosevelt had all the facilities which Fulton Market affords, he would most likely have found them. Mr. FREDERICK MATHER read the following paper on the Management of Public Aquaria, with a plan for reducing their running expenses : In the practical working of a large public aquarium it is found that the well-known principle upon which parlor-aquaria are kept, known as the “self-sustaining” principle of organiza- tion by means of plant-life, is deficient in furnishing a sufficient quantity of oxygen to completely consume all the feculent matter, and to sustain the large specimens and numbers of ani- mals required to be shown. Another reason is that there are some forms of life which refuse to live in still-water, no matter how well it may be supplied with oxygen. In fresh water this is seen in the salmon family, some of the percoids and brook- cyprinoids, while in a self-sustaining marine aquarium there are but few fishes that will live. . Two modes then remain as at all possible for an aquarium built upon a large scale, viz.: The introduction of air by means of an air-pump, and the circulating system. The former of these methods is only fit for a temporary exhibition, and even then requires great care and cleanliness or the fish will not thrive even for a few days ; and inthis I found my views cor- roborated by the experience of the oldest and best aquarium- keepers in Europe, most of whom have entirely abandoned the use of air-pumps as the cause of more harm than good. The great Brighton Aquarium has a combination of methods, the sea-water being pumped from the sea into reservoirs and then distributed ; at the same time a system of air-pipes is relied on for zration as the water is kept until it gets cloudy, and then eee — eee Eee EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 47 is furnished anew is clear at times, and at otherscloudy. I may as well here explain that sea-water, no matter how clear it may be when procured, will become so clouded within a week that a person cannot see in it to the extent of a foot. This is caused by the organic matter which, if the water is circulated, will, in time become burned up and deposited upon the bottom of the reservoirs in the form of*harmless sediment, say in from one to three months, or even longer, before the water becomes beauti- fully limpid and of the highest transparency. It is after this purification that plants begin to grow and beautify the hard lines of the rock-work ; and in my opinion, the water in a ma- rine aquarium should be circulated for six months in a dim twi- light before a fish is placed in it. One of the worst things to contend*with in a public aquarium is the light, which, however necessary for the people who visit it, is very detrimental to the fishes. In speaking of aquarium-keeping, I will say that I would not include in this term any system in which the entire stock required renewing every three months, as there are many fishes which are quite well adapted to aquarium life, and who will thrive there if the tanks are properly kept. Although aeration by circulation is the proper and only correct method for public acquaria, the aid of vegetation is not to be despised, and marine vegetation is somewhat difficult to grow ; yet if the rock-work is so arranged as to give light and shade, and even gloom, in places, the plants which would thrive will appear of themselves, their spores being everywhere in sea-water. The green alge (Chlorosperma) will come in the lighter parts, while in the obscure places those most delicate “red-weeds” (Rhodosperma) may grow. If, however, it is thought best to introduce these plants it will be found that most of them will die, as before they get fairly settled in their new home the stimulus of the light will have covered them with green or purple filamentous weeds, as conferva, oscillatoria, etc., which conceal them with their abundant growth, and finally smother them. The mullets (family mugzde) are the only good vegetable- eaters among our marine fishes which thrive in aquaria, and with the vegetable-eating mollusks, which may be carefully in- 48 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. troduced, are beneficial in keeping this growth down to some extent, but are as likely to eat the plants which they should not as all other things are to work against our wishes. The well-known Venus, ear, Halotis tuberculata, is a favorite in English tanks, and eats conferva clean, and in the two best aquaria in that country the tanks are never cleaned on the in- side, yet they look as if that operation had just been per- formed. In a French book on acclimatization, by H. de la Blanchere, it is stated that the more the plants belong to the inferior or- ganisms the greater their oxygenating power, and that crypto- gamic plants have a greater power of vivifying water on account of their greater evolution of oxygen, and also that M. St. Hilaire has found that conferva in the aquarium of the*®Société d’Acclimatation in Paris produces a constant and enormous evo- lution of oxgen. Such is the influence of light upon vegetation that in my own fresh-water parlor-tanks I have found it necessary to shield them at night during the periods of full-moon in order to check the growth of conferva, and ina public aquarium it is hardly pos- sible to have it too dim for the well-being of the inhabitants, few of whom live in strong lights. No more light should be al- lowed than that which comes through the water, as then the visitor, standing in obscurity, can readily see what would other- wise be indistinct ; hence all attempt at ornament or display outside the tanks is useless. | These remarks, so far, have been intended more for those unfamiliar with the subject, and really contain little that is new to the few who have studied it closely ; but in order to render what [ intend to say intelligible to the former class, I wish to add the well-known fact that in aquarium-keeping, the longer the water is used the better it is, and that the introduction of new, or fresh water, is often fatal. To sum it up in the fewest words, there is not a drop of new water in the world; it has been breathed over and drank over millions of times; the sun draws it up toa certain height only, and it is blown over the land and precipitated in rain, and then returns to the sea. An aquarium, such as I am describing, isa miniature world; the reser- EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 49 voirs represent the sea, the pump is the sun, the pipes are the clouds which convey the water where it is required, the spigots represent the rain, and the overflow-pipes are the brooks and rivers, which return the water to its starting place. And as fish only need water to keep them moist, and their gills free to absorb the oxygen contained in the water, therefore what they require is water supplied with fresh oxygen, which is fresh water. With these explanations I will now give my idea of con- structing an aquarium upon a new plan, the advantage of which is its economy. First, I would aerate the water by flowing over a shallow bed between the tanks, and then introduce it into the bottoms of them, that is, in at the bottom and out at the top, then over another wide, shallow space, and down an aperture to the bottom of the next tank. It takes but the slightest con- tact with the atmosphere for water to absorb its fill of oxygen, if spread out and exposed ; a flow of a foot in length by three feet in width, with a depth of half an inch, would be all suffi- cient. , The object of this is economy of water, hence economy of motive-power, and was suggested while studying the working of Williamson's “double riffle” hatching-trough. In all aquaria, as at present arranged, there are small pipes supplying each tank, and the tanks flow into each other, the second one getting all that flowed into the first, in addition to its own stream ; while the tenth in addition to being furnished with as much new water as the first one received, gets all that has passed through the other nine. It is evident that if the water is properly aerated after leaving tank No. 1, it is as good as new for the next one, and so on, making a saving in a row of ten tanks of nine-tenths of the water, and consequently of the power required to raise it. Second, The aquarium at Southport, England, has an elevated reservoir, into which the water is pumped from the lower ones and then flows into a few of the show-tanks, and the curator, Mr. Long, remarked that if it was large enough to contain a supply for a week it could be filled in one day, and then the engine might rest. Combining this idea with the former one there, seems to be 50 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. no objection to building an aquarium with an elevated reservoir (in addition to the lower one), and by using the aerating princi- ple given before, saving nine-tenths of the fuel and labor re- quired to run a set of tanks, as is now done, by pumping night and day. The main difficulty would seem to be the high temperature to which an elevated reservoir would be exposed during the summer. This might be fatal unless it could be overcome by natural advantages, as in case of a hill, where the reservoir might be placed in its side, or if connected with some institution which could combine an ice-house with its elevated reservoir. It has seemed almost impossible to sustain a public aquarium without the objectionable features of what are known as “ ad- ditional attractions,’ and yet it should not be. There are a few aquaria which are managed without these, as the one at Southport, the Crystal Palace Aquarium, and the pretty little one in Ham- burg. These have not even music to disturb one’s thoughts, and an aquarium, proper, should not have. These aquaria, how- ever, are situated in the midst of other attractions, and require an additional fee from the visitor, the first named being in the Winter Garden, the second in the Crystal Palace, and the third within the Zoological Garden. I have long hoped to see an aquarium built in America which would be conducted upon correct scientific principles, and in which men of science could become interested. Such an institution would not only be valuable to the public as an educational medium, but also to fish-culturists and scientists as a place for experiment. Mr. Puituips moved for an amendment to Article 3 of the Constitution, so as to include a Recording Secretary, which was carried. THE PRESIDENT announced that the nomination of officers for the coming year was now in order, and appointed as a Nominating Committee, Mr. Charles B. Evarts, Mr. Seth Weeks, and Mr. George E. Ward. A recess was then taken. EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 51 When the meeting was again called to order the Committee nominated the following officers, who were duly elected : President—RoOBERT B. ROOSEVELT. Vice-President—GEORGE SHEPARD PAGE, Treasurer —EUGENE G. BLACKFORD. Corresponding Secretary—BARNET PHILLIPS. Recording Secretary—JAMES ANNIN, JR. Lixecutive Committees—FREDERICK MATHER, BENJAMIN L. Hewitt, G. Brown GoopE, SAMUEL WiiMmoT, BENJAMIN West, THEODORE GILL, and THomas B. FERGUSON. No alteration was made in the appointments to the Sections as organized last year, and which were as follows: SECTION 1. Mr. 8S. Green, | Mr. S. Wilmot, Methods in Fish Culture, ete. SECTION 2. Mr. C. B. Evarts, Mi cls Stone, Mr. T. B. Ferguson, | ashen Laws and Fishways. SECTION 3. Mr. J. W. Milner, Mr. F. Mather, Mr. C. Hallock, SEcTION 4. Mr. E. G. Blackford, l } Mr. B. Phillips, Natural History, Aquaria, etc. Fishertes. THE PRESIDENT called attention to a new illustrated work on the “ Game Fishes,” about to be issued by Charles F. Scribner’s Sons, New York, the chromos being after oil paintings by S. A. Kilbourne, and the text by Prof. G. Brown Goode, of the Smith- sonian Institution. Mr. Barnet PuILuips then read the following paper on Pre- historic Fish Hooks, exhibiting a collection of bronze hooks, &c. I do not think I am making too much of a divergence from the general topics brought before the notice of the Association, when I call your attention to some implements of fishing in use say three or four thousand years ago, FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. on to I have had very kindly loaned me by Mr. Feuardent, a whole collection of bronze hooks, coming from recent discoveries in the Swiss lakes, the fishing relics of a pre-historic people. As may be seen, when I shall pass these hooks among you for examination, you will be surprised to find that the shapes of some of them are precisely like those of the hooks of to-day. If my memory serves me rightly, there is one large hook, about as large as a cod-hook, which resembles exactly in make the Nor- wegian hooks I examined at the Centennial Exhibition, save that the shank in the pre-historic hook is square. The metal employed is bronze. .Of course the presence of hooks carries with it the idea of a line made either of hemp or flax. The fish of the Swiss lakes were possibly fairly large, if we consider the size of the biggest hooks. The Geneva trout was, however, hardly bigger than he is to-day, for it is not likely that in the brief period of fourthousand years the species varied very much. The time between then and now was too brief for any possibility of natural selection. Dwelling but for an instant on the fact that the largest hook resembles the Norwegian ones, the question arises, where did the metal come from ? From what country did the Lacustrine men derive their copper and their tin. Was it from Britain? It is natural to suppose that merchandise always follow the shortest route. Could bronze have come through from the eastward overland ? Archzeologists are prone to think that tin found its way in early times into Europe from even far-distant Malacca. Did bronze then travel as precious metal from the Indies, slowly making its way across the Ural Mountains, passing from hand to hand as gold does to-day, until at last it became the prize of some long forgotten, lone fisherman, who tried his luck in a Swiss lake? The archeological studies lead the student into some very blind passes. Now, these Lacustrine people possessed some really beautiful tools, jade chisels set into the horns of deer. Now, where did the jade come from? There is certainly no jade in Europe, save beyond the Ural Mountains, and in farthest China. Was there intercourse between China and Switzerland,.and was the possessor of a bit of jade ora bronze fish-hook considered as EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 53 he would be to-day, the lucky possessor of the Kohinoor dia- monds? Let us then suppose that the Lacustrine fisherman who lost this hook in the Bienne Lake, was a dilettanti sportsman, as nicely equipped as would be to-day say a swell-member of the Southside Club. The hook I have called your attention to has a flange to which the line was tied. The bend of this hook is quite perfect, and the turn or draft so well devised as to throw the point of the barb in the line of the hauling. The principle of fishing with a hook, then, was thoroughly understood. You will find among the hooks the regular pin-hook. It may have belonged to the Lacustrine small boy, who stole a hairpin from his fond mother, and giving it an artistic bend, played truant, and went bobbing for eels. Maybe there was a pre-historic Seth Green, who invented then a barbless hook. These Lacustrine people, who lived in houses built on piles on the Swiss lakes, must have been essentially a fishing-people. If they did not enjoy the benefits of a Fish-Cultural Associa- tion, they possibly knew quite as much about the propagation of eels as we do. You will observe that some of the hooks are double, just as we make them to-day. In fact there is nothing new under the sun, not even perhaps the famous sockdolager hook. In calling to your notice the fishing implements used in past ages, I can show you what is supposed to be the earliest device for catching fish yet known. It is the most primitive of all snares. This is a piece silex, double-pointed, belonging to the neolithic age. The cord was tied in the middle, and when baited the fish swallowed it and was gorged. As to its age, I should be afraid ‘to state it. Possibly it caught fish long before the alluvium covered certain portions of Switzerland, maybe before Europe and Africa had no Strait of Gibraltar to let out the Mediterra- nean Sea. This method of catching fish by a cross-piece is not yet entirely out of use. M. de la Blanchere tells as that in France a similar form of instrument is used for catching eels. A straight piece of elder is taken, a needle pointed in both sides is passed through it; this is baited, and so eels are caught. You see what an important role eels play in the history of the world. 54 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. American fishing implements of former periods are rare. I know of but one hook, which figures in Mr. Charles Rau’s pub- lication, issued by the Smithsonian Institution. This hook, which was of bone, was found at Santa Cruz, California. It has traces of asphaltum sticking to it where the line was secured. The peculiarity of this hook is that the barb is out- side, not inside, of the bend. It resembles very closely the hooks used by the natives of Polynesia. Bronze hooks, or in fact any instruments of an alloyed metal, have not been dis- covered on the American continent. All such implements as have been found are made of pure copper. There are certain forms of stone, round disks, with a hole pierced through them, which might have served as sinkers for nets or lines; but as they may have been used for ornaments as pendants, or for wearing, it is doubtful whether they were employed in fishing. I shall conclude this most brief notice by asking you to look at a barbed bone, a harpoon in fact, coming from a cave in France. This belongs to an age not as old as the stone period, following it, however, but immensely remote from the bronze era. I could not pretend to give you its age, any more'than I could the flint of the stone period. What is curious about this harpoon-head, is that it is precisely like the bone implements found in Indian graves in Michigan and Alaska, and is the coun- terpart of the bone-harpoon in use to-day by the Esquimaux. Thinking over the discovery of such bone-harpoons in Switzer- land, in Dordogne, in France, we cannot but help arriving at other deductions. If hooks were used for fish, these harpoons certainly were not. These hooks are implements which served man’s purposes but yesterday—a yesterday of four thousand years distant, it is true; while these bone-harpoons were em- ployed to impale creatures which do not exist to-day in the localities where these weapons were discovered. Seals and cetaceans, huge animals, marine or terrestial, certainly abounded in the former country, which bore more resemblance to Green- land than it did to the Switzerland or France of to-day. I have been necessarily brief in referring to these old hooks of stone, bone, and metal. But see, by means of them, what a vast extent of time, long gone past, we pry into. These imple- EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 55 ments, strangely enough, lead us back to the natural history of an unknown period. The ichthyological glimpses, it is true, are but faint; still it may not be impossible, by their study, to follow farther back the structures of fish as first developed by the fossil forms. If nothing else, they help us turn over an ad- ditional leaf in the history of man and his surroundings. As there is no patent on any of the forms of hooks, gentle- men wishing to copy any of them for bass-fishing, may do so with impunity, as the Lacustrine man is not likely to enter a caveat. Mr. THompson spoke on the California salmon. He had re- ceived many eggs from Prof. Baird, and had tried for several years to raise them in confinement, but they did not grow well. He had made a dam across a ravine, flooding from sixteen to seven- teen acres, to a depth of twenty-five feet. This pond was fed by springs. They take a fly well, and are growing, and although ripe males have been taken, no ripe females have as yet been found. Mr. FrepericK Maruer then read the following paper on “Recollections of the early days of the American Fish Cultural Association, with an account of the intentions of its founders: ” Although but eight years have passed since the formation of our Association, there have been so many changes in its mem- bership and place of meeting, together with a poverty of the early records, that as one of the founders of the Society I have been requested, in view of the brilliant future which is believed to be before the Association, to give a sketch of its early history and the causes which led to its formation. Such a sketch must, of necessity, partake largely of a personal character, for it is of course impossible to define the intentions of others, but it is proper to say that for myself I had no idea of a large and in- fluential organization, with the character and scope of the present - American Fish Cultural Association growing out of it, but only contemplated the possibility of establishing a scale of prices for trout-eggs and fry among those who at that time were dealing in those articles, and so prevent a ruinous competition. 56 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. During the summer of 1870 I had frequent interviews with Mr. A. S. Collins—who was then breeding trout on Caledonia Creek, where the New York State Hatching Works now are— on this subject, and as my own ponds were only fifteen miles east, at Honeoye Falls, we had frequent conversations on the subject. I also had several letters from Dr. J. H. Slack, who likewise wished a protective organization. Mr. Collins did not enter so readily into the establishment of a scale of prices, as he had more eggs than either, or perhaps all of us, and more than he found ready sale for; still he favored an Association, which was formed, but the idea which was entertained in a greater or less degree by Dr. Slack, and wholly by myself, never was adopted by the Society. In October, Dr. Slack wrote that he had corresponded with Mr. Livingston Stone, of the ponds at Charlestown, N. H., and Mr. William Clift, of Mystic, Conn., and they were inclined toward an organization. On November rst, 1870, a call was is- sued in several newspapers for a meeting of practical fish-cul- turists, to be held in New York city on the zoth of December. Thiscall was signed by W. Clift, A. S. Collins, J. H. Slack, F. Mather, and L. Stone. The place of meeting was the rooms.of the New York Poultry Society, where a temporary organization was formed, with W. Clift as Chairman, and Livingston Stone as Secretary. Dr. M. C. Edmonds and Mr. Stone were appointed to draft a constitution, which upon presentation was adopted, and the fol- lowing officers elected for one year: William Clift, President ; Livingston Stone, Secretary ; Benjamin F. Bowles, Treasurer. Nothing more was accomplished at this meeting, and it adjourned to meet again at Albany, in connection with the an- nual exhibition of the Poultry Society, nearly fourteen months later, on February 7th and 8th, 1872. This meeting at the Globe Hotel, on the corner of State and Pearl streets, Albany, was the first annual meeting of the As- sociation, and deserves to be recorded as one of the most im- portant in its history, as during the first day’s session Mr. George Shepard Page introduced a resolution that a committee be appointed to draft and present to Congress a memorial, ask- aa EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING, 57 ing for the erection of two or more fish-hatching establish- ments: one for salmon near Puget’s Sound, and the other at some point onthe Atlantic coast. This was, I think, the first move toward making fish culture a national institution, and its fruits are seen to-day in the reports of the United States Fish Commission, showing the great amount of work done, not only in our own country, but also having a system of fish exchanges established, whereby in return for what we have in plenty we obtain the most desirable of European fishes for our own waters. “The second annual meeting was held at the office of Mr. George Shepard Page, No. 1o Warren street, New York, on Tuesday, February 11, 1873, and was distinguished by the fact that Prof. Baird’s report, as United States Fish Commisioner, in which he gives full credit to our Association for making the first movement in obtaining an appropriation from Congress, was read in full before it and warmly applauded. At this meeting Mr. Stone resigned the position of Secretary, and Mr. A. S. Collins was elected to succeed him, the other offi- cers remaining as before. The third meeting was held at the same place on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 1874, when Hon. Robert B. Roosevelt was chosen Presi- dent, and Mr. George S. Page Vice-President, with Mr. Collins as Secretary, and Mr. Bowles as Treasurer. Although this meeting was well attended and many interesting papers read, there were no great events of importance to record which would raise it above its fellows, as in the case of the two previous ones. The fourth meeting, on Tuesday, February gth, 1875, was also held at the office of Mr. Page, and the same officers elect- ed. Mr. Eugene G. Blackford and Prof. Baird both spoke in favor of the establishment of a public Aquarium in New York, by a joint-stock company, as instructive and profitable, and the Association passed a resolution expressing their “ belief that an Aquarium in the city of New York would bea great benefit to science generally, and ichthyology in particular, and giving its favorable countenance to any public or private measure in that direction.” There is reason to believe that this also brought forth fruit, _in the establishing of one by private enterprise, in which the As- 58 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. sociation was so much interested as to change its place of meet- ing to the Aquarium in 1877; but a change in the management of the Aquarium so altered the tone of the institution that only one meeting was held there; and judging from the advertise- ments in the newspapers, the Aquarium in now almost wholly given up to shows of various kinds, with little or nothing to in- terest lovers of fishes. The fifth annual meeting, on February 8th, 1876, was also held at the office of Mr. Page, and the same officers elected, with the exception of the Secretary and Treasurer, Mr. E. G. Blackford taking the place of Mr. Bowles, and Dr. Edmonds ‘that of Mr. Collins. At this meeting it was resolved to hold an extra session at Philadelphia during the Centennial Exhibition, and Prof. Baird was requested to obtain a place in the Ex- hibition Building for this purpose. Another step in advance was the resolution to employ a stenographer at future meetings, and report the discussions, as well as the papers read, as these were often of as much value as the latter. This brings the history down to the Centennial meeting, from which point the records have been kept in full, and re- ports of which are still in plentiful existence. Since the above was written, a reply to questions asking for information, on the history of the Association, and the ob- jects of its founders, has been received from Mr. Stone, as fol- lows : CoLtp SprING Trout Ponps. CHARLESTOWN, N. H., February 13, 1879. Mr. Frep. MATHER: Dear Sir: | cannot tell you how sorry I am that business of an important nature calls me away to Boston to-morrow, and that consequently I shall be obliged to give up writing any reminiscences of the organization of the A. F. C. A., which you have so kindly invited me to do. In regard to the primary object of the gathering at New York, in 1870, which you inquire about, I am inclined to think, as you suggest, that it was merely to form a union, like those of other branches of industry, to protect fish culturists in their EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING. 59 business, and to check the decline in prices of fish culturists’ pro- ducts, which was then going on very rapidly, and which fore- shadowed the disastrous results to the business which soon after followed. As soon, however, as the first.annual meeting of the Association was held, it was apparent that its future ef- forts were to be directed to the promotion of the public good rather than to the furtherance of private interests. This happy change was at once cheerfully accepted by all, and the subject of regulating the tariff of prices was only once mentioned, I believe, and then dropped forever. I shall be unable to attend the meeting of the A. F.C. A. this year, but hope to next year. Very truly yours, LIVINGSTON STONE. As the opinion of Mr. Stone on the original idea of the founders of the Association fully accords with the views ex- pressed in the beginning of this paper, it is gratifying to note how soon these views began to expand and leave the original narrow plan entirely, until it gradually passed into oblivion. With its record of usefulness in the past, when with but a few members it struggled into existence as a sort of an append- age to a Poultry Breeders’ Association (now no longer in ex- istence), who is able to forecast its future when its membership is tenfold its present numbers, and when it is publicly acknowl- edged to be, what its friends now consider it, one of the most use- ful, honorable, and public-spirited Associations in the world? Mr. Annin showed a box with flannel trays, on which he had brought spawn to Connecticut a day or two ago. Mr. Mather exhibited a photogram of one of the boxes in which he took half a million of salmon-eggs to Europe last October. A resolution was offered returning thanks to the Fulton Market Fish Mongers’ Association for the use of the room, which was readily endorsed. 60 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. Mr. Pace: The German Fishery Association, of which I am a corresponding member, will hold a Fishery Exhibition in Berlin in 1880, to which the whole world is invited, and I will be pleased to give all information desired by persons wishing to exhibit, and would ask the press to call particular attention to it. On motion, the meeting adjourned to meet again in March or April, 1880, at the call of the Executive Committee. Sr SS EU EON ARTICLE I.—Name_E anp OBJECTs. THE name of this Society shall be “ The American Fish Cul- tural Association.” Its objects shall be to promote the cause of fish culture; to gather and diffuse information bearing upon its practical success; the interchange of friendly feeling and intercourse among the members of the Association ; the uniting and encouraging of the individual interests of Fish Culturists, and the treatment of all questions regarding fish, of a scien- tific and economic character. ARTICLE II].—MEmpBERs. Any person shall, upon a two-thirds vote of the Society, and a payment of three dollars, be considered a member of the Association, after signing the Constitution. The annual dues shall be $3.00. ARTICLE. A41].—Orricers. The officers of the Association shall be a President, a Vice- President, a Corresponding Secretary, a Recording Secretary, a Treasurer, and an Executive Committee of seven members, and shall be elected annually by a majority of votes; vacancies oc- curring during the year may be filled by the President. ARTICLE IV.—MEETINGS. The regular meetings of the Association shall be held once a year, the time and place being decided upon at the previous meeting. ARTICLE V.—CHANGING THE CONSTITUTION. The Constitution of the Society may be amended, altered, or repealed, by a two-thirds vote of the members present at any regular meeting. ‘6Lgi ‘yySz Avensiqa4 ‘x10, MON Se gor § SZ GOV $ 16 = ” vid veel ‘LT SE - : - “JG DIS0 J MOL =, ee OL hey £S ; spuompy ‘4py wmorf asvysng uo ,, ., (92 hung ‘OL91 to £ - ‘sradgviy, puv asvjsod ,, Reegey 2 et 10) oY p ey ae ‘Suyurg ‘swvg “Jv Uyof, =, = Ze 00 Se ‘Suyoapy 1,Jv Yswy Suysogay tof ,, rere tI 99 ‘Suyumg ‘swung ‘py uyok pwd ysv2 of ‘2 YI Se c&@ . “4aansved J, an oS E21g ‘pasapuat yunozsn sag sv aounjng Of ‘Le A.gaq 00 rLI - ‘agpp of gunozrp ysvy moLf saa Pryssaquiayy AG “LOL 49 ‘o10fyoe|g ‘9 auasny YIM 2UN0IIE UI UO/E/90SSY yeinyng ysi4 uedliau py 4] ‘LYOdada SHAH OS Vea MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN FisH CuLturRAL ASSOCIATION. Ambler, Andrew 8., Danbury, Conn. Andariese, C. H., Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y. Andersen, E. J., Trenton, N. J. Anderson, A. A., Bloomsbury, N. J. Annin, James, Jr., Caledonia, N. Y. Baird, Spencer F., U. 8. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, Washington, D. C. Benjamin, Pulaski, New York. Benkard, James, New York. Betteman, C. G., Greenville, N. J. Blackford, E. G., New York City. Boardman, H. G. Boyer, B. Frank, Reading, Pa. Bradley, Richards, Brattleboro, Vt. Brewer, J. D., Muncey, Pa. Bridgman, J. D., Bellows Falls, Vt. Brush, G. H., Norwalk, Conn. Burges, Arnold, West Meriden, Conn. Bush, John T., Niagara Falls, Canada. Campbell, Anthony, Brooklyn, N, Y. Carey, H. T., 29 New Street, New York. Carman, G., New York. Chandler, F. J., Alstead, N. H. Chappel, George, New York. Chase, Oren M., Detroit, Michigan. Chrysler, Gifford W., Kinderhook, N. Y. Clapham, Thomas, Roslyn, L. I. Clapp, A. T., Sunbury, Pa. Clift, William, Mystic Bridge, Conn. Colburn, Charles S., Pittsfleld, Vt. Collins, A. §., Caledonia, N. Y. 64 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. Comstock, Oscar, New York. Conklin, William A., Central Park, New York, Conselyea, Andrew, Springfield, Long Island, N. Y. Coup, W. C., New York City. Crocker, A. B., Norway, Maine. Cox, Townsend, New York. Develin, John E., 155 Broadway, New York. Dieckerman, George H., New Hampton, N. H. Edmunds, M. C., Weston, Vt. Evarts, Charles B., Windsor, Vt. Farnham, C. H., Milton, N. Y. Farrar, Benjamin, St. Louis, Mo. Fearing, C. I., 30 Broad Street, New York. Ferguson, T. B., Baltimore, Md. Fliess, W. M., New York. Gilbert, E., 273 Pearl Street, New York. Gill, Theodore, Washington, D. C. Goode, G. Browne, Washington, D. C. Green, Seth, Rochester, N. Y, Hall, G. W., 16 West 24th Street, New York. Hallock, Charles, New York City. Haley, Albert, New York. Haley, Caleb, New York. Harris, J. N., New York. Hessel, Rupolph, Washington, D. C. Hewitt, C. L., Holidaysburg, Pa. Heywood, Levi, Gardner, Mass. Hilmers, H. C., 63 Wall Street, New York. Holberton, W., 65 Fulton Street, New York. Holley, W. P., Katonah, N. Y. Hooper, H. H., Charleston, N. H. Hunt, J. Daggett, Summit, N. J. Hunt, N. W., 70 Lee Avenue, Williamsburgh, L. I. Hunt, Luther B. Huntington, Dr., Watertown, N. Y. Hutchinson, Chas., Utica, N. Y. Janney, J. L., Newton, Bucks Co., Pa. Jerome, George H., Niles, Mich. Jewett, George, Fitchburg, Mass. Johnson, 8. M., Warren Bridge, *#™. Roden, Wow Kelley, P., New York. Kent, Alexander, Baltimore, Md. Kingsbury, Dr. C. A., 1119 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. Laird, James H., New York. Lamberton, Alexander B., Rochester, N. Y. MEMBERS, 65 Lamphear, George, New York. Lawrence, G. N., 45 East 21st Street, New York. Ledyard, L. W., Cazenovia, N. Y. Lees, Edward M.. Westport, Conn. Lewis, C. A., Washington Market, New York. Lowrey, G. P., Tarrytown, N. Y. Lowrey, J. A., Union Club, New York. Lyman, Theodore, Brookline, Mass. Maginnis, Arthnr, Stanhope, Pa. Malcomson, A. Bell, Jr., New York City. Mann, J. F., Lewiston, Pa. Mather, Fred., Newark, N. J. McGovern, H. D., Brooklyn, N. Y. Middleton, W., New York. Miller, S. B., New York. Miller, Ernest, New York. Milner, James W., Washington, D. C. Morford, Theodore, Newton, N. J. - Morgan, John B., 85 Broadway, Brooklyn, N. Y. Mull, B. E., New York. Mullaly, John, 114 White Street, New York. Neidlinger, Phil., New York City. Newell, W. H., San Francisco, Cal. Page, George S., New York City. Parker, Wilbur F., Meriden, Conn. Paxton, E. B., Detroit, Mich. Phillips, B., Brooklyn, N. Y. Porter, B. B., Colorado. Price, Rodman M., New Jersey. Redding, B. B., San Francisco, Cal. Redding, George H., Stamford, Conn. Redmond, R., 118 Franklin Street, N. Y. Reeder, H. J., Easton, Pa. Reinecke, Theodore, Box 1651, New York. Reynal, J., 84 White Street, New York. Richmond, W. H., Scranton, Pa. Roach, John C., Brooklyn, N. Y. Robinson, R. E. Rockford, A. P., Salt Lake City, Utah. Rogers, A. L., New York. Rogers, H. M., New York. Roosevelt, Hon. Robert B., New York. Rupe, A. C., New York. Saltus, Nicholas, New York City. Shultz, Theodore, New York City. 66 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. Smith, Greene, Peterboro, Va. Sprout, A. B., Muncey, Pa. Steers, Henry, 10 East 38th Street, New York. Sterling, Dr. E., Cleveland, Ohio. Stetson, J. A., Gloucester, Mass. Stillwell, E. M., Bangor, Maine. Stone, Livingston, Charleston, N. H. Stoughton, E. W., Windsor, Vt. Stuart, Robert L., 154 5th Avenue, New York. Swartz, William H., Point Pleasant, Bucks Co., Pa. Tagg, Henry, Philadelphia, Pa. Thomas, H. H., Randolph, N. Y. Thompson, H. H., 128 East 23rd Street, New York. Thompson, John H., New Bedford, Mass. Thompson, J. 8. W., 31 Pearl Street, New York. Tileston, W. M., New York. Trimble, Dr. J. P., 221 East 12th Street, New York. Van Cleve, Joseph, Newark, N. J. Van Siclen, G, W., 99 Nassau Street, New York. Van Wyck, J. T., New York City. Ward, George E., New York City. Weber, Samuel, Manchester, N. H. Weeks, Seth, Corry, Erie Co., Pa. West, Benjamin, New York City. Whitcher, W. F., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Whitcomb, T., Springfield, Vt. Whitehead, C. E., 61 Wall Street, New York. Whitin, Edward, Whitinsville, Mass. Wilbur, E. R., New York. Wilmot, Samuel, Newcastle, Ontario, Canada. Willets, J. C., Skeaneatles, N. Y. Woods, Israel, New York, Worrall, James, Harrisburg, Pa. Yarrow, Dr. H. C., U.S.A., Washington, D. C. _——— SS | ee fee | ee | [ iS nai ‘ ih § i Hi Pall w RSS #! oe w 2 = Lea ker) we ss 1© ——<$——— OO —————— ——————————— ‘ \ Es a RANSACTIONS = — SSS SS Ss Sse I SSO. E_ 1 — = =I TO ——————_$—__—_ _—___—_ > (a Tore oo eee rr rn ELE CPL —— _ GUAT EUS a eae) OBES Gla s9 |B ce BeBe Se re SSeS SA nn nan Po ee) * we YORK. af] JOHN M. DAVIS, TYPOGRAPHER, b= —$<$<—$— < eu © FUuLTon STP of ‘ = rerio eC LON % a ho) hed pls Ul coe AMERICAN FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION, Ninto Annuat MEETING, Held at the Directors’ Rooms of the Fulton Market Fish-Mongers’ Association, im the City of New York. March 30th and 31st, 1880. Ae : New York. ) 1880. OFFICERS, 1880-81. ROBERT B. ROOSEVELT, . - : ‘ PRESIDENT. . New York City. ) GhO SHEPARDIEAG EI ys.- 3 + VicE-PRESIDENaM New York City. EDGENE G. BACK FORD, |: - - - ‘TREASURER. New York City. BARNET PEMALLIPS, - CORRESPONDING SECRETARY. Brooklyn, NV. Y. JAMES ANNIN, Jr., =e - RECORDING SECRETARY. Caledonia, NV. Y. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, PRED! MATHER, - - - - Newark, N. J. G. BROWNE GOODE, - - - Washington, D. C. SAMUEL WILMOT,. U, Ottawa, Ont. BENJAMIN WEST, op te New Vork City. THOMAS B. FERGUSON, - 3 : Balms Ma. JAMES BENKARD, - - - New York City. EaovivicGOV ERIN,’ = - - - Rrooklyn, N.Y. - NINTH ANNUAL MEETING TAK FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. ee Tuespay, March 30th, 1880. THE meeting was called to order in the Director’s room of the Fulton Market Fish-Mongers’ Association, in the City of New York, by the President, Hon. Ropert B. ROOSEVELT, at 11.30 A. M., who made a short introductory address. The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved. The following gentlemen were proposed for membership and duly elected : H. P. Dwight, Erastus Wiman, Wm. P. Raynor, Theodore E.*Leeds, Robert J. Kimball, W.C. Mathews,- Thas. D. Townsend, J. W. Simonton C. B. Reynolds, 2B. Stewart; EC. Harris, John Whipple, Charles Mallory, G. L. Feuardent, | Fred. Habérshaw, Wm. M. Habershaw, John Foord, ©, Van. Brunt, A. G. Lawrence, H. N. Munn, H, W. Gray, H. B. Hollins, Fc, Lawrence; H. J. Nicholas, O. Ki King, W...b.. Breese; W. F. Wharton, W. Post, Isaac Townsend, Henry F. Crosby, Perry Belmont, W. B. Hopson, George Ricardo, R. U. Sherman, H, R. Worthington, Sumner R. Stone, Wm. M. Hudson, Gilbert E. Jones, Harris Bogert, Alfred N. Lawrence, Asa B. French. 4 FISH’ CULTURAL’ ASSOCIATION. The Corresponding Secretary, BARNET PHILLIPs, read the fol- lowing paper, in memory of the late Professor JAMEs Woop MILNER. ’ The sad duty devolves on me of announcing to you the death of Professor James W, Milner, who, at Waukegon, Ill, on the last day of December, 1879, passed away from tlfis world. Many of you here must remember what interest Professor Milner took in our proceedings. Thoroughly grounded in all | the scientific data, perfectly at home in the practical details of fish culture, there were no questions of an icthyological or other character we could put to him that he did not respond to it at once in a singular terse and clear manner. He had the power of stripping the husk off of matter, and presenting you the perfect grain. This society owes a great deal of its prosperity to the labors of this man. Many of its plans, and especially the widen- ing of its scope—the effort to make it more than local, to extend its influence—were suggested by Professor Milner. If ever any one had his whole soul in the work, it was that man, whom death — has now taken away from among us. His quick, nervous man- ner, his intensity, the power he possessed to make any question lucid, his easy method of explanation, we can hear no more. His place will be one, in this Association, not easily filled. Fully trusted by the Smithsonian Institution, he took charge of some of its most important missions, and there are here some present who can testify to the thoroughly conscientious manner in which his task was fulfilled. There are, in this world, many ways of doing one’s duty. It was Mr. Milner’s ambition to leave no stone un- turned that might be an obstacle in the way of scientific progress. You have often heard that saying, that ‘if war has its heroes, so has science its martyrs.’’ The repetition of this has perhaps be- come trite, but it is none the less true. It was as much overwork as anything else; an excess of zeal which, early in Milner’s life, as late in his career, shortened in such an untimely way his days. Brimful of his work, I have seen myself how careless, how utterly indifferent, Mr. Milner was of his person in the prosecution of his labors. It was my good fortune to have been with Mr. Milner as his guest on more than one occasion when he was engaged in NINTH ANNUAL MEETING. ay a his professional duties. I remember when on a cold night on Chesapeake Bay, when his men were out on the water taking the shad eggs, that a sudden storm arose. There was no danger to the numerous boats’ crews, but the chances were that if his presence were wanting, that some millions less of eggs would be the result. Indifferent to the rain, I have seen him hurry from out his berth (it was in the floating hatching-house), and, but half clad, spring into the nearest boat, at midnight, and spend all that night until dawn, going from boat to boat, encouraging the men in their exertions. The United States wanted to have the rivers teeming with fish, and there was enthusiasm enough in Mr. Milner to think himself the instrument for thus furnishing food to mill- ions, and he was perfectly. willing to lay down his life for what other men would have been languidly indifferent about. I have myself frequently remonstrated with Mr. Milner as to what I deemed to be an unnecessary exposure, and had warned him of possible fatal results, but his reply was, I remember his words distinctly, “Ido not think [I fulfil my duty thoroughly, conscien- _tiously, in any other way.” This somewhat explains the character of the man. The last time I saw him was some two years ago at Gloucester, where he was busy arranging apparatus for hatching the cod. The novelty of this duty excited his enthusiasm, and quite possibly the cold he had taken some time before was aug- mented by the chill dampness of a New England fall. I can but briefly describe this useful life. Mr. Milner was born in Kingston, Ont., January rith, 1841, and came to Chicago when he was five years old. As a boy he was a hard student, and de- veloped early in life a taste for natural history. He was but a lad when he travelled through Minnesota making collections. At the breaking out of the war he volunteered in an artillery com- pany, and served with distinction to almost its close, having been noted for conspicuous courage and gallantry. After an honorable discharge, he obtained a position in the Chicago Post-office. Still retaining his love for natural history, he thoroughly filled his position, but, combining with it the study of his favorite topics, this double work became too much for him, and his health broke down. Retiring from his, postal duties, he made explorations in the 6 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. peat beds, and exumed the skeleton of a moose, which he sup- posed belonged to an extinct species. Having written to the Smithsonian Institution in regard to it—describing the remains of this creature—the singular terseness and scientific instinct dis- played in his letters attracted the attention of the Smithsonian Institution. This led to Mr. Milner’s services being engaged by the Smithsonian. He was first employed by Professor Baird, in 1872, to gather together the statistics of the fish of the Great Lakes. Shortly afterward he joined the United States Fish Com- mission in Washington, and was in their employ up to the day of his death. Successive publications of the Fish Commission fully attest Mr. Milner’s work and services. In addition to this, he was in close communication all the time with the present dis- tinguished Secretary of the Smithsonian in collecting general statistics, and arranged the literary material for fish propagation in the reports, of which he was most especially editor. Milner’s work was wide and extended. At different times he planned various fish-hatching campaigns in North Carolina, Virginia, on the Potomac, on the Susquehanna, at Havre de Grace, and at Holyoke. He had under his charge the cod-hatching at Glouces- ter, in 1878. The Secretary of the Smithsonian writes in his honor: ‘He was very methodical in everything, and as keeper of that portion of the archives under his charge, was.a notable ex- ample of industry, care and precision.” There is some information more than touching which I have received, descriptive of Milner’s last days. He was so enthu- siastic in his work, that he went beyond his strength. He believed ‘that with such a mission as was his, that he was invulnerable to the attacks of malaria or overwork, under which so many of his friends had succumbed. When advised by Professor Baird, in the summer of 1878, to seek his home and take a needful rest, he still lingered at Wash- ington, perfecting his plans for the steamer /7s4 Hawk, which he never was to see afloat—which vessel was the great triumph of American fish culture, and was only called into commission last month. Coming at last home to his wife, he refused to be thought even ill. Ina month he was again at his post at Gloucester, en- tirely forgetful of himself, absorbed as he was in his work. When NINTH ANNUAL MEETING. 7 his task there was concluded he became so ill that he was forced to take to his bed. As soon as he could travel, he hurried on to Washington. Though confined to his room, still, with untiring energy, he conducted the business of the shipment and planting of the California salmon into Michigan waters, by means of the telegraph. His cough continuing, his physician ordered him at once to Aiken, S. C. But finding he could do no work there, but slightly improved in health, he went to Western Florida. Mrs. Milner having met him in New Orleans, she informs me that any idea of rest was even then the farthest from his mind. Florida might do him good, but that was secondary to the fact that he might conduct some work in Florida—there were collections to be made there. Mr. Milner remained in Florida until May, but was no better. It was with a terrible struggle that he then gave up the hope of future usefulness. I cannot imagine any more dread conflict than that which is sometimes waged between a man’s active brain and his perishing body. It was in May that this devoted man went home to die. Life was gradually ebbing, but still the mental powers had lost nothing of their force. He could not bear to think that his work might stop with him for ever. A bare chance of life was possible. It might be found in Colorado. Thither he went last September; still he refused mental rest, for life was to him as worth nothing save enhanced by work. He rallied for a while, but then became more physi- cally feeble. The vitality in the man wasimmense. If he was too weak to write letters, he dictated them. When, in October, the doctors told him that his time was short, then his resignation was supreme. Even then he remembered many of his friends, members of this Association present here to-day, and wanted to send them his last word and greeting. He said—these are his very words: “I am dying without a feeling of ill-will toward any man;” “and could you (writes to me, Mrs. Milner) have seen his 4 loving-kindness toward all who came under his notice, you could _ better understand the noble qualities, the untold goodness of this =eman.’ | Let us, then, respect the memory of James Wood Milner, who was not only of singular service to this world, but who was 8 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. honest, sincere, and endowed-with many wonderful gifts. It is to the disinterested efforts of such a sterling man as was Professor Milner that we are beholden for the present position we enjoy, and though he be lost to us, I am hopeful that the memory of one of our leading officers will always be reverenced by the American Fish Cultural Association. Mr. BLAcKFrorD offered the following resolution : Resolved, That the President appoint three members of this Association to prepare suitable memorials on the death of Profes- sor Milner, a copy of which should be forwarded to Mrs. Milner. THE PRESIDENT appointed as said committee Mr. BLACKFORD, Mr. Puiutuips, and Mr. GREEN. Tue PResIDENT then read the following paper on Hybrids: Hyerips.—Since the creation of the New York Fishing Com- mission, particular attention has been paid to crossing different breeds, and even species of fish, as we hoped that valuable results might be obtained from such interesting experiments. Curious as it may. seem, these experiments have rarely been abortive, no matter how dissimilar the families, the eggs have been impregnated often to a large percentage, and have hatched. The following varieties have been crossed : FEMALE. MALE. | Salmon-trout with White-fish. ; : fe i “ — Brook-trout. | Brook-trout “ Fresh-water Herring. es i “«) Californiasalmon: ‘f ts oe Mountain-trout. Shad “Striped ‘Hass; Ons ae TTIN ge, Of these we have the young now at the hatching-house of the salmon-trout brook-trout ; the brook-trout California salmon ; and brook-trout California brook-trout. It is observable of all hybrids that they are shy and wild; more so usually than either of their parents, and that in appear- ance they favor their larger parent. The cross between the brook- NINTH ANNUAL MEETING. 9 trout and California salmon looks much more like the salmon than it does like the trout, being quite silvery on the sides and long and slim in shape, as you will see by this specimen which I have had preserved. There are some sixty of these now living, from eight to twelve inches long, and they are so shy that they can hardly be examined, and dart hither and thither when any one approaches the pond in which they are kept, in the utmost terror and uneasiness. The young of the salmon-trout and brook- trout have the square tail of the brook-trout, that of the salmon- trout being quite forked, and although they have no carmine specs, have smaller spots than the salmon-trout, and are quite stocky in shape. These bid fair to be a fine fish; those at the New York hatching-house being six or,eight inches long on January, 1880. The cross of the shad and herring was made in order to save the eggs of ripe shad when no ripe males were to be had. Although the male was an inferior fish, the cross was not expect- ed to be an improvement over the mother, still such as it was, it was so much clear gain. There is in consequence a fish, although not the best kind of fish, where otherwise there would have been none. The young have thriven well, and we hear of their being caught on the rocky shallows of the Hudson river. They prob- ably are not migratory, and can be taken with rod and line. It would seem from all accounts that they are quite numerous, and I give a letter from Mr. Van Wyck, about them at the close of this article. The cross of the shad and striped-bass has never been heard from, so far as we can affirm positively. As some of these were hatched in the autumn of 1876, and quite a large number in the succeeding year, we hoped that some of them would have been taken full grown before this time. A reward was offered in 1879 for any specimens, but none were presented. The final outcome of this experiment is left entirely in the dark. Such care and pains were, however, taken when the impregna- tion was effected, to make sure that no germs of shad-milt were in the water that was used, or could by any possibility come in contact with the spawn, that there can be no doubt of the fact of _ the cross. Whether so odd a fish had the power of sustaining itself, obtaining its food, and holding its own in the struggle for TO FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. existence; is another question that the future has still to solve. This curious combination of the long-finned and_ soft-finned races of fish, varieties which are wholly separated in the scien- tist’s classification, were undoubtedly hatched, but that they lived after the food-sac was absorbed, is at present undetermined. They may have perished like the two-headed monstrosities which are often born. In September, 1879, the young of the brook- trout and California salmon were seen to be maturing their eggs. This was the first time in the history of fish culture that hybrids gave evidence of breeding. It is asserted that among animals, mules are occasionally known to produce young, but this is a most unusual exception to a general rule. We had expected no more from the experiments in crossing varieties than the pro- duction of combinations which might be valuable in themselves, like the capons among fowls, or the mules among draught animals, but which must of necessity be purely ephemeral, and perishing with the lives of the individuals. But when these hybrid trout-salmon were opened and found to contain eggs quite large and well forward in maturity, it seemed possible that new species might be created and made permanent. The eggs were already larger than the mature eggs of the trout, although it was then early in the season, and seemed perfectly healthy. As time passed the parents were watched with care, and were soon seen to be going into the spawning-race. They apparently made all their preparations for spawning, began digging their nests, stayed about them, and proceeded in the regular way, ex- cept that they were never in pairs, but always single. This was not natural, and led to a careful examination of them individ- ually. After examining some fifty out of the sixty, the conclu- sion was reached that they were all females, which eventually | turned out to be the case. This was in the latter part of Novem- ber, 1879. Some dozen male brook-trout were then placed among the hybrids, to see if they would induce the latter to spawn. Everything soon appeared favorable for this result, the trout paired with the trout-salmon, they entered the race-way together, and occupied themselves with parental duties, but no results were perceived. For some reason the spawn was not deposited. Then some of the fish were selected to be stripped \ NINTH ANNUAL MEETING. rit by hand, and were found to be ripe, but the eggs were all crush- eed in passing from them. The vent of the ovaries or ovaduct was too small to allow the eggs, which had delicate shells, to pass. Attempts were then made to enlarge the vent, and some thousands of eggs were finally obtained in this way uninjured. To impregnate these the milt of the male trout was used. The parent fish were left in their pond and seemed to be uneasy. They are doubtless incommoded by the eggs which they cannot pass, and move about slowly with their heads towards the bot- tom, their tails upward, and their bodies at an angle to the sur- face. The eggs which it was hoped might be impregnated by hand, were retained until January 25th, 1880, when it was found they were unimpregnated and dead, and they were thrown away. No eggs have yet been deposited in the regular way, and hybrids have not yet hatched. But two most extraordinary facts have been ascertained : one, that the eggs may be too large for extru- sion; this may only be the case when the father is the larger fish; and the other that the entire body of one hatching may belong to a single sex. I[t is said that the shad-herring hatched on the Hudson are all males. This may be the end of the per- petuating of new breeds of fish, or it may be only the beginning. It does not follow that every batch of a cross, especially when taken in different years, will be of the same sex, nor that the eges will be too large when the male is the smaller variety. As was mentioned before, the hybrid takes most points from the larger parent, and may do so even in the size of the eggs, so that where the cross is reversed there may be no difficulty in their extrusion. It was hardly to be expected that so wonderful a discovery as the creation of a new species could be made with- out trouble, and we should rather be surprised at the success already achieved in hatching the young of the cross at all. The number of combinations possible is very large, and the pains and care expended on improving plants, vegetables, and land animals, may yet succeed with fish. We have again this year crossed the eastern brook with the California mountain-trout, both ways, and have impregnated about eighty per cent of the eggs so used. I2 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. The following is the letter in reference to the young of the cross of the shad with the herring of the Hudson river : Some few years since I heard the shad fishermen on the Hud- son were taking a new variety of shad, called by them rebel shad, some calling them Seth Green shad ; on investigating the matter I found at the shad-hatching station on the Hudson, in stripping the fish off-hand, sometimes the ripe male shad was not to be had in quantities to suit, and that in cases of this kind the small herring was sometimes substituted ; hence the hybrid, or cross. These fish have all the characteristics of the adult shad, and average from one and a quarter to two pounds each. Having formerly heard so much on the subject of fly-fishing for shad at the Holyoke dam, I concluded to give them a trial in the Hud- son, and had procured some of the Holyoke shad-flies, and tried for them long and faithfully for two seasons, without success ; but about five years ago I was fishing for white perch, on a fine day in October, and was much surprised by taking about ten of these new shad. I was fishing on the bottom, and the fish would take the bait when the line was being rapidly hauled from the bottom ; live bait was used (small shiner). I sent a couple of specimens to Seth Green, who pronounced them these herring- shad of about two years of age. I have taken them regularly since, every fall, with a light fly, or any ‘dark fly will do; the season generally commences October rst, and lasts about five weeks. The time to fish is at daybreak or sunset, and then you . have to fish on the middle of the tide, half ebb or flood, it don’t seem to make any difference ; they begin to feed at half-tide and - can’t be caught on the surface at any other time. They present a beautiful sight when feeding, the water seems alive with them, darting and jumping everywhere; some of them jump a foot clean from the water. They feed on small shad about one and a half inches long. They feed from about twenty to twenty-five minutes, and then the “jig is up” till next tide. Twelve to fifteen is a good catch on a tide; they average about one pound each ; the largest 1 have caught weighed 1 ,{ pounds. It is no use fishing for them on a bright sunny day, as they will not bite. I have had anumber of my friends go out with me fly-fishing for * NINTH ANNUAL MEETING. 13 these shad, and they all say it is the finest sport they ever had in fly-fishing. They are very gamey, make rapid runs, and will break from the water like a black bass. . P, Ac Me VANUAV YG: Mr. GREEN then read the following paper : When i speak so highly of the California mountain-trout, I do not wish to be understood that I have gone back on our speckled beauties ; on the contrary, I think our brook-trout one of the handsomest and best fish in the world, and that we can have both kinds, and the mountain-trout will live in many streams that our trout will not live in. For some time previous to this meeting I have been racking my brain to think of something on which to address you, and | find it a very difficult matter to think of anything to say that has not been said before. The fact of the matter is, that the Ameri- can people, and especially the members of this Association, are getting so well educated on the subject of fish-culture, that I find that the ground has to be looked over very closely to dis- cover a new idea to advance, . The New York State Fishery Commission being the first to introduce the California mountain-trout into eastern waters, I will give you our experience with them. We have at the New York State Hatchery 16,000 two-year olds, and 34,000 yearlings, the product from 500 spawn which we obtained in 1875. We find them a much more easy fish to raise than the eastern brook- trout, and they grow almost twice as fast. eer ne 79.6 20.4 BRUTE SIS sien eps sah rc egies tees, oe ase Na ie vo. «100 Er eee 78.1 21.8 alibut (ean) i.e... SA ee 3 Se ME MATS occ > lo cate mKe 79-4 20.6 Plalabts fat). tek Stova.cms acta nisioeiale tase ele are'e ees B24 | ee .63} 56.1 .86| 83.11 “7, 1.209] T24..0 32.65| 8.41) 6:80), - 4.12] 159.0 27 402|, 20.54) ) DtO7hoas Obl tee a7 16) 30.43) > 2.'5oh £4. Ta a6a30 I2¥55) 128 Seeley D2 Tay yal? 15.24 .62 1.29} 65.0 PS 201 OWS Les 2VEN 1.12] 88.0 T5267 als < atacas Lae 68.0 TS 661) O2G0N5 5 2 1.00] 95.0 1G. EQUVT Ze GT oe): 1.36} 99.0 br eae alee 5 4 Oe PPA 7900 Wi 2 20s be ite ea a 1.09] 86.0 POh Sales ele ne ees F27|' 85,0 10592) 0 207 Ws os I.10| 104.0 18.03 NARES Fieve oe L 16) 7b 70 C7..7O hae aol ues: 1.35} 94.0 $o. G0) Pshowk ny, 1.36] 91-0 Zh OG ZI As Andee 1.61] 103.0 22.40 RZ AY 1.48] 97.0 20.82] 14.40 .28), 16. 27| ELI 10 78.91 FO. BGO. P50) 34010 ORR dT uiditc Aan Read 1.24] 104.0 56 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. This table will help us to a very fair idea of the comparative composition of some of our more common animal foods. The percentages refer to the fresh substance, except when especially stated as “dried,” “smoked,” etc. In the meats and fish the bones are excluded, the calculations referring only to the edible portions. The “extractive matters” are essentially the carbo- hydrates, which in the fish are of little moment. Looking down the first column we see that while medium beef contains 72 per cent. of water, milk contains 874 per cent. Roughly speaking, beefsteak is about three-fourths, and milk seven-eights, water. A pound of beefsteak would thus contain - four ounces of solids, and, if we assume a pint of milk to weigh a pound, a quart would contain four ounces of solids also ; that is, a pound of steak and a quart of milk contain about the same weight of actual nutrients. But we know that for ordinary use the pound of beefsteak is worth more for food than the quart of milk. The reason is simple. The solids of the lean steak are nearly all albuminoid, while those of the milk consist largely of fats and of milk sugar, a carbohydrate. The figures in the table are, I think, worth looking through with some care. Remembering that those for meat and fish ap- ply to only the edible portion, let me call your attention first to the varying proportions of albuminoids and fats in the second and third columns. On the whole you will notice that the fish average about the same percentages of albuminoids as the meats, but have rather less fats. RELATIVE NUTRITIVE VALUES OF THE ANIMAL FOODS. The figures in the last column are intended to show how the foods compare in nutritive valve, “medium beef” being taken as the standard. They are computed by ascribing certain values to the albuminoids and fats, and taking the sum in each case for the value of that particular food. The ratio here adopted, which assumes one pound of albuminoids to be equal to three pounds © of fats, is that assumed by prominent German chemists. Taking medium beef at 100, the same weight of milk comes to 23.8 ; butter, 124; mutton (medium), 86.6; fat pork, 116 ; smoked beef, NINTH ANNUAL MEETING. 57 146,and soon. The different samples of fish run from floun- ders, 65 ; cod, 68; shad, 99; whitefish, 103, to salmon, 104, while dried cod leads the list at 346. These figures differ widely from the market values. But we pay for our foods according, not to their value for nourishing our bodies, but to their agreeableness to our palates. CHEAP VERSUS DEAR FOOD. Taking the samples of fish at their retail prices in the Mid- dletown markets, the total edible solids in striped bass came to about $2.30 per pound, while in the Connecticut river salmon, _ whose price—thanks to our Fish Commission—was very low, we bought nutritive material at forty-four cents per pound. The cost of the nutritive material in one sample of halibut was fifty- seven cents, and in the other $1.45 per pound, though both were bought in the same place at the same price, fifteen cents per pound, gross weight. It makes very little difference to a man with five thousand dollars a year,whether he pays twenty-five cents or five dollars a pound for the albuminoids of his food, but it does make a differ- ence to the housewife whose family must live on five hundred dollars a year. Anda little definite knowledge of this sort will be of material help to her in furnishing her table economically. The cook-books and newspapers. have occasionally something to say upon these points, but their statements are apt to be as _ yague and wild as in the lack of authoritative information they might be expected to be. Of course the nutritive valuations above given are only ap- proximate, since they are made with very imperfect knowledge _ of either the digestibility of the foods or the influence of pala- ' tibility and other factors upon their nutritive value, and also be- cause they are based upon very few analyses. But it is certain _ that we need to know more about these things, and that such in- vestigations as I have been telling you about may help us toward that knowledge. Before closing I sor a perhaps to refer briefly to the very 4 58 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. widespread but unfounded notion that fish is particularly valu- able for brain-food because of its large contents of phosphorus. Suffice it to say that there is no evidence as yet (though we hope to have more data before long) to prove that the flesh of fish is especially richer in phosphorus than other meats, and even if it were so, there is no proof that it would be on that account more valuable for brain-food. The questions of the nourishment of the brain and the sources of intellectual energy are too ab- struse for speedy solution in the present condition of our knowl- edge. In conclusion I have to say that I should be very sorry to be understood as implying that the facts I have given you ex- haust or even begin to cover the subject we have been consider- ing. They are only the very feeble and imperfect beginnings of a kind of investigation which, if sufficiently encouraged and rightly carried on, may hereafter bring knowledge of the greatest value. And let me beg you not to forget that while scientific research does so much to promote our material welfare, its highest value is in what it does for the culture of our minds. The committee on nominations (Dr. Hupson, chairman) re- ported that the committee thought the re-nomination of the present officers as good a one as they could make ; who were thereupon duly elected. An alteration was made in the Executive Commit- tee, Mr. James Benkard, of New York, being elected in place of Benjamin L. Hewitt ; Mr. McGovern, of Brooklyn, in place of Dr. Theodore Gill. The Secretary, Mr. B. Pui.uips, in behalf of the officers, ree turned thanks for the compliment, and said he hoped that they would be able to make arrangements for as interesting a meeting in 1881 as the present one had been. A vote of thanks was passed by the Association to both Pro- fessor ATWATER and Dr. Brooks for their very valuable and in- teresting contributions. Mr. GeorGe S. PaGE then presented a paper entitled Black ~ Bass Planting—results of their introduction into Maine waters. ~ NINTH ANNUAL MEETING. 59 Notwithstanding the diffusion of information concerning the results of restocking depleted rivers with salmon and shad ; ponds, lakes, and streams, with bass, and brooks with trout, through the medium of the now widely circulated Forest and Stream, Chicago Field, and Sea World, and the Reports of the State and United States Fish Commissioners, the general public still profess great ignorance upon the subject. The press of the country, with few exceptions, fail to promulgate pertinent facts, and the legisla- tures of most of the states refuse to appropriate other than paltry sums in aid of. this important interest. The chief object of the American Fish Cultural Association is to educate public sentiment by the presentation, annually, of actual results experienced in stocking public waters with food- fish. Of late the metropolitan press is well represented at our meetings. Liberal space in their thronged columns is given to our deliberations. The papers read are copiously quoted. Ed- itorials are written,commendatory of our labors. Tshe Associated Press agents telegraph a synopsis of our proceedings to all parts of the land. The secular and religious press, east, west, north, and south, copy to'a greater or less extent from the journals of the metropolis. Surely,in the near future the people will become informed of the really remarkable progress that is being made in the theory and practice of fish-culture, and their representatives in the state and national councils will make liberal appropria- tions to more rapidly advance the coming day when the most pov- erty-stricken citizen can procure an abundance of cheap, fresh, preserved, or salted fish-food. It is a fact well-known to those who have been identified with this comparatively new science that many of the most successful efforts in restocking exhausted waters have been due to private enterprise. Monuments are erected to military heroes and notable states- men. Surely the praiseworthy act of the unknown engineer of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, who transported in the water- tank of his engine a score of black bass from the waters of the ‘Ohio to the rapids of the Potomac, over twenty years ago, is equally deserving. Look at the results of that philanthropic BS bo FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION, seed-sowing. The markets of Washington, Baltimore, Rich- mond, and other cities, are supplied with the numerous progeny of those few fishes. The members of several angling-clubs find health and recreation in the pursuit of these game-fish. The dealers in fishing-tackle secure greatly increased business from the demand for rods, lines, and flies, especially adapted for their - capture. But the good deed was repeated by some other unknown ben- efactor of his race. Bass from the Potomac were transported to the Susquehanna and Delaware. They have increased with great rapidity, and the markets of nearly every ‘town and city of the great states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey are abundantly supplied. y It will be admitted by all who are familiar with the recent great popularity of Greenwood Lake as a summer resort, that the chief attraction is found in the black-bass fishing. Thousands of dollars are annually expended there, which but for these fish would flow in other directions. But I desire to put on record the history of the introduction of black bass into the state of Maine. From the year 1860, in company with friends from other states, I had annuaily taken large numbers of the famous Rangeley trout, a goodly weight of which were transported out of the state of Maine, to become the witnesses of what Maine alone produced, and to serve as advertisements in drawing others to that region. In 1867 I brought to New York forty-three Rangeley trout, weighing from two to ten pounds, averaging five pounds each ; the two large t, male and female, respectively weighed teu and eight and a quar- ter pounds, were alive. The ten-pound trout is now exposed ina glass case at Mr. Blackford’s, in Fulton Market. In 1868 I brought home in the same car thirty-three trout, from one and a half to two pounds each. These experiences determined me to attempt to transport black bass to the Pine Tree State. Certainly some return in fish kind was due. The following summer, accompanied by four friends, we took NINTH ANNUAL MEETING. 61 the “Mary Powell,” for Newburg, by invitation of Walter Brown, Esq., to fish his private pond for black bass. At day- break we fairly surrounded the miniature lake, scarcely a quar- ter acre in extent; indeed we could readily cover the centre four feet of water with our flies. But the bass were there, and this was our first introduction to them. It is needless to say that we were highly gratified by their evident pleasure in making our acquaintance. So eager were they to meet us that some went whizzing by our ears and lodged in the long damp grass a hun- dred feet from their natural home. By six o’clock we had thirty- five sprightly bass, from a half pound to one pound each, in the car A team in waiting took them to the “ Mary Powell” by seven A.M. At ten a.m. they were on the Fall River pier, with the Croton hose turned on. At five p. m. I took themin charge. One of the deck-hands gave them fresh air occasionally by the aid of an air-pump attached to the car. At seven A. M. the next day we reached Boston, and an express wagon convey- ed them to the Eastern Railroad, the train leaving at eight a. M. They required much less attention than brook-trout. Aeration ~ once an hour, and an occasional bucket of water, sufficed to keep them right-side up. At three p. Mm. the train arrived at Monmouth, Maine, the sta- tion adjoining Crochnewaga Pond, four miles long, and sixteen bass were liberated here. At Winthrop, the next station, the car was taken to the famous Cobbossecontee Pond, one of a chain of ponds, or rather lakes, twenty miles in extent. The rest of the fish were deposited here, all in good condition. They did not move off at first, but seemed to be examining the immediate surroundings of their new home, five hundred miles from New- burg. One by one they slowly swam off into deep water, and I returned my fish-car to the steam-car, mentally congratulating myself that at least I had endeavored to make some return for the many trout I had captured, and the glorious sport I had ex- perienced during ten years at Rangeley. The expenses were under $25. . Ten years have elapsed since the first black bass were de- posited in Maine waters. Now mark the results. J hold in-my hand a letter from Mr. Henry O. Stanley, for 62 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. several years Commissioner of Fisheries of Maine, dated Dix- field, Maine, March 15th, 1880. In answer to my queries he writes : The stocking of Maine waters with black bass, for the first time, by yourself, in 1869, has proved a great success. There are probably fifty ponds in the state that furnish good bass fish- ing, and many more where they are just beginning to be taken. I have found small bass quite abundant the third year from the time a dozen large ones were deposited. With regard to their effect on pickerel : in every instance the latter have decreased, leaving the former masters of the situa- tion, with a decided improvement upon the morals of the other denizens of the domain. We do not introduce them in waters frequented by trout, although I do not think they would be as disastrous as pickerel in destroying the trout. The domestic qualities of the bass are admirable, and might well be taken as an example by some members of the human family. They always look after their little ones, and woe to any pickerel in a sucker’s clothing that loiters around the family rocks. Long may he live in Maine waters, that is, if he retains his present commendable characteristics, and he does not undertake to count out the salmon and the trout, as some human gar-fish and suckers in Maine have undertaken to—to—to—well—well —I’m hooked on to another line of thought. Please pardon me, and believe me, ' Ever gratefully yours, HENRY O. STANLEY. GeO. SHEPARD PaGE, \ Stanley, N. J., March z2oth, 1880. Mr. ANNIN then exhibited the model of an outlet for a pond, and made the following remarks : The great objection made by many persons desiring trout in their private pond or brook (when all other points are satisfac- torily settled) is, that if they put in the small-fry they are afraid they will never see any good results; that the fry will all be be NINTH ANNUAL MEETING. 63 washed away or devoured by the larger fish, or unless fed they will starve. Questions on this point, answered by fish-culturists in the majority of cases, seem to give but very little satisfaction to the inquirer, for by a word, after you supposed that matter all settled, you will see he is troubled about it yet. For the benefit of all such I would say, if you have put fry into your brook, don’t worry; go to bed and rest, feeling you have done your part. Rest assured that nature and their natural instincts will bring them through all right. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the young fry turned loose in stream or pond, and allowed to take care of themselves, will bring forth at the end of the year a much larger per cent. and better fish in every respect than can be produced by confine- ment and artificial food. I have found that the male trout, after three or four years of confinement, becomes almost barren; that is, the yearly supply | of milt becomes very limited. One good wild-trout will im- pregnate more eggs than a half dozen domesticated ones. In a liquid form, resembling milk (see male and female spe- cimens). Infgrmation is often asked as to which is the best kind of a screen for the outlet of a pond. I have been troubled very seriously in the fall and early winter with leaves, etc., floating down against the screens and choking them up, causing an overflow of the pond. The trouble is not so much in the day time, when we can watch the ponds, but during a windy night, after the ground is covered with leaves; in the morning you will often find your pond full and running over, and if it contains yearling fish, or smaller, you will find many have escaped or lay on the bank dead. I had suffered in this way several times, when I thought some plan might be hit upon so that the difficulty would be remedied, ‘and so made something like the model, which you will see will not allow the surface-water or leaves on the surface to clog the outlet during one night or more. After putting this in use the 64 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. trouble was done away with at once. I have seen the same prin- ciple in use before. Mr. Gro. CHAPPELL then brought forward the subject of the protection of lobsters. A letter was read from Mr. MIDDLETON, which was as fol- lows: New York, March 31st, 1880. Mr. Gro. CHAPPELL : Dear Str—As a member of the Association now in session, I would request you to lay the enclosed copy of the Massachu- setts lobster law before it for consideration. It would seem only necessary to refer to the gradual destruc- tion of lobsters to have the subject receive the earnest attention to which its importance entitles it. The law, if enacted, can work no hardship to the citizens of New York, and will only be in harmony with the laws of the states of Massachusetts and Maine, and prevent the selling in our markets a poor article, which is really contraband, having been caught in violation of law. Hoping this will receive your attention, and meet the views of dealers generally, ' Liam) yours, etc% GEO. W. MIDDLETON. AN ACT, PROVIDING FOR THE PRESERVATION OF LOBSTERS. Be it enacted by the Senate aud Assembly, in Legislature assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows : $1. Whoever sells, or offers for sale, or has in his or her pos- session, with intent to sell, either directly or indirectly, any lobsters less than ten and one-half inches (1o1-2) in length; measuring from one extreme of the body to the other, exclusive of claws or feelers, shall for every such lobster be fined: five dollars (should be $ro). ey eee a 2 *“NINTH ANNUAL MEETING. On on $2. All forfeitures accruing under this act shall be paid, one- half to the person making the complaint, and one-half to the city or town where the offence is committed. $3. This act shall take effect on the first day of May, 1880. The views of Mr. J. M. Jounson, of Boston, who has paid attention to this subject for a number of years, was then cited. By a vote of the Association the Executive Committee were _ called upon to see that a law be passed in New York to limit the size of the lobsters sent into the market to ten and a half inches. Mr. Pace made a motion that the Committee present the bill to the Legislature at once, which was carried. A vote of thanks was then offered to the Fulton Market Fish- _ mongers Association for the use of their room. The meeting then adjourned to next year, the date to be fixed at some future period by the Executive Committee. CONST DEG aon: —E—E ARTICLE I.—NameE AND OBJECTS. THE name of this Society shall be “ The American Fish Cul. tural Association.” Its objects shall be to promote the cause of fish culture; to gather and diffuse information bearing upon its practical success; the interchange of friendly feeling and intercourse among the members of the Association ; the uniting and encouraging of the individual interests of Fish Culturists, and the treating of all questions regrading fish, of a scien- tific and economic character. ARTICLE II.—MeEmpBers. Any person shall upon a two-thirds vote of the Society, and a payment of three dollars, be considered a member ‘of yi Association, after signing the Constitution. The annual dues shall be $3.00. ARTICLE [11;—-Orricers. The officers of the Association shall be a President, a Vice- President, a Corresponding Secretary, a Recording Secretary, a Treasurer, and an Executive Committee of seven members, and shall be elected annually by a majority of votes; vacancies oc- curring during the year may be filled by the President. ARTICLE IV.—MEETINGs. The regular meetings of the Association shall be held once a year, the time and place being decided upon at the previous meeting. ARTICLE V.—CHANGING gy ° oi Eee > | hl ‘ te . °* ‘ Ne ; me } A . Hh my. ‘ ig i \S a Mi f 9 (While this report was going through the press, the Executive a A bs oer 2 3 Se: o committee, as instructed by the Association, lost no time in presenting an ret limiting the size of the Lobsters, the same as printed in this report, to he attention of the Legislature at Albany. The Executive Committee tke great pleasure in announcing that this act limiting the size of the ster, has since June rst, become a law of the State of New York.) \ = Se SS ee ee Rae oe ee 4 | ; ‘Me oe M. DAY 7 ; * eho S, Gypographer, No. 40 FULTON STREET, NEW YORK. Reet | TONS =) Eo la AMERICAN HSH GULTURAL ASSULIATION ‘Tenth AnnuaL MeEetine, Held at the Directors’ Rooms of the Fulton Market Fish-Mongers’ Association, in the City of New York. March 3oth and 31st, 1881. ® OFFICHRS, 1881-82. ROBERT B, ROOSEVELT, - - PRESIDENT. New York City. GEO; SHEPARD PAGE. :- - - Vick-PRESIDENT. New York City. EUGENE’G. BLACKFORD, - - TREASURER. New York City. BARNET: PHILLIPS - CORRESPONDING SECRETARY. B rooklyn, VN ee JAMES ANNIN, Jr., - - RECORDING SECRETARY. Caledonia, NV. Y. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. FRED. MATHER, - - - Forest and Stream. G. BROWNE GOODE, =- - Washington, D. C. SAMUEL WILMOT, - | - - Ottawa, Ont. BENJAMIN WEST, - - . New York City. THOMAS B. FERGUS@Nyra: > : - Baltimore Md. JAMES BENKARD, - - - New York City. JOHN B. MORGAN, - - - Brooklyn, NV. Y. TENTH ANNUAL MEETING THE FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. WEDNESDAY, March 3oth, 1881. THE meeting was called to order inthe Director’s Room of the Fulton Market Fish-Mongers’ Association, in the City of New York, by the President, Hon. Rosert B. Rooseve rt. The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting, which were approved. Mr. Maruer then proposed an amendment to the Constitution to permit honorary members to be elected by a two-thirds vote, the same to be added to the Constitution as part of Article II, relative to members, and to read as follows: ‘“ Any person shall, upon a two-thirds vote of the Society, be considered as an hon- orary member of the Association.” Mr. MATHER’s proposition was approved of. Mr. Maruer then proposed for honorary .membership Dr. Theodatus Garlick, of Bedford, Ohio, the first American fish culturist, which was unanimously carried. Mr. E. G. BLackrorp then announced the forced absence of the Vice-President of the Association, Mr. George Shepard Page, who was then in England. Tue Treasurer, Mr. E. G. Buackrorp, then read the following letter from Mr. Page, dated at London, England, March 14th: “As you are aware, there is to be a fishing exhibition at Nor- wich, England, Easter week, and Mr. Huxley will read a paper 4 . FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. there on the herring family. In all his magnificent collection of fishes he has no shad. I have urged him to introduce shad into the English, Scotchand Irish rivers. Indeed, knowing that none existed there, was the principal object of my visit to Mr. Hux- ley. It seems that Mr. Huxley had thought something of this kind would be well to do, but was not familiar with their habits or the food of the shad. Of course, on my part, I was only too happy to present details in regard to our shad. I may, perhaps, have rehearsed a great deal of that information we all get at our meetings. Anyhow, I told him that you would undoubtedly be glad to send over immediately by steamer a half dozen speci- mens on ice, a part of which he could preserve in alcohol at South Kensington, and the balance to be exhibited at the Nor- wich Fish Show. Mr. Huxley will, of course, give you credit for the same, both at the exhibition and at the museum. Mr. Huxley is also very desirous of knowing by what means he can secure millions of shad eggs the ensuing season, and I shall use my best exertions to aid in that matter, providing I can secure your valuable assistance. Just think that perhaps by our efforts we might succeed in giving some of these 35,000,000 English people as food, such a fish as the shad, and that there is a possi- bility that in eight or ten years these fish would be so abundant as to be had at a low price. Mr. Huxley will endeavor to con- vince landlords and those owning rivers that the modest shad will not eat up the aristocratic salmon. I want to add that I spent yesterday evening with Professor Huxley, and met there a great many people, and they were informed of the proposed plan for the introduction of shad into English waters, and that fresh shad and eggs were to be sent to Norwich in the future. Mr, Chamberlain, M. P., for Birmingham, was very much inter- ested ; since the fish business may come under his supervision he has promised to do all in his power to advance it. Professor Huxley would like you to send a few fresh herrings with the shad, so that he may compare them with the English fish.” Mr. RoosEvELt.—I believe that Mr. Mather has eaten the shad of Germany, and perhaps he will tell us how they compare with, ours ? TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 5 Mr. Maruer.—The fish which is called shad in Europe is in- ferior to ours in flavor. In 1874, at the request of Professor Baird, I attempted to take young shad to Germany, but the attempt was a failure. At that time the question arose as to the comparative value of the two shads, some of the Germans hold- ing that their maifish was as good as the American. This, of course, could not be decided by argument, and so it rested until last summer, when at the Berlin Fishery Exhibition it occurred to Mr. Von Behr, the well-known President of the German Fishery Association, to have some of their fish brought down for the American Commission to bring to the test of the knife and fork. Unfortunately, Prof. Goode and Mr. True were absent, That day and I was alone. We hada gridiron improvised from wire, for this household implement is unknown in Germany, and some shad were broiled and some boiled and served with sauce after the German fashion. The broiled fish was pronoun- ced best by all—five Germans and Prof. Ward, of Rochester, N. Y., and myself—but we did not think it equal to American shad _ by any means. Mr. RoosEveLtt.—Will Prof. Goode tell us the ichthyological differences between the American and the European fish? Pror. Goovr.—There is a difference observable in the scales, which in the fish of Europe are thicker and do not lie as closely as in the American. There are other differences in the opercular bone which show them to be a different species. The following paper was then read by the PREsIDENT, on Hy- bridizing Fishes, by Mr. Seth Green : Mr. PresiDENT AND GENTLEMEN OF THE AMERICAN FisH CUL- TURAL AssocraTiIon :—You have again met for the purpose of mutual benefit and an interchange of knowledge, such as has come under our observation during the past year. The subject of hybridizing is one which has been demanding the attention of fishculturists, more or less, for the past few years, and whether any of the varieties of our fishes can be im- 6 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. proved upon by crossing the different breeds, is still a question. Of one thing we are certain, and that is, we would never know unless we tried. We know that many varieties of stock have been greatly improved by putting together different strains, and also that fruits and vegetables have been rendered more palat- able by grafting and other methods of infusing the sap of the different varieties into each other. These questions are of com- paratively old standing, and it has been definitely decided in many cases just which kinds will be improved upon by the pro- cess of hybridization. The field for experiment is large, and, as we live in a world of progression, there will doubtless be con- stant advances in these branches, as well as in other things. Hybridization with fish for the purpose of bettering them, as food, and also producing fish suited to the nature of our different waters is the problem we are trying to solve. We cannot change the natural characteristics of our different bodies of water, and hence we find it necessary to produce varieties of fish which will thrive and multiply in them or learn from experiment and ob- servation which species will do the most good when deposited in certain waters. With plants and animals it has been learned which varieties can be crossed advantageously, and which are productive of the best results, but with fish this has not been ascertained, but there is no question but what it will in time. There are very many difficulties attending the hybrydization of fish—much more so than in anything else. One of the troubles lies in keeping the experiment constantly under the eye, thus enabling you to watch the different stages of development accu- rately, and the habits of water animals cannot be as closely ob- served as those on the land. At different periods during my career as a fishculturist I have made several experiments with ‘fish in hybridizing. The most successful one that I have been enabled to watch clear through has been brought out this winter. Three years ago, in the fall of 1877, at the New York State Hatchery, we crossed the female native brook trout with the male Lake Ontario salmon trout. A good per centage of the egestaken and impregnated hatched. The offspring were healthy and they continued to thrive. The fish are a fine, trim-built fish, resembling both parents; they will weigh at the present time TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. if ———_———— from three-fourths to one pound each. Last November they commenced to spawn for the first time. They commenced the first and continued until the 12th of November, during which time we succeeded in taking 19,400 spawn, the males and females both being fertile. The eggs hatched in about ninety days, the season being prolonged by the unusual cold winter. The yolk sack has now disappeared and the young fry are feeding and doing well. The question now arises, Will they be capable of reproducing their own kind? My opinion is they will, but time will tell. I shall endeavor to put a few thousand into some of our lakes and streams and thus determine to what waters they are best adapted. My next most successful experiment was with the cross be- tween the California salmon and brook trout. They are now four years old and, like the salmon trout and brook trout hybrids, resemble both parents. The cross was made with female brook trout and male California salmon. Nearly all the fish have a deformed appearance ; a few of them are perfect fish. Last sea- son they exhibited signs of spawning. There were either no males among them, or, if there were, they were not fertile. On attempting to take the spawn from them the vent was found to be too small to pass the eggs. The aperture was enlarged and spawn taken and impregnated with brook trout milt. None of them hatched. The eggs were nearly the size of salmon eggs. The parent fish have done well and some of them will weigh nearly, if not quite, two pounds. I do not think this cross will ever amount to anything. The salmon used were those kept in confinement and not as large or in as good condition as in their natural state. I am of the opinion that if the perfect salmon and brook trout could be brought together a perfect cross might be made, or at least the experiment would be worth trying. I have made several other experiments in hybridizing, such as crossing the hybrids with brook trout and also crossing them with salmon trout. I have also crossed the brook trout with the California mountain trout, all of which have been attended with more or less success. I have this season been trying a series of experiments in impregnating the eggs of brook trout, the results of which will undoubtedly be interesting to the society. My 8 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. first experiment was as follows: By using a small glass syringe I injected the milt of the male brook trout into the vent of the ripe female brook trout and left it there thirty minutes before taking the eggs. The result of this experiment was an impreg- nation of 75 per cent. In my second experiment I took the spawn from brook trout directly in a vial, and corked tightly, taking care that no water was allowed to get in. I then placed the vial under water and left it forty minutes, after which brook trout milt was put on them and remained in vial thirty minutes, the result of which was an impregnation of 75 per cent. Third Experiment.—I injected milt of brook trout into ripe female, and allowed it to remain fourteen hours before taking. 15 per cent. of them proved to be good. Fourth Experiment.—I injected milt of brook trout into ripe female, and allowed it to remain in fish twenty-four hours before taking. In this experiment none of the eggs were fertilized. Fifth Experiment.—I injected milt of brook trout into ripe female, and left it in fish one minute before taking. 40 per cent: was impregnated. Sixth Experiment.—Took brook trout spawn in vial corked tightly, and placed under water for nine hours, after which milt was put on them. 15 per cent. of the eggs were impreg- nated. Seventh Experiment.—Spawn was taken from female brook trout three hours after she had died, and milt from live male brook trout put onthem. In this experiment 15 per cent. were found to be good. As all fishculturists know the spawn of brook trout taken in the usual way adheres to the pan for from twenty minutes to half an hour directly after taking, we tried the experiment of putting them directly on the hatching trays within one minute after they were taken, and kept the pan in motion so they could not stick. The result of this experiment shows that the impreg- nation takes place almost instantaneously, as fully 95 per cent. were impregnated During last summer I spent considerable time on several of our inland lakes investigating them, and teaching the local in- habitants how to catch the fish with hook and line with which — SS a_i TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 9 their waters have been stocked by the New York State Fish Commission. My efforts were attended with great success; I made several large catches, and taught many others how to do so. The effect will be to stop illegal modes of taking fish to a great extent in our inland waters. When the people learn that they have a fish barrel at their door, and can take a fish dinner in a short time, when they feel so disposed, they will see to it that the laws are enforced. I learned during my investigations that the alewives breed in our inland lakes. This I consider a very valuable discovery. As ‘fish food their value is inestimable, and all our lakes can be stocked with them. They are much more valuable than the fresh water herring, for the reason that they spawn in the spring and the eggs hatch in afew days. Whereas, the herring cast their spawn in the fall and are all winter in hatching, and conse- quently a much larger percentage of them is destroyed. The alewife hatches at a low estimate one hundred and fifty young fry for every one of the herring. It would be an impossibility to overstock any waters containing the alewives for food, and the fish found in the waters containing them are in the best pos- sible condition. I hope to be able to stock several of our lakes with the alewife during the coming summer. This winter has been unusually severe and the ice has formed toa great thick- ness, and snow has fallen upon it to a considerable depth. In all small bodies of water, unless air holes are cut, there is always great mortality among the fish, caused by stagnation and lack of oxygen. Many of our larger inland lakes that do not usually freeze entirely over have this season been covered in some in- stances with ice two feet in thickness. While this would not materially affect the fish in ordinary winters where this is of short duration, I am of the, opinion that where it has extended over a period of several months a great many fish will be de- stroyed by suffocation. Waters can easily be depleted in this way to a great extent and no one ever be the wiser, for, contrary to the general opinion that all fish float when dead, my experience is that not one in _ ten ever comes to the top of the water. TO FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. Mr. Biackrorp.—I would call attention to one remark made by Mr. Green on the death of fish below the ice. If this is the case generally we should take measures to prevent it, and per- haps it would be well to invite discussion of this subject. Mr. ANNIN.—I saw a pond on the Genessee Flats, this winter, which was frozen over, and contained perch, catfish, etc. The ice was three feet thick, but near the head was a small spring, and it was packed full of small fish, all alive. Mr. MatHer.—The case mentioned by Mr. Annin is different. In the winter of 1855 I was trapping about the Grant River, Wis- consin, and near it along the Mississippi. There were along the latter river numerous sloughs where in the overflows the fish were left. One of these I knew to be full of fish in the fall, and in the winter cut through the ice to spear them. They were all dead and the stench was fearful. 3 Mr. RoosEveELT.—Mr. Annin tends to confirm Mr. Green. The fish were distressed, and crowded to the spring holes for relief. If there had been no springs to make an opening the fish would _ have died. Pror. Goopre.—I do not care to argue this question, but having given some attention to the hibernation of fishes in cases where they assume a torpid condition and vitality seems suspended, it may be well to state that in Africa there are fishes which live in a state of astivation or a suspension of life in summer. They live in the mud when the ponds dry up, and wait for the rainy season to release them. We also know that in high Northern latitudes the fish go into a state of hibernation as the tempera- ture falls to a certain point. Mr. Mather has published some experiments with mud-minnows. I should think that in some cases the instinct of hibernation might be hereditary, and often death might ensue while the fishes were torpid. Dr. Hupson.—The question arises if a pond of large size freezes entirely over. Most large bodies of water have air@ holes. TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. Il Mr. MatHer.—The one to which I referred on the Mississip- » pi bottoms had no air hole. It was about three acres in extent, and perhaps five feet deep, with two feet of that solid ice from shore to shore. THE SECRETARY then read a communication by Mr. H. D. Mc- Govern, on the Habits and Food of the German Carp : It is with pleasure that I place before you some of my ex- perience with fishes, more particularly the carp, during the past year. Inthe carp I have taken great interest, and have been, I am glad to say, successful in developing their growth in our New York State waters. My first mention will be of a lot of eighteen- months-old carps, thirty-five in number, placed by me in a pond prepared for them. The pond was three feet in depth, there being a bottom of mud or fine loam of six inches. Some of my carp would turn the scales at two anda half pounds previous to placing them in the pond, which was constructed for observation and fed from springs. In the early part of January I kept an air hole open in the ice which had accumulated on the pond, and fed the fish by means of a wooden spout, one foot square and four feet long, inclosed in alarge sheaf of cat-heads and closed at the opening with a wad of salt grass to keep the frosty air from entering the tube or shaft. When I wanted to feed my carp I would remove the grass wad and drop my food down the aper- ture, after which I would obscure the light from the opening by throwing a coat over my head, and would then be rewarded by seeing all fish within range of the opening at the bottom. By this means I could ascertain the fish most relished by the carp. And here it is well to say that they disposed of oat meal dough and a dough of rye meal mixed with chopped cabbage more quickly than any other kind of food given them. My shaft worked well until the temperature fell to zero, for then, notwith- standing the covering of reeds or cat-heads, it closed up, and I was compelled to cut holes in the iceand removeall the particles remaining. After the opening was cleared I would drop in food, and as the fish were not shy they would come to the opening and hover 12 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. a around after eating. Then suddenly you would see a fine carp turn over on its side and, as if attracted by magnetism, come to the under part of the ice and there stick fast. I extricated some few, which you will see on exhibition in the market, with my other fish on Mr. Blackford’s stand. I could have saved more of them, but, to use an old fisherman’s phrase, I could not see the point of wasting a mackerel to catch a sprat. Now, gentle- men, I am inclined to think that a carp pond should be at least four feet deep, with a foot of soft bottom, making in all five feet. I say this only for our Northern waters, and would not recom- mend feeding in the months of December, January and February, as I think the fish I have mentioned would have gone in the mud and be safe now had I not giventhem the habit of being fed in frosty weather. They area fish that I can assure you will with- stand any amount of handling in moderate weather, and live longer out of water than any other fish I have ever handled. Some time ago I took an eighteen-months-old carp from my pond—its weight was about two pounds—folded it in a piece of wet bagging, brought it to my home, No. 288 Fulton street, a distance of four miles, and laid it on a slab while I partook of dinner. I then started with it for New York, and arrived at Mr. Blackford’s stand two hours and thirty minutes from the time the fish was taken from the pond. I placed the fish in one of the tanks, and in presence of many of the market men the carp swam off as if it had only been changed from one tank to an- other. There was no swooning nor cause for resuscitating. I would still further inform those who may have carp in their ponds, not to be astonished if, after placing them in one pond, at the lapse of a month or two they find them in an adjacent one having no seeming connection with the first. The fact is, the carp will jump three feet, and then like an eel wriggle its way over damp grass, and make its way to other waters. This has been my experience, and having had, previous to its introduction from Germany by Prof. S. F. Baird, but very little knowledge of the fish. I suppose some of my associates in this body are still in the same position of uncertainty in regard to the carp as I was in previous to my personal investigation. & & TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 13 ‘—- Mr. AnnIN.—My experience with carp has been that I received seventeen from Mr. Blackford and have only one leit. A Memsber.—I would like to ask if we have not had the carp in the Hudson River for years? I have heard of their being caught there quite often, but do not know if they are the same as the so-called German carp. Mr. RoosrveLtt.—I have seen many hundreds of the carp in the Hudson. They seldom grow above a pound in weight, but in Ohio they have a carp which weighs several pounds; as much as seven, I think. Pror. Goopr.—The fishes spoken of are not the German carp which has lately been introduced. The latter are best for warm waters, especially in the Southern States. In the national carp ponds at Washington there are now two hundred of the original carp brought from Germany some four years ago ; many of them are so large that they cannot be put in an ordinary wash-tub. The smallest of them will weigh over fifteen pounds. So great has been their growth in America that the Germans have applied for some of the stock to improve their own. A carp sent to Texas when only afew inches long, grew to eight pounds in one year. Mr. MarHer.—I collected all the accounts of the growth of carp in America, and read them before the Central Fishcultural Society at its last meeting at Chicago. It was “published i in Forest and Stream of January 27th, of this year, and will soon appear in the report of the society referred to, of which I have the honor of being corresponding secretary, and I will be pleased to mail that report to any members of this association who may apply for it. - Mr. RoosevEL?T.—I forget what that large carp in Ohio is called. I gave some account of it in a book of mine, published many years ago. Pror. Goope.—The President probably refers to some of the 14 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. Se es Ee ‘“carp-suckers,” which from their superficial likeness to the carp, are so called. They are common in the Ohio Valley and occur in the great lakes. They were called Carpiodes by Rafinesque and belong in the family Catostomide or suckers, and not in the family Cyprinide, where the carps are. There are half a dozen or more species, which are locally .known as spear fish, moon carp, etc. Mr. Mitter.—We have quantities of Ohio carp here at times in Fulton Market. They are slightly red. Mr. Brackrorp.—The fish referred to is the Lake Sheepshead, Haploidonotus grunniens, and not the one reterred to by Mr. Roose- velt and Prof. Goode. Mr. Mitier.—I once had a Hudson River carp which lived two days out of water in the bottom of a barrel, and when put in an aquarium he swam off none the worse for it. Mr. Puitures.—The fish which is called carp in the Hudson is simply an uncolored gold fish. Mr. Matuer.—Mr. Phillips is correct. The mark which dis- tinguishes the true carp from the gold fish is the fact that the former has a barbel or beard attached to each side of the upper jaw, near the angle of the mouth, while the gold fish has none. The Hudson carp has no barbels. Mr. Puitities—I once went up the Hudson -to collect these carp for the Smithsonian at a time when it was claimed by some. that there were good carp in the Hudson. A gentleman of color professed to be able to get them in quantity and I employed him. He brought ina very poor specimen which, as he promised more, I threw away ; but no more were forthcoming, and I was forced to return without the specimens. Mr. MATHER. You will find the Ohio carp figured in the first annual report of the fish commissioners of that State for 1875 TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 15 and 1876. It has the rays of the front part of the dorsal fin exceedingly elongated. Dr. Hupson.—Among the carp distributed by Prof. Baird are three varieties of one species. There is the scale carp, which is covered with scales; the mirror carp, which has a few large scales in different parts, or perhaps a row of them along the back, and the leather carp, which is naked. Mr. Hessel thinks the latter are best, and Prof. Baird thinks that all the carp in America are tending to the nude variety and will eventually be- come so. Mr. Roosevett.—-In Europe they have worthless varieties of carp as well as good ones. Mr. Biackrorp.—If you will take a walk through Fulton Market some morning you will hear the cry, “Here is your ‘ German carp!” but so far there have been no true carp in the market. There have beens several different fishes sold as the German carp here, among them the fish called ‘“ Buffalo” in the West. I have not eaten them, anddo not know how they would compare with the carp. Mr. MaTHER.—I have eaten both fishes, and while they are neither of them what we would call first-class fishes, the carp are the better of the two. I have eaten carp that were very good and carp that did not seem so good. The Germans often cook carp in beer or with a beer sauce, which is no doubt excelient to those who are accustomed to it, but did not strike me as being a delicate combination. The carp has a more solid texture than the Buffalo fish. The excellence of the carp lies in the fact that it grows in waters which produce nothing edible, and in the inland portions of, the South and other parts where there are no good fish. | Mr. Annin.—To what class does the Buffalo belong ? Pror. Goope.—-It is also one of the Catstomide or suckers. There are two genera now, according to the latest authorities, the Zchthyobus of Rafinesque and the Bubalicthys of Agassiz. 16 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. Mr. MorGcan.—Will the carp take the hook ? Mr. RoosevELT.—We read of its doing so in Walton and the older angling books ; modern books do not say much about it. THe SECRETARY then read a paper by Dr. Tarleton H. Bean, entitled, A Contribution to the Biography of the Commercial Cod of Alaska: ‘The codfishery of Alaska has nearly ended its second decade, yet we did not know positively until the summer of 1880 what species is the object of that fishery. Most writers have referred to it under the name of Gadus macrocephalus, which was created by Tilesius for the Kamtchatkan cod, the figure of which sug- gests that it was based upon a deformed individual. Cope, in 1873, described the young of the common Alaska cod as Gadus auratus, from specimens collected by Prof. George Davidson, at Unalashka. Steindachner, in the Proceedings (S7tzungsbertchte) of the Vienna Academy, |xi., 1, 1870, adopts the name G. macroce- phalus for a large cod taken in Decastris Bay; in this example the length to the head is contained exactly three times in the length of the extreme end of the pointed caudal peduncle. The same proportion may, however, be found in any place where large numbers of Gadus morrhua are taken, and it is only a mat- ter of individual variation. The Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, Prof. S. F. Baird, with a view to investigating the fish- eries and the fish of Alaska, sent the writer to that territory to collect specimens and statistics during the summer of 1880, Thus an opportunity was gained for comparing the Alaskan ‘cod directly with that of New Engiand and of Europe, and for determining that the commercial cod of both oceans is the Gadus morrhua of Linnzus. I have not seen the species from Kamtchatka, but there is no probability that it is differ- ent from the Alaskan. It is a matter of daily experience to find long-headed and short-headed cod in the same school off the New England coast, the length of the head being one of the most variable characters. NT hee Bice Ue gas [X., 1880. ] LIV. 1871—Estableshment of the Alabama Fish Commésston.—The Al- abama Commission was organized in 1871 by the appointment as Com- missioners of Charles S. G. Doster, Robert Tyler and D. R. Hundley. [Report of the Commissioners to encourage fish culture, I., 1872; IL., * * * yl LV. 1871—Dascovery of the American Method of Dry Impregnation.— The American method of dry impregnation was discovered and prac- ticed by Mr. C. G. Atkins in 1871. [MILNER: I. c., p. 541.] LVI. 1871—Transportation of Fish Across the American Continent. In 1871 young shad were successfully transported from the Hudson River to the Sacramento River, California. [MILNER: Rep. U.S. F. C., II,, p. 544.] LVII. 1871—Jnutroduction of Shad into Caltfornta—See LVII. above. LVIII. 1871—£stabléshment of the United States Fish Commisston.— On the 9th of February, 1871, Congress passed a joint resolution which authorized the appointment of a Commission of Fish and Fisheries. The duties of the Commissioner were thus defined: “To prosecute in- vestigations on the subject (of the diminution of valuable fishes) with the view of ascertaining whether any: and what diminution in the number of the food-fishes of the coast and the lakes of the United States has taken place; and if so, to what causes the same is due ; and also whether any and what protective, prohibitory or precautionary measures should be adopted in the premises, and to report upon the same to Congress.” The resolution establishing the office of Commissioner of Fisheries required that the person to be appointed should be a civil officer of the Government, of proved scientific and practical acquaintance with the fishes of the coast, to serve without additional salary. The choice was thus practically limited to a single man for whom, in fact, the of- fice had been created. Prof: Spencer F. Baird, at that time Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, was appointed and entered at once upon his duties. | Up to 1880, $476,200 had been appropriated for the use of the Commission. [See G. BROWN GOODE... The first Decade of the U.S. Fish Commission; its plan of work and accom- plished results, scientific and technical. Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, XXX, 1880, pp. 563-574. Forest and Stream, XV, pp. 85-7. Chicago Field, XIV, p. 58. Nature, (London), XXII, pp. 597-9. Czrcular Deutscher Fescherez Verein, 1880, pp. 190-7. Report Smithsonian Institution, 1880, pp. 140-9.]. 50 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. LIX. 1871—/ntroduction of Shad into the Great Lakes.—The introduc- tion of shad into the Great Lakes was accomplished in 1871 by the New York Fish Commission, a quantity being placed in the Genesee River, a tributary to Lake Ontario. [Report U.S. F.C., II., p. xvii-] LX. 1871—Jntroduction of Shad into the Méss¢sstppz—In 1871 shad were introduced into tributaries of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers by the U. S. Fish Commission, by the hands of Mr. Seth Green and Mi Witham Whit, (Report U.S. F.C.;, 11. p. xvii] LXI. 1871—Establishment of the Salmon Breeding Establishment at Orland, Me.—This was erected at the joint expense of the Fish Com- missions of Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut. [Report U. S. F. C, El; p. ixvi.] LXII. 1872—J/mportation of Rhine Salmon.—A gift from the German Government, of. 250,000 eggs, and 500,000 obtained by purchase, brought to this country under the charge of Dr. Hessel, arriving late in the fall. The 4,000 or 5,000 which were sound were planted ina tributary of the Delaware. [Report U.S. F, C., part IL. xxii.] LXIII. 1872--Beginning of the Propagation of California Salmon.— This work, begun at the suggestion of Mr. R. B. Roosevelt, was ac- complished in October, 1872, for the U. S. Fish Commission by Mr. Livingston Stone. [Report U.S. F. C., II., xxiii.] LXIV. 1872—J/nvention of the Green Trough.—This device, which was an improvement upon the former used by Coste and Atkins, was per- fected in 1872, in the progress of experiments on whitefish. [M1LNER: Report U.S. F. C., IIL., p. 546-556.] LXV. 1872—The Invention of the Holton Fish-Spawn Hatcher —The Holton Fish-Spawn Hatcher, devised in 1872 by Marcellus G. Holton patented March 18th, 1873, is of much importance in the hatching of whitefish eggs. [MILLET: Report, U.S. F.C., IL, p. 546, plate liv.] LXVI. 1872—The Work of Propagating Fish Undertaken by the U. S. Lesh Commzsston.—At the suggestion and through the influence of the American Fish Culturist’s Association. The recently estab- lished United States Fish Commission was charged with the task of restoring fish to the depleted waters of the United States. [Report U. Seee., Lj xvi.) LXVII. 1878—J/nvention of N. W. Clark's Fish-Hatching Trough — This important piece of apparatus was devised in 1873 and patented March 3rd, 1874. [MILNER: Report U.S. F.C., IL, p. 546 pl. xv.] LXVIII. 1872—J/nvention of the Clark Transporting Case—This de- vice was successfully used in transporting whitefish eggs to California. [MILNER: Report U.S. F. C., IL. pp. 547-9.] TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. St LXIX. 1872—Jnvention of the Williamson or Caléfornia Flatching Lrough.—This apparatus, similar to the Clark trough except that the water flows from below instead of from the top, was invented about 1872. [MILNER: Report_U. S. F. C., II., ps 547.] LXX. 1872—Jutroduction of Whitefish tnto Caléforniéa—In Febru- ary, 1872, the U.S. Fish Commission shipped 216,000 whitefish eggs from Clarkston, Mich. to San Francisco. [Report U. S. F. C., EI, Pay 5 50. ] LXXI. 1872—Establishment at the Salmon Breeding Establishment at Bucksport, Me— In 1872 the extensive salmon breeding establishment at Bucksport, Me., was erected under the direction of Mr.C. G. Atkins and at the joint expense of the Fish Commission of Maine, Massachu- setts and Connecticut, and of the United States Commission, which contributed funds to the amount of half the expense. This establish- ment has since passed entirely under the control of the United States Commission. [Report U.S. F.C., IL. p. xviii.] LXXII. 1873—+first Propagation of the Striped Bass——In May, 1873, Mr. M. G. Holton succeeded in propagating this species artificially at Weldon, N.C. [Repo U, SFC. Part dL, pp. 5$a-554.] LXXIII. 1873—The California Aguartum Car—tIn 1873 Mr. Living- ston Stone, under the auspices of the U. S. Fish Commission and that of California, fitted up an aquarium car in which it was proposed to carry many species of fish to California. The car was capsized June 8th, in the Elkhorn River, Nebraska. In 1874 the experiment was re- peated in behalf of the California Commission, [Report (U.S. 2G. x XVils LXXIV. 1873—E£stablishment of the Ohto Fish Commisstion.—The Ohio Fish Commission was established in June, 1873, by the appoint- ment as commissioners of John H. Klippart, John Hussey and Dr. E. Stirling. By act of April 26th, 1876, the commission in its present form was organized. Up to 1880 $29,000 had been voted for fish cul- ture. [Reports of Ohio State Fish Commission (1.), 1874; I., (1875-6). 1877; Il., (1877) 1878; III, (1878) 1879; IV., (1879) 1880; V., (1880) 1881.] LXXV. 1873—Establéshment of the Wisconsin Fish Commésston.—iIn 1873 an appropriation was made by the Legislature to be expended un- der the direction of the U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries. In 1874 William Welsh, A’ Palmer and P. R. Hoy were elected commission- ers. Up to 1880 $38,860 had been voted for fish culture. [Reports L., 1874 ; II., 1875; III., 1876; IV.,1877; V., 1879; VI., 1880. LXXVI. 1873-4—Culture of the Land-Locked Salmon. Establishment of the Hatching Station of Grand Lake Stream.—Expe- 52 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. riments were begun at Sebec Lake, in 1873, under the auspices of the ' Massachusetts, Connecticut and United States Fish Commissions, and a station erected under the direction of Mr. H. L. Leonard. In 1874 this was transferred under the same auspices to Grand Lake Stream, and placed «in‘.charge of ‘Mr..C: G. Atkins, [Report ‘U. 5.-F.¢C. TAA? pF 25.'] LXXVII. 1874—Attempts to Transport Living Shad Across the Atlan- ¢zc.—The first trip was made with young fish by Messrs, Fred Mather and A. Anderson, in August, 1874, who lost the fish ten days after going to sea; the second by Messrs. H. W. Welcher and Monroe A, Green, who attempted to carry the eggs, which were destoyed before they reached the steamer’ [Report US. FC.) 11h pp: 326; ose; 338-9. | } LXXVIII. 1874—Szuccessful Propagation of the Oqguassa Trout.—In October, 1874, the Maine Fish Commission obtained 30,000 eggs, 5,000 of which were sent to New York. [Maine Reports. ROOSEVELT AND GREEN. Fish Hatching and Fish Catching, p. 136.] LXXIX. 1874—Furst Attempts to Propagate Grayling.—Iin April, 1874, Mr. Fred Mather visited the Au Sable River, Mich., to experi- ment on the propagation of the grayling. From the tst)to the 3rd no ripe fish were found. Hetook 180 adult fish alive to his ponds at Honeoye Falls, N. Y. [Forest and Stream, vol. Il,, p. 164.] On the 30th of April, 1874, Mr. Seth Green visited the river for the same pur- pose. Finding that the fish had finished spawning, he dug some fer- tilized eggs from the bottom of the river, which he subsequently hatched. [ROOSEVELT AND GREEN. Fish Hatching and Fish Catch- ing, pp. 133-135.] | LXXX. 1874—Propagation of the Sea Bass.—In September, 1874, the ‘eggs of the Sea Bass, Centropristes atrardus, were successfully fertil- ized at the U. S. Fish Commission Station at Noank, Conn. They did not however, hatch, LXXXI. 1874—Establéshment of the Iowa Fesh Commisston—The Iowa Fish Commission was established by act of the Legislature, March igth, 1874. S. B. Evans, B. F. Shaw and C. A. Harris were ap- pointed commissioners. Up to 1880 $22,750 had been appropriated for fish culture. [Reports (biennial), I., (1874-5) 1876; I1., (1875-6 and _ 1876-7) 1877; I11., (1877-8 and 1878-9) 1880.| LXXXII. 1875.—First Artificial Impregnation of Grayling Eggs—In April, 1875, Mr. Fred Mather made a second attempt to take grayling spawn on the Au Sable River, Mich. He found them ripe from the 6th to the roth, and 10,000 were impregnated and afterward hatched, - TENTH ANNUAL MEETING, 53 by F. N. Clark at Northville, Mich., and himself at Honeoye Falls, N. Y. [Forest and Stream, Vol. IV, p. 214.] LXXXIII. 1875—/uvention of the Mather Hatching Cone——The prin- ciple of suspending eggs in water by a stream, admitted at the bottom of a cone, and thereby hatching them in a bulk instead of in layers; was discovered in 1875 by Mr. Fred Mather and his assistant, Charles Bell. [Forest and Stream, Vol..VI., p. 19; Report U. S. F. C., IIL, p. 372-376, IV., p. 1,012.] LXXXIV. 1875—Hatching of Sturgeon.—t\n 1874 efforts were made by Seth Green in behalf of the New York Commission to hatch stur- geon. In 1875 their efforts were successful. [ROOSEVELT AND GREEN. Fish Hatching and Fish Catching, p. 164.] ° LXXXV. 1875—/nvention of Chase's Self-Picking Apparatus.—This ingenious device for the removol of dead eggs from hatching jars was invented by Oren'M. Chase, of Detroit, Mich, [Report U.S. F. C., BY: .9.-1,012.;, V.Lypyaneu LXXXVI. 1875—Establishment of the Minnesota Fesh Commésston.— This Commission was created in 1875, David Day, M. D., Horace Aus- tin and A. W. Lathan being appointed commissioners. Up to 1880 $22,500 had been appropriated for fish culture. [Reports: I, 1875; II., 1876; III., 1877; 1V., 1878; V., 1879; VI., and VII., 1880. ] LXXXVII. 1875—Establishment of the Virginta Fish Commtsston.— The. Virginia Commission was organized in 1875, Hon. Alex. Mosely, Dr. W. B. Robertson and Dr. M. G. Ellzey being appointed Commis- sionets.; | Reports: i, 0875) .11; 1876; LL; 18771;.1 Ve 28747 Wa asgor VI1., 1880. ] LXXXVIII. 1876-77-78—Restoration of Salmon to the Connecticut River.—In 1876 a single salmon was taken in the Connecticut ; in 1877 several; in 1878 more than 600 individuals. These were the first seen in the river since the exclusion of the species,from the river by the building of the Millers’ River Dam in 1798. [Report U.S. F.C., V., p- ao; Vol, 1. Sle LXXXIX. 1876—/utroduction of Whitefish tnto New Zealand.—At the request of the Government of New Zealand the U. S. Fish Com- mission sent a lot of whitefish eggs to that country, a portion of which arrived in good. condition.. [Rep. U., S...F...C.,, IV.,. p. *27.] ,1877.— Through the mediation of the U. S. Fish Commission arrangements were made between the Government of New Zealand and Mr. Frank N. Clark for the sending of whitefish eggs to New Zealand. The ex- periment was successful. [Rep. U.S. F. C., V., p. 39.] XC. 1876—Establishment of the Arkansas Fish Commésston.—The Ar- 54 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. kansas Commission was organized in 1876, N. H. Fish, J. R. Steelman and M. B. Pearce being appointed commissioners. XCI. 1876—Establishment of the Kentucky Fish Commdsston.—By fish law of Kentucky, approved March 2oth 1876, the Kentucky Commission was organized by the appointment of ten commissioners, one from each congressional district. Mr. Pack Thomas was the active worker and was elected President of the Board. Up to 1880 $11,000 had been appropriated for fish culture. [Reports: I. 1876; I., 1878; Il. (second biennial), 1879.| XCII. 1877—Establishment of the Kansas Ftsh Commdsston.—In 1877 Mr. D. B. Long was appointed Commissioner of Fisheries for Kansas. Up to 1880 $2,000 had been appropriated for fish culture. [Reports: (biennial), I., 1878 ; II., 1880.] XCIII. 1877—Jntroduction of the Madue Maraena tnto the United States—By the courtesy of Mr. R. Eckhardt, of Lubinchen, Germany, who presented 1,000 eggs of the Madue Maraena (Coregonus maraena) to the U. S. Fisk Commission, this species was introduced into Gard- ner’s Lake, Michigan. [Rep. U.S. F. C., IV., p. 16%; V., p. 40*.] XCIV. 1877—Artifictal Hatching of the Herring and Detscovery of a Method of Retarding their Development—Experiments were success- fully carried out by Dr. H. A. Meyer, of Kiel, Germany, in hatching and retarding the development of the eggs by cold, and in hatching them by Vinal N. Edwards, of the U. S. Fish Commission. [Rep. U. S. F.C., V., p. 45*”; VI., p. 629.] These experiments in hatching were repeated at the U. S. F. C. station in Gloucester in 1878, by Mr. Frank MaClark. (Rep. U.S. FAG, V 1; p.39:] XCV. 1877—Establishment of the Clackamas Hatchery —A hatching station established by the salmon canners of the Columbia River, and carried on under the supervision of Mr. Livingston Stone. [Rep. U. Sb ., V4) pp.'22*, 31* 4° This was continued, by the aid"*ot’ the Ur oe. Mein. to7o. “Peeples. PC Vile py. 273] XCV1. 1877—/ntroduction of Carp into the Untted States —On the 26th of May, 1877, Mr. Rudolph Hessel, acting for the U. S. Fish Com- mission, deposited 227 leather and mirror carp and 118 scale carp in the ponds of the Maryland State Hatching House at Baltimore. A few carp had some years previously been introduced by Mr. Poppe, of Sonoma, Cal., which were utilized for his own private purposes. [Rep. eran, Vash. foe XCVII. 1877—Establishment of the Government Carp Ponds—The Government carp pond on the Monument Lot, Washington, were es- tablished in 1877 by the passage of an appropriation by Congress. TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. | 55 ee From this pond several hundred thousand carp have already emanated to all parts of the United States. [Rep. U.S. F. C., V., p. 43*.] XCVIII. 1877—Jntroduction of California Salmon into Europe-—On the 18th of October Mr. Fred Mather sailed for Europe with 300,000 eggs of the California salmon from the U.S. Fish Commission, con- signed to England, France, Germany and Holland, all of which, ex- cept 25,000, which were packed in a refrigerating box of his own con- struction, perished. [Rep. U.S. F.C., V., p. 34*.] On the 23d of October, 1878, Mr. Mather again arrived in Bremen- haven with 250,000 eggs for Germany, 100,000 for France, 15,000 for Great Britain, and 100,000 for the Netherlands. This venture was en- tirely successful. XCIX. 1877—Dzéscovery of Planted Salmon in the Delaware River and in the Susquehanna.—In November, 1877, a mature female salmon was taken in the Delaware, at Trenton, supposed to have been planted in 1872 or 1873. In 1878 several hundred were taken. [Rep. U.S. F. C., V., p. 36%; VI, p. XXxi.| May 11th, 1878, a salmon 40% inches large was captured in the Sus- quehanna at Havre de Grace. [Rep. U.S.F. C., VL, p. XxX1., 941.] C. 1877—Jnvention of the Ferguson Plunging Buckets for Hatching Fish.—In 1877, the system of plunging buckets, worked by steam, for hatching shad in tidal waters, then newly devised by Major T. B. Fer- guson, was first tested at Havre de Grace by the joint efforts of the United States and the Maryland Fish Commissions. In 1878, 10,000,- ooo shad were hatched out with this apparatus by the U. S. Fish Com- mission. [Rep. U.S. F. C., V., p. 847, VI., p. lvi., 611.] Cl. 1877—Establishment of the Colorado Fésh Commisston.—In 1877 Mr. Wilson E. Sisty was chosen commissioner for Colorado, Up to 1880 $2,400 had been appropriated for fish culture. [Reports I. and II., 1879 (?); II] and IV., 1881. | CIl. 1877—Establishment of the Nevada Fish Commisston.—A fish commission for Nevada was created in 1877, and Hon. H. G. Parker appointed commissioner. Up to 1880 $5,000 had been appropriated for the use of the commissioner. [Reports (biennial), I., 1879.| CIIl. 1877—Establishment of the West Virginia Fish Commisston.—In 1877, the West Virginia Commission was established by the appoint- ment of John W. Harris, Henry B. Miller and C. S. White as commissioners. Up to 1880 $3,900 had been appropriated for the pur- poses of fish culture. CIV. 1878—Jnvention of the Wroten Bucket——This ingenious con- trivance, a modification of the Chase jar, was invented in 1878 by W. T. Wroten. [Rep. U.S. F.C., VI., p. 616.] 56 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. CV. 1878—IJntroduction of Soles into the United States—-On the 6th of January, 1878, Mr. Mather, who had been sent to England by the U.S. Fish Commission for the purpose of procuring a supply of soles, deposited two soles on Stelwagen Bank in Cape Cod Bay. [Rep. U. Slt. Go Vj Dud, )96G3] CVI. 1878—Captures of Planted Shad in California Révers——In the year 1878 over a thousand shad were caught in the Sacramento River, being fish planted in 1871 by Seth Green for the California Fish Com- mission, or of others sent in subsequent years by the U. S. Fish Com- mission... |Report) U.S..F.,€;, V1.5, p. xxxvii:| CVII. 1878—Cafpture of Planted Shad in the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and the Rivers of Alabama.—In the spring of 1878 several hun- dred shad, doubtless from those planted in 1872, were taken in Ohio River at Lowville. These were derived from a deposit of 30,000 made by Seth Green in the Allegheny River, and by Wm. Clift at Salam- anca, N: Y., in 1872, in behalf of and at the expense of the U. S. Fish Com. Others taken at Madison, Ind.; Mt. Carmel, IIll.; Steubenville, Ohio; Nashville, Tenn. Shad were taken also in the Coosa River, Ala. [Report U..SiF, ©..V1., p: xxxvil-ixe CVIII. 1878— The Successful Propagation of Cod—In the fall of 1878 an experiment of propagating codfish was carried on by the U. S. Fish Com. at Gloucester, under the supervision of Mr. J. W. Milner and Capt. H. C. Chester. About 9,250,000 eggs were obtained, and about 1,500,000 were hatched out and turned into the narbor, where in the subsequent years young cod have been unusually numerous. [Rep. Bs... C., VI. paxvien) py 7457) CIX. 1878—ELstableshment of the Tennessee Fish Commisston—In Feb- ruary, 1878, Gov. Porter appointed three fish commissioners for the State. They were: W. W. McDowell, of Memphis; Geo. F. Akers, of Nashville, and W. T. Turley, of Knoxville. No money had been ap- propriated, and the Commissioners have done some work at their own personal expense. CX. 1878—Establishment of the Utah Fish. Commisston—The Utah Fish Commission was created by Act of the Legislature, February 22, 1878. Albert P. Rockwood was appointed commissioner. No money had been appropriated up to 1880. CXI. 1879—Artéjfictal Propagation of the Haddock—In May, 1879, the eggs of the haddock were successfully fertilized and large numbers of young were hatched by Mr. R. E. Earll at the U. S. Fish Com. station in Gloucester. [Rep. U.S. F. C., VI; p. 730:] CXII. 1879—J/nvention of the McDonald Fishway——In August, 1878, Col. M. McDonald, Fish Commissioner of Virginia, devised a form of TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 57 fishway different in principle from all previous, by means of which the water from the dam is delivered down a straight incline sluiceway at an angle of 30 deg. without practical a of velocity. [Report Via. Fish Com., 1879.| CXIII. 1879—ELstablishment of the South Carolina Fish Commisston.— A Fish Commission for South Carolina was created by Act of the Legislature, approved Dec. 23rd, 1879, it was continued under the direc- tion of the Department of Agriculture, A. P. Butler, Commissioner. In 1879 $800 was appropriated and $661.60 was expended. No special appropriation has since been made, the expenses being met by the ‘Department of Agriculture, CXIV. 1879-—Establishment of the Nebraska Fish Commesston. - CXV. 1879--Establishment of the Texas Fish Commission, CXVI. 1879—Establishment of the Wyoming Ftsh Commzsston.— The Wyoming Fish Commission was established by an act, passed in December, 1879, which provided for the appointment of a Commis- sioner, with such deputies throughout the Territory as he might choose to appoint, and appropriated $1,600 for the purpose for the two years ending December, 1881. Henry B. Rumsey was appointed Com- missioner, and he appointed Dr. M. C. Barckwell and Otto Gramm as deputies. CXVII. 1879-—Organzzation of the Central Feshcultural Soctety.— This society held its first meeting at the Palmer House, Chicago, Oct. 1st, 1879, in pursuance to a call by B. F. Shaw and F. Mather. CXVIII. 1880—The Buzlding of the Fish Hatching Steamer, Fésh Hawk.—In 1880, the steamer Fish Hawk, built by the United States Government for the service of hatching fish on a very extensive scale, was launched at Wilmington, Del. ~ CXIX. 1880—The Successful Propagation of the Spanish Mackerel. —In June and July, 1880, the Spanish Mackerel was successfully pro- pagated by Mr. R. E. Earll, at Crisfield, Md., at the same time the King Cero, (cybzum regale.) 1880— The Propagation of the Moonfish (Parephippus faber.)\—At the same time and the same place the moonfish was hatched. CXX. 1880—The International Fishery Exhibetton at Berlin —From March 2oth to June 2oth, 1880, the International Fishery Exhibition was held in Berlin, Germany. The Exhibition, though general in its scope, was intrinsically a fishcultural exhibition, the chief interest being con- centrated in those matters which relate to the culture and preserva tion of fish. 58 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION, The prizes in fish culture were distributed as follows: Gold Medal. Silver Medal. Bronze Medal. Hon. Mention. United States.. 6 I I 3 Germany? 4). 3 I 3 II Rassias \ eGN I I I I Norway ..).. 2 .0=+ I — I Swedem iin iu — I — oss Austria......... — a I a4 Switzerland.... — coe I = Mr. ANNIN moved a vote of thanks to Prof. Goode for his val- uable paper. Carried. Mr. BLackFrorpD thought it a long needed work which had now been done, and would serve as a record. Dr. Hupson asked why the ‘‘ McDonald fishway ” alone was mentioned when there are many others. Pror. GoopeE: All others are merely modifications of existing plans which have been in use in other countries, and the record of whose invention is lost. The McDonald fishway is a new and an original principle. Mr. Maruer: If the McDonald fishway works as well as it appears to in model, it is bound to be the fishway of the future. It looks to be perfect when water is run through a working model. Mr. BLackFrorD: I would refer to the letter of Mr. Page on the introduction of shad into England, and ask if it can be done? _Pror. Goope: Mr. Mather has had some experience with their ocean transportation, and I would call on him. Mr. MatuHer: The shad which we took over in 1874 died at Southampton from starvation. The full account can be found in the reports of the United States Fish Commission. I believe that if the eggs could be retarded in their hatching until the steamer is five or six days out they might be taken over safely. The trouble is that there is no food in the water taken out to sea as there is in river water, when we cross our continent. Mr. Puitiiprs: How low a temperature would it require to keep them for that length of time, and how low a degree can the eggs of this summer spawning fish bear? TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 59 Mr. Matwer: Perhaps a steady temperature of 65° Fahr. would retard them for five days, but it would require careful experiment. I doubt if they would hatch at 50 degrees, or if they did burst the shell, if they would live to take food. Pror. Goope: The eggs of the sea herring have been kept for a long time and hatched, and it has been argued from this that it can be as readily done with the shad, but the case is very different. Dr. Meyer, of Kiel, kept herring eggs for months by the use of ice. Mr. MatuHer: Whitefish eggs canalso be kept. I saw them in December in Clark’s hatchery, which were kept in an ice chest, and Mr. Clark thought he could keep them until June. Pror. GoopeE : It is easy enough to keep the eggs of fishes in a refrigerator if they are of a species which, like the herring, spawn on a falling temperature ; but the shad spawn on a rising temperature. They will wait about rivers until the water gets warm enough to suit them, before they deposit their spawn. Mr. Biackrorp: The Professor’s explanation is conclusive that the eggs of shad will not bear the same treatment as the fall spawners. Mr. Phillips has some facts on the sturgeon fisheries which are important, and we would like to hear from him. Mr. Puiturres: I have been surprised at the amount of stur- geon which comes to New York—z,000,000 pounds. It is now scarce. The men who smoke sturgeon have asked me to lay the fact of their growing scarcity before this Association. I think it would be desirable to propagate this fish. Pror. GoopE: The sturgeon fishery ranks in value among the first fifteen valuable fisheries of the country, leaving out the Mollusks. Its annual value is $350,000. Tue PresIDENT then said that if there was nothing else of importance before the meeting to-day he would call for the Treasurer’s report. } Report of the Treasurer accepted. Election of officers being next in order, a Nominating Com- mittee was appointed. The meeting then adjourned until 12 o’clock the following day. 60 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. SHO.) ND »ddsAc¥ » The meeting was called to order, and the Nominating Com- mittee reported in favor of the following officers, who were elected : Robert B. Roosevelt, President. Geo. Shepard Page, Vice-President. Eugene G. Blackford, Treasurer. Barnet Phillips, Corresponding Secretary. James Annin, Jr., Recording Secretary. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. Fred. Mather, G. Browne Goode, Samuel Wilmot, Benjamin West, Thomas B. Ferguson, James Benkard, John B. Morgan. The following members were present: R. B. Roosevelt, E. G. Blackford, James Annin, B. Phillips, F. Mather, C. M. Evarts, G. Browne Goode, J. B. Morgan, J. S. W. Thompson, E.R. Wilbur, W) A'-Conklin, A.’ DY McGovern)! Dr "Hudson; Ss)". Maller, Al. Haley, “Geo: Lampitdrt Dr f° Bi Primnable, ise French, Geo. Ricardo, Geo. Chappel. NEW MEMBERS. Robert T. Morris, 10 Morton street, New York; David T. White, New York; Wm. A. Wilcox, Boston; Chas. Barrett, Graf- ton, Vt.; Chas. Hawlett, Woodsburg, L.1I.; Prof. Atwater, Mid- dletown,: Conn.; G. N. Woodruff, Sherman, Conn.; John D. Hicks, Roslyn, L. I.; Samuel Whitney, Katonah, N. Y.; Frank Endicott, 57 Beekman street, New York; Geo. H. Shafer, Fulton Market; Abel Crook, 99 Nassau street, N. Y. TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 61 GENERAL STATISTICS. BY BARNET PHILLIPS. Last year one of our most useful and practical members, Mr. G. S. Lamphear, presented to the notice of this meeting care- fully prepared statistics, relating to the total pounds of each kind of fish received in the wholesale markets of this city. These tables, the result of a great deal of careful investigation, were perhaps the first of the kind ever brought to your notice. I need not suggest to you all the deductions which arose from these figures. I may cite, however, the following. It is only by such exact figures that we can arrive at positive determinations in regard to the abundance or a scarcity of any particular fish. Now, this abundance or scarcity may be general or local. New York city, with capacious maw, devours an incalculable quan- tity. I use the word incalculable perhaps in a poetic sense, for it is more or less impossible to count the fish. To be less vague, let us say that our markets draw to themselves an enormous quantity of fish. If fish, then, be scarce in one locality, this want of fish is supplied necessarily from another quarter. This area of productive water is then, by means of easy transporta- tion, always yielding a certain quantity of fish. Say that cod are scarce off Sandy Hook—the demand for cod brings in fish from Gloucester, from Maine. Take striped bass. It may not be found at one season in the North River, but the supply may come from the Delaware or from the Chesapeake. | It is, then, the gross quantity of fish received in New York which tells us absolutely whether a fish is generally scarce or plenty. Now, with such tables as have been made by Mr. Lamphear, to be sup- plemented later by other compilations which the United States Fish Census will shortly have ready, I believe we will get to the great bottom facts in regard to fish, whether caught on our coast or in our inland waters or lakes. If we do get these figures as accurately as human investigations can make them, we shall then better determine what kind of fish, being scarcer, may pre- _ sent themselves to our special care as worthy of culture. It would be very presumptuous on my part, not having the 62 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. whole series of figures, to advance any judgment on this subject. I may, however, be very certain that in some special localities sea fish are scarcer than they were in former years. Professor Baird informs us on the best authority—and I may say that no one is more careful and accurate than our most distinguished fellow-member, the United States Fish Commissioner—that hal- libut, once plenty, are becoming scarcer every day. Formerly it was caught near shore in large quantities ; to-day long and ex- pensive trips have to be made to secure it. Spanish mackerel is also another most prominent case of the absence of a fish, most particularly in the waters adjacent tothis city. Although it does not come within the province of this brief paper to enter into details accounting for the absence of the Spanish mackerel in New York waters, I can only state that it is believed to arise mainly from the dumping of the city refuse in our bay. Now, as to that great staple fish which forms the bulk of our fish food, cod, perhaps its absence in certain localities will be found to be quite positive, though such want of fiish in one area may be made up by catches in other quarters. The object, then, of such specific investigations derivable fron the examination and comparison of this vast series of fish tables, which will be sub- mitted to the United States Fish Commissioner, will he to elim- inate these facts: Whether fish of a certain kind have been plenty or scarce. There is every reason to suppose, in looking at this vast subject in a general way, that constancy being a rule of nature, the quantity of the sea fish will not vary a great deal , when an average of years is taken. It is unsafe to corner nature. | The year 1880 may have been a bad year for fish, which we will call A and a good one for another fish, which we will call B. But had we been able to study the decade from 1870 to 1880, we might have found in certain years A was plenty and B scarce, and so the general average of A and B were about the same. But now, though we might arrive at this deduction, that is no reason why we should not, if we could, try and make A and B plenty all the year raund. A is scarce off New York Bay and continues getting scarcer, and fairly plenty off*Cape Cod. To get the fish A from Cape Cod may be easy enough, but still A will cost a fraction more to bring it to New York market. These TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 63 7 are then some of the great problems which the Fish Ceusus will solve ; it will give us exact determinations, and, having some fixed sabes to work upon, we will no longer be in the dark. Might I be allowed to state that public opinion, even special opinion in regard to such matters, is worth very little? We are all inclined to take too narrow views of such objects as surronud us. Our own horizon is necessarily limited. A fisherman, a sin- gle dealer, may form his own personal experience declare that fish are scarce, and so they may be. The fisheaman may have had bad luck or the dealer fewconsignments. These individual experidnces are perfectly correct, but their general deductions may be absolutely incorrect. Then again, popular opinion in regard to fishis prone to error. Providing fish remain in the same quantity, are there not incalcalably more mouths to eat them? It is not possible to imagine that while fifty years ago there was one fish and more for every New Yorker (say in 1831), in 1881 there is not one-half of a fish for each person, and that the extra person must be satisfied with the bones? All this means that the fish being the same in the sea, even with increased fishing, there are more fish wanted. The fish is then a fixed quantity, the methods and men necessary to get more fish aug- ment, but the number of people who want to eat fish, must eat fish, increases faster than the other two. There might be then a timearrived at—we do not pretend to fix the date—when the one fish would have to go round among three, five, ten people. If the example of the wants of a single large centre of population may be precised, does not the same rule of supply and demand hold good for the whole country ? Now comes in that which this Association are doing their utmost to advance, and that is fish culture. We have then, say, that fixed quantity, the normal number of fish, and that con- stantly increasing hunger of many more mouths to eat this normal number. Is the first to remain a rigid quantity? The American Fish Cultural-Association believe that this need not be fixed, but that there are possibilities of increasing the number of fish. Now, not so many years ago, all the ends of this asso- ciation were limited to trout culture. We have expanded some- what since then, and with us the science and detail of fish culture 64 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. has wonderfully broadened. We are not now bound within the comparative narrow limits of a stream to grow our fishes. Our pond has widened out until it has become almost an ocean, or if not an ocean, any long expanse of sea coast on which the sea | breaks. What has been the great progress in these last two or three years has been made in the direction of the propagation of sea fish, and it is in this direction that the United States Fish Commission is advancing, and it is to this that the attention of the members of this association is called. We began with the ornamental, we have come down, or come up to the absolutely practical, unornate but useful. From what so many of our good and intelligent newspaper friends will insist on calling “speckled beauties,” we must now come to the descriptive of the commonplace cod. We want the handsomest flowers in the fish bouquet—to use a doubtful metaphor—but we mu t not for- get those other vegetables, the potatoes and the turnips. From the horticulturists we may derive both pleasure to the eye and sometimes to the taste, and even the humble kitchen gardener may ljearn a lesson from him. It is these trout, a handsome show of which Mr. Blackford will present to-morrow, which has made us proficient, as I have been endeavoring to explain, in other larger and better ways. If then I were to tell you that I believe, from something like an actual count, errors excepted, that last year 49,442,900 pounds of fresh fish of all kinds were received in New York, worth $3, 339,827, and that these represented 55,373,862 individual fish— halibut of 150 pounds, or smelt, eight going to a pound, being all counted. Let us hope that by fish culture our children may see these numbers very greatly increased, not only by the intro- duction of new fishes, which stupid prejudice now turns away from, but by the actual propagation of more fish. Mr. Blackford called attention to a few viviparous perch from California, sent by Mr. B. B. Redding. They were examined and two were opened but the insides were too decomposed to trace the presence of young. - - TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. - 65 FISHES WHICH CAN LIVE IN BOTH SALT AND FRESH WATER. BY FRED. MATHER, In respect to the medium which they inhabit fishes may be di- vided into three classes, viz.: salt water fishes, fresh water fishes, and a third class which can live in either fresh or salt water in- differently. There is no name for this class, that I can learn, and, if there is no objection, I will propose to call them Amphiectous fishes, from the Greek Amphz, both or everywhere, and Ozkeo to inhabit. This class includes many fishes besides the anadro- mous fishes which leave the sea and seek the rivers to spawn, and the catadromous fishes which leave the fresh to spawn in salt or brackish waters, as the eel does. It contains fishes which seem to be indifferent to the medium which they breathe so far as its saltness or freshness is concerned, provided the change is not made too suddenly, and it is an open question if the chemical properties of salt water are of as much importance to the fishes living in it as its destiny is, but it is one that I have no inclina- tion at present to discuss. ie Foremost among the fishes which seem at home, as far as breathing and procuring food are concerned, in either salt or fresh water, are most members of the salmon family, I say most members because there are some which do not seem to have been observed in salt water, but as I think it highly probable that all members of this family, which as at present constituted includes the salmons, trouts, smelts and the coregont or ‘““whitefishes,” “Jake-herrings,” graylings, ciscoes, etc., are descended from a common ancestor and have been differentiated by physical causes, there would seem reason to suppose that the graylings and other untried members might live in salt water also. These fishes may not be able to increase their species without access to fresh waters, as the density of salt water is probably too great for the gills of the embryo, even if it did not destroy the embryo before its gills were formed. In some experiments which I made a few years ago with young quinnat salmon of six months old, it was found that when placed in sea water they showed signs of uneasi- 66 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. ee ee ee ee ee a ness at first, then of a desire to keep their noses out into theairand to jump out of the tank, after which théy became exhausted and be- gan to die in half an hour after immersion in it. This trial did not prove that salmon of six months old could not have lived in sea-water provided the change had not been sudden. In a state of nature there are no such sudden changes, and young fish making their first voyage from the upper waters of a river to the ocean may consume several months in the journey, dropping down gradually and hardly noticing the increasing density from day to day to which they have become accustomed. The list of fishes which live in either salt or fresh water as given by the late Prof. Milner is as follows: Gataion:. (2). Pest he SY Nod) DO er BPRS Salmo salar Scat rower ei KR) Te... Bolu: JR RE BR eel S. zmmaculatus Brook-isout. wad: sfeiio: . minh eet Qaheeih S. fontinalts Mimatensht« 5.4 bagereesisepte ss ee we wee wae Aad. $e Coregonus sp. ST a [ee Oe ee eee ey ES er rs yee Osmerus mordax Four-spined-stickleback..«).........6 4: Pe eR Apeltes guadracus American Sole,,or hog Choker... Cats eons Achirus lineatus BEML COM Ay ae cle wree-c ange, ess Sole ie See ....Microgadus tomcodus SWetped bass, Ol TOCKISIT A oo). fc... aie anaenee ode Roccus lineatus PRUE GCM Nr. ime ee os Se pa ones Morone americana miiver gar, Or nish A oY. Me Bee Te. Belone longtrostr¢s Sita bs PSE OMNES BEI IR SER! sae Alosa sapidisstma Plowile wt (neds. sosfols salem pata Pomolobus pseudoharengus Satlor (shath) xc: sdelertd tie did dé Bag ok tele ale P. medtocris Hickory shad, or toothed herring...... .. Dorosoma cepedianum RS es ORR, oe Sen MN Oe SS ey Anguilla bostontensts NAT D-TMOSCO SUBETCON <3: 2. oat So Actpenser oxyrhynchus Siete HOsed SIMLOCOM. .! 5. \s vi asuie cee eee ce A. brevirostris TSMRUVEN RR ee se aes as” s Se eee Ree ee Petromyzon americanus Of these nineteen fishes Prof. Milner says: “Eight of the fishes named are believed to enter the rivers solely for the pur- pose of spawning.” The genus Pomolobus has been divided by Prof. Goode, since Mr. Milner wrote, into two species, it would therefore add another. TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 67 To this list I can add: en-sSpined SUCKIEDSOme . 1 ue. as .... Pygosteus occtdentalts PUOUIOGE. .:. suo ag siaeec Pierro Pseudopleuronectes americanus Killy fishes Of Mummies... °°... ....Cyrrinodonttd@ sp. sp. ARGHOVY Or Spealiiier.: . nee cress «ae .... Engraults vittatus Sawfish... ROR aac eds i ead Lo Prist¢s antiquorum The flounder I have taken in Currituck Sound, which is fresh water now, but was salt twenty years ago. It wasin winter and not in the spawning season. A species of ray was found in the interior of Eastern Africa and the sawfish is said to exist in Lake Nicaragua and in Laguna de Bay, near Manila. The others I have taken in fresh water or experimented with in aquaria. I also hear that pike (#so0x) are taken in the brackish and even salt waters of Maryland, but diligent inquiry among fishermen on the south side of Long Island, where the little “mud pike” (Z. americanus or £. fasciatus) is found in great numbers, failed to learn of its going-into salt water, although found in the salt bays where fresh water pours in. Animals with soft skins are easily affected when changed from fresh to salt water. Frogs die soon, and, as they breathe by means of lungs, it follows that it is entirely from osmosis, or absorption by the skin, and prob- ably our catfishes (S7/uridz) would not stand the change well, although there are two marine species (4lurichthys marinus and Aritopsts milbertt) on our coast. I am informed by Professer G. Brown Goode that sting rays (Zrygon centrura) are found in Lake Harney on the headwaters of the St. John’s River, in Florida, while the following species are often found in the river in pure fresh water above Jackson- ville: SHCCDS CA sek pias. deel: intake Archosargus probatocephalus Salon SCM ee) sie Lagodon rhombotdes ‘The founderor New. York uke, cons... Paralicthys dentatus ETE Bele yea . | exe) FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION, how fish yield their eggs by millions.. The queen bee, it is said, has her 50,000 eggs aseason. But the fecundity of fish might as well be expressed by some algebraic formula as this— exj=o—, ‘Bertram: in-his “Harvest of the Sea,” say tiatine counted the separate eggs in the roes of some of our fish. He counted exactly 7,000,000 eggs in a sturgeon. In codfish he gives 3,400,000; - in. flounders)’ 1)250,000-" in’ 'Soles:” tioo0}coo* and" im mackerel, 500,000. | We cannot too much admire the nice accuracy of scientific scrutiny and enumeration. Let us take a glance at these strictly accurate figures. We will estimate the value of herring—in the raw state—at one dollar a hundred. We have to pay at retail in the markets five or six cents each for the manufactured (smok- ed) article. At adollara hundred, a little school of codfish of the area of Rhode Island consumes, in one year, herring to the value of $473,928,000,000! Gentlemen can see at a glance that the an- nual appropriations made by the sub-marine directors of schools, must exceed this sum many thousand times for the codfish es- tablishment alone! What has Congress done that is in any degree comparable with this encouragement of fish-culture? We call ourselves a wealthy nation; yet we spend less than $80,000,- ooo a year for our schools—while one little codfish school costs for its support every year, nearly thirty times the assessed val- uation of all our real and personal property! But I will not mortify you with any more humiliating calculations. Let these give you some incentive towards the important work of fish- culture. | Where do the fish go? Comparatively few of them reach our tables as food. They have the delight of eating each other. The smaller pass their time in guarding against being eaten by the larger fish. If one-half survived there would be no need of re- storing our shipping—navigation would cease. FISH AS ICHTHYOPHAGI., This reminds me that fish are cannibals, as my motto indicates, Fish prey on fish, and live fish like live fish; so that we need have no compunction when preying on them. Professor Rice, of the New York Commission, has designated THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. IOI the kind of fish on which different fish feed. Some are select, like the striped bass; others omniverous, like the bluefish; and all are enormous feeders. Eight alewives of three-quarters of a pound each, were found in‘a sixty-six pound striped bass! Forty mullets were found in a thirty-pounder! I have seen in the fjords above the Arctic Circle, in the swift tide-currents, endless flocks of birds, ready to devour the fish that congregate to destroy other fish. Sharks, porpoises, and other fish of prey know when and where to find the weak “ Innocents Abroad.” SPORTIVE ELEMENT. No Bergh has yet appeared to prohibit the fish in their gam- bols after other fish, or to enjoin men from gamboling after them. Indeed, a part of the sport of fishing consists in decoying the wriggling beauties upon the hook. In the North Sea they dou- ble the sport, for they have hook so shaped as to catch a small fish, whose wriggling and struggling attracts the larger fish. It is said that the first admirer of our American beauty, the tradi- tionary husband of the original Mrs. John Smith—nee Pocahon- tas—who settled the earliest English colony on this continent, often fished in the waters of this District; and that he assisted greatly to develop the fishing industry of the rivers round about Jamestown. He fished along our sea-shore as far up as Maine, and gave to his occupation its useful and delightful har- mony when he said: And is it not pretty sport,to hale up two pence, six pence, and twelve pence as fast as you can hale and veare a line? The sportive element which comes out of the same game of chance, with which statesmen of former days pursued horse- racing or poker, gives to its uncertainty and luckiness to the toiler of the sea the charm with which no other laborious pur- suit attracts. Is it not a sort of gratification to watch the unwary fish, to entrap and entice him, not merely by studying his habits and migrations, the weather influences, and the nature of the ground, but by copying the qualities of the fish, its courage, vigor, velocity, and cunning? Thus the sportsman may render 102 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. his pursuit exciting. With nicest skill and judgment he “tackles” the subtle salmon and the wary trout, whose pluck makes the sport so gameful and the flesh so toothsome. THE GENTLE ART. I have had some experience in fishing. May I be pardoned if I refer to the fact that I have fished under the shadows of our Sierras in Tahoe, lake and stream; that I have followed the mountain rivulet Restonica in Corsica, where the waters blanch the bowlders into dazzling whiteness, and the associations of the vendetta and the Bonapartes give a ruddy tinge to the adventure; that I have caught the cod in the Arctic around Cape Nord, under the majestic light of the midnight sun; that I have angled in the clear running Malaren Saltsj6n, which circulates healthfully amid the splendid islets of stately Stockholm; that I have flecked the waters of the Bosphorus, in sight of the historic Euxine and the marble palaces and mosques of two continents; that I have been tossed in shallops along with the jolly fishers of the Bay of Biscay; that I have sauntered near the pillars of Iskanderoon which were erected by a grateful Mediterranean people on the spot where Jonah was thrown ashore by the whale; but where’er I wandered, whether I cast my line— under hanging mountains, Or by the fall of fountains, my thoughts have always bounded o’er the main to ride the league-long rollers on the shores of New Jersey along with my favorite life-savers—to see and feel “the bluefish wriggling on the hooks.” But, notwithstanding these widespread endeavors, I am not prepared to say there has been any perceptible diminu- tion of the quantity of fishes in the waters of our planet! ADVANCEMENT IN FISHING. Marine fishing, from small beginnings in upon the rock-bound coast made its way down to the Chesapeake and James river, where the mollusk helped to swell the gains of our ancestors of eight generations ago. The ventures for cod, mackerel and THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 103 whale carried the pioneers of this trade far out upon the banks of Newfoundland, and into the waters around Nantucket. But it was not until after our civil war that the fisheries be- gan to grow with steady increment. Professor Goode estimates the value of our products now at more than $100,000,000. Our Census bulletins amplify and specify, by States and localities, the products of our fisheries. They show the capital invested in 1880 to be $37,955,349; and the number of persons employed at 131,426. For the variety of this and kindred industries I refer to the table prepared by Professor Goode, which I shall append to my remarks. Its figures are more significant for our legisla- tive action than any ancient, classic or hallowed relations which the curiosities of profane or sacred literature may furnish. NEW INVENTIONS. Beyond all the dreams of poetry, the fables of mythology, or the enthusiasm of such dreamers as Izaak Walton, has been the progress of our fishing industry under the advanced conditions and inventions of our time. It was a great step when Jacquard made his famous net. It astounded the dullards of the -age, and made him fora time a demi-god among the astonished fishermen of France and Eng- land. But it was only a step compared with the strides now being made by the improved, and less expensive apparatus invented to capture, preserve, and transport fish. Our newly fashioned trawling nets, recently on exhibition in South Kensington, are marvels. Our unrivalled fishing-schooner, with its special ad- vantages, captured the admiring thousands who gazed on her model in the British exhibition. The steam-vessels rigged for the whale fishing; the purse-seine and its machinery; the new and deadly explosive harpoon and bomb lance for the monsters of the deep and the deeps below the depths, which our scientific plummets are sounding—all these new modes of force, thus har- nessed by mechanism, have received incentive, inspiration, and aid from the efforts of voluntary and State associations, as well as from home and foreign exhibitions under Federal patronage and appropriations. ed 104 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. MARVELS OF TRANSPORTATION. We may not indulge in the dainties of the Roman epicure who displayed his many hued beauties alive to his guests, be- fore cooking and serving; but for abundant food and plucky game, for marvellous breeding and wonderful distribution, no devices compare with those of our own time and country. By new modes of transit, frozen mullet are brought from New Zealand to be soldin old England, and live carp are sent in tanks over car-wheels from Washington to Dakota and Texas. Under the name of Kennebec salmon, large quantities of salmon from rivers of the Pacific slope are being sold at this moment in New York, and even by dealers’ in Washington markets. The little blue-back (Oxcorhynchus nerka) and the quinnat (Oxcorhynchus cho- vicha) are now sold in this city at the price of 50 cents per pound. These are brought in refrigerator cars from the Columbia river, Oregon, and are 1n such a good state of preservation as to pass readily for Maine salmon. By telegraph to-day, we learn that a car-load of z0,000 salmon from the Dalles, Oregon, is ex route for New York, and is to ar- rive in eight days. This is what may be called the fruit of an enterprise by means of water frozen and water vaporized,—ice and steam,—for the preservation and transportation of this rarest of fish, fresh from the grand river of our Pacific coast. OTHER ELEMENTS OF ADVANCEMENT. The demand for fish-food has been greatly increased by the enhancement in the minds of people of fish as a healthful diet, by the extension of railroads in our country, and by the utiliza- tion of ice in transportation and of cans for preservation. I need not refer to the manufactories for oil and guano, now grown into a great business on the Long Island and New Eng- land coasts. Even the skin of the fish taken is made into glue and isinglass, and has resulted in a large and valuable trade. RANGE OF THE INTERESTS. From Cape Hatteras to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, where mackerel and menhaden are taken; from North Carolina to THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. TO5_ ee Se ee Massachusetts, where the oyster and other mollusks abound; about the keys of Florida, where the red snapper is caught in abundance; from the fur-seal fishery of Alaska to the North Pa- cific, which our\whalers penetrate; from the waters where rolls the Oregon that once heard no sound save its own dashing, but now hears the hum of men engaged ina great industry, to the great lakes, where white-fish play around the isles made memo- rable by Perry’s victory; from one end of our land to the other, over one hundred thousand of hardy men pursue this interesting and adventurous industry. A million souls depend upon the pursuit. Their fleet is nearly 7,000 vessels and 45,000 boats. We may signal from this Capitol and District to these toilers of the sea our interest in their avocation, and elevate and protect it without detracting from or burdening other interests. Here there can be no “ over-production.” POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC NOMENCLATURE. I sometimes wonder whether we would not popularize the in- terest in this industry more, if we could only interpret to the people the remarkable names of the fishes we catch and con- sume. The dead Latinity of their nomenclature is more terrific than some of the monsters of the deep of which poetry and fable are full. I hold in my hand a treatise by Professor Goode and Mr. Bean. It is a part of the proceedings of the United States National Museum. It says that in a paper on the fishes of Nova Scotia and Labrador, Mr. R. H. Storer described a species under the name of P/atessa rostrata. ‘This species,” it is said, “has been a puzzle to ichthyologists.” Dr. Gunther, in 1862, ven- tured to remark that it appears to be allied to the Pleuronectes rostrata. Professor Gill, in 1861, referred it to his nominal genus Myzopsetia, and in 1864 to Limanda. All of which is quite puz- zling to those who are not ichthyologists; but the classification appears clear when we find out that the fish thus clad in this bewildering Latinity is-—a flounder! But it is none the less a delight to know that when one is tasting the luscious shad at this, its season, that it is of the Anadromous kind, of the herring family, known as Clupea sapidississima; or that we may alternate 106 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. our worship in Martha’s Vineyard in midsummer with a qua- haug bake of the Venus mercenaria! That’saclam! [Laughter.]| What a joy to know, when meandering around Tom’s river, in New Jersey, that we can perceive the backward movement and shadow in the water of the Callentctes hastatus. That’s a crab! [| Laughter. | Perhaps this refinement in terminology is the rebound from the peculiar patois of the fishmonger from earliest times. In Greece and Rome, later in Italy and Spain, the fishermen or fish dealers—especially mongers of the gentler sex—were noted for their uncontrollable vivacity of tongue. Billingsgate has sur- vived the demolition of other famous gateways into London It is to-day an illustration of a business that runs up to £120,000 and is growing beyond precedent. How picturesque is the de- scription given of this famed locality: If without the trouble of taking a long journey we desire to witness the results of the British fisheries, we have only to repair to Billings- gate to find this particular industry brought to a focus. At that pisca- torial bourse we can see in the early morning the produce of our most distant seas brought to our greatest seat of population, sure of finding a ready and profitable market. The aldermanic turbot, the tempting sole, the gigantic codfish, the valuable salmon, the cheap sprat, and the universal herring, are all to be found during their different seasons in great plenty at Billingsgate; and in the lower depths of the market buildings countless qnantities of shell-fish of all kinds, stored in im- mense tubs, may be seen; while away in the adjacent lanes there are to be found gigantic boilers erected for the purpose of crab and lobster boiling. Some of the shops inthe neighborhood have always on hand large stocks of all kinds of dried fish which are carried away in great wagons to the railway stations for country distribution. About four o'clock on a summer morning this grand piscatorial mart may be seen in its full excitement—the auctioneers bawling, the porters rushing madly about, the hawkers also rushing madly about seeking persons to join them in buying a lot, and so to divide their speculation; and all over is sprinkled the dripping sea-water, and all around we feel that “ancient and fish-like smell,” which is the concomitant of such a place. There has ever been a deal of satire against the frugal and hard-worked fish-wives; not merely those who congregate in Billingsgate, but in all fisherland, and in every market where THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 107 ——— grotesque repartee, “shapely shanks,” and dulcet voices are at a premium. We know how the humorous sally of Daniel O’Con- nell silenced the furious fish-hawker of Dublin. He called her a “ parallelopipedon,” a regular solid, a prism, whose base was a parallelogram! She succumbed before his transcendent power of vituperation. Had he been compelled to go through the ordeal of a whole fish market as I have seen it in France, where al]— Were mad to speak, with none to hearken,— They set the very dogs to barking, he would have prayed for the extension and advancement of a scientific nomenclature, rather than endure a jargon of Babel and Bedlam combined. -A NEW CLASSIFICATION. It would seem a safe remark for a layman in this fishing busi- ness, to say that fish live in water. But when I meet with the fact that a species is found in Ceylon that lives in the earth or exists in mud, not to mention others that fly in the air and perch on trees, it will be confessed that a classification under the head of water-animals is less scientific and certain than under that of vertebrate. Perhaps I may say that fish are the only animals, except the rhetorical man, whose breathing apparatus requires to be kept moist by fluid saturation! REASONS FOR LEGISLATION. We find in Bertram’s *‘ Harvest of the Sea” this very pertin- nent question: “Why should not an acre of water become as productive as an acre of land?” If this is suggestive for Europe, how much more suggestive as applicable to our own country ! The answer given on this point with reference to France, Ger- many, and England is—that fish-culture in those countries is es- sentially practical, hence, it is not much wonder that in France it has been taken under the protecting wing of the State. But I forgot that I am speaking on a mere motion of thanks. Besides, I yesterday had occasion to speak at length in Con- gress in favor of Professor Baird’s bill for the preservation of 108 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. the shad and herring of the Potomac. We carried it hand- somely. I have already spoken too long. I meant merely to refer to what my friend has stated so eloquently, and to make the mo- tion which has already been made. 1 cannot, however, cease without referring to one matter, which is, that in our legislative action in Congress in connection with fishing and fish-culture, we have not been behind other nations, or rather legislative bodies. It is pleasing to know that we have furnished all the appropriations necessary to enable us to meet the nations of the world, both at Berlin and at London. I believe such appropri- ations should continue to be made. They will enable us to solve; as no other nation can, the problem which you fish-culturists are trying to solve here, and which France,.Germany and Eng- land are now solving. With scientific applications to the multiplication of fishes, we shall always, with the aid of liberal appropriations from Federal and State governments, not only be able to increase our food supply, but also to meet the nations of the world in happy rivalry and successful competition. I will say in conclusion: All honor to men engaged in this work! All honor to the Congressmen who can elucidate its value to the satisfaction of the people. All honor to the men, nay to this chief of men Professor ‘Spencer fF. | Baird, *who received ithe grand medal from the Emperor of Germany at Berlin, as the greatest of all living fish-culturists. All honor to Professor George Brown Goode and his associates at Berlin and London, who bore away the highest prizes given in Germany and Eng- land. I want these honors to come while they are full of life, faith and hope, and can enjoy them. They are worthy of the commendation of Professor Huxley, who said that Professor Baird, Professor Goode and his associates, by their energy, pa- tience, and scientific research, have made the world more and more comfortable for mankind. By their exertions they have advanced into high favor, the doctrine of applying science to human ends. I, therefore, ask you, Mr. President, to put the question of thanks to Professor Lyman for his very able address. I wish I could add to it that emphatic sentiment of the people, THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 10g —oooooo OOO eee who in their homes all through the land gratefully commend the efforts of the United States Fish Commission. The Presipenr of the meeting proposed a vote of thanks to Hon. Theodore Lyman, for his eloquent and instructive ad- dress. Hon. James B. Groomg, referring to Hon. S. S. Cox’s statement that Ohio had originated and New York perfected fish-culture, remarked: “I beg to say also that Ohio produced and New York perfected the model Congressman.” [Applause.] The CuHairMAn proposed a vote of thanks to Hon. S. S. Cox, which was carried unanimously. The meeting then adjourned to meet next day. NOTES PERTAINING TO FISH-CULTURE. BY JAMES ANNIN, JR. Gentlemen and Members of the American Fish-Cultural Association: It is with keen regret that I find at the last moment that I shall be unable to attend this, the thirteenth annual meeting, especially after such care and pains had been taken by the committees in charge to make it of great interest and profit. Business prevents my preparing an extended or elaborate paper, and I but briefly call your attention to’ one or two sub- jects. The California, or rainbow trout, are they a success in waters of the Atlantic coast? In one stream in which they were planted some five or six years ago I consider that they are not. I have reference to Caledonia Spring Creek, Caledonia, Livingston County, N.Y. This stream has contained them longer than any others east of the Mississippi river, but to-day you can catch no more, and no larger ones than you could the second or third year after the first plant was made. Where have they gone? I I1O FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. have not answered it satisfactorily to myself yet. They could not have been all caught out as the stream is preserved. From observations the writer thinks that many have gone down, find- ing their way into the Genesee river and Lake Ontario, just as the California salmon did several years ago; they have gone as suddenly as the salmon. Stories are afloat of large ones being caught miles below. As the spawning season approaches they also run up stream just as far as they possibly can, and as the stream is generally at its best at this season they cannot get back unless they do so before the water subsides. I have often found them in water holes that had no connection with the stream except during high water and where they would die in a short time. I heard of one found in a man’s garden this spring that was nearly a mile away from the stream, the fish had gone up there in a little stream that was formed by melted snow-and rain, and which run dry in aweek. Brook trout generally find their way back and don’t get stranded. You would suppose that the natural increase would keep the stock up in a preserved stream, but it does not in this case, and here I would call your attention to the fact that at the best not more than 50 or 60 per cent. of the many rainbow trout eggs taken at the hatcheries at Caledonia can be impregnated. There is no such percentage of empty eggs of others of the trout family that are handled here: During the past winter I made an experiment with eggs taken from a fine healthy brook trout, impregnated by a number of good males of the same. First, 1 took 350 of-her eves; placed the milt with them and then washing it off as quickly as possible, and forty-five seconds after taking the eggs placed them on the screens in the hatching trough, Next; Il took |350° moreveoos from the same fish and let them stand three minutes before washing off the milt. Next, the remainder of the eggs the fish contained, 335 in number, I let remain in the spawning pan the usual length of time—about thirty minutes. The three lots I carefully placed on trays, picking out the bad ones every day, until they were old enough to plainly show the eye spots, when I counted what I had left of each of them: THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. III First, which had an exposure of forty-five seconds, only 6 were impregnated. Of the second, with exposure of three minutes, 31 were im- pregnated. Of the last, thirty minutes exposed, 208 remained that were good. This is only the result in the case of one fish, but if it should prove the same in all, is it any wonder that fish-culture isa grand SuCCeSss? FISH AND. FISHING AL POINT (bak KOW. ARCTIC ALavaik i. BY JOHN MURDOCH. I have been spending the last two years among the Esquimaux of Northwestern Alaska, and it has occurred to me that a short account of the fishes that they use for food, and the methods they employ in capturing them, might be of interest to the Fish-Cul- - tural Association. Point Barraw, as you probably all know, is the northwestern extremity of the Continent of North America, the place where the coast line, after running nearly northeast from Behring’s Strait, turns and runs in a direction a little south of east toward the Mackenzie river and the northwest passage. The point itself is a long, narrow sandspit, continuing the northeast direc- tion of the coast line for five miles, and then bending to the east- southeast, running on for some three miles more, thus enclosing a sheet of water known as Elson bay. Just at the elbow of the point is a little knoll of land somewhat higher than the rest, and this is occupied by an Esquimaux village. There is another vil- lage about eleven miles down the coast to the southwest. The inhabitants of these two villages together number about three hundred men, women and children. Fish forms an important article of their diet, which consists, I may say, entirely of animal 1 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. substances, and occasionally becomes their chief dependence. East of Point Barrow, and the nearest about fifty miles off, are three large rivers running into the Arctic Ocean, and to these the Esquimaux resort for the purpose of catching the white-fish and burbot with which they abound. Early in October, as soon as the rivers are well frozen/and enough snow has fallen to make sliding practicable, a number of families start out from both villages, with all their hunting and fishing gear, and proceed to these rivers, where they camp in tents, or build snow huts when they can find snow enough, and remain till the daylight gets too short for hunting, which is about the middle of November. Those of the men who are well supplied with ammunition devote themselves to hunting reindeer, while the others and the women attend to the fishing. The white- fish are caught in gill nets made of reindeer sinew, which are set through holes in the ice and allowed to remain, being visited from time to time and the fish removed. Three species of white-fish are caught; a small species belong- ing to the same group as the lake herring, which has been de- scribed by Dr. Bean with the name of Coregonus laurette, the large Coregonus kennicottt, found also in the Yukon, and another large species, also found in the Yukon, which Dr. Bean considers to be undiscribed, and which he proposes to call Coregonus nelsoni, The burbot, or “t/a /u, as the Esquimaux call it, is the ordinary species Lota maculosa,common to all our Northern waters, and is caught with hook and line, though one will occasionally try to swallow a small white-fish which is entangled in the gill net and become * meshed” himself in the attempt. They use a large bone squid, about four or five inches long, having either a barbless hook of iron or copper, of their own manufacture, or a good-sized cod hook, bought from some whale- ship. The bait is a large piece of white-fish, with the skin and scales left on, which is carefully wrapped and sewed around the squid, much in the same way as fishermen on our own coast make an eelskin drail for bluefish. With this they fish through a hole in the ice and take a good many fish. They consume a good many fish, of course, on the spot, but the rest are carefully stored away in a little house built of slabs of ice, and at that THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. Lis season of the year immediately frozen solid. When they are ready to leave camp they break up this mass of frozen fish into lumps of a size convenient to load on their dog sleds, and bring them back to the village in this condition. The season of no sun and short daylight is passed at the vil- lage. This lasts till about the end of January, and then many families again resort to the rivers, and stay, living in snow huts always at this season of the year, till the first or middle of April. Fish do not appear to be quite so plenty at this season as in the autumn, but they still catch a good many. In the meantime: those who have remained at home have not been without a sup- ply of fish food. There is a small species of codfish, the Polar cod (Boreogadus saida), which appears along the coast in large schools about the end of January, or when the sun again begins to rise. We were unable to find out whether the fish really leaves the coast to return in January, but at all events the Esquimaux do not fish for them until then, and say there are none to be found. They would be likely to fish for them were any to be caught, because just at this season of the year they are apt to be pinched for food, as no deer are to be had, and if the ice happens to be unfavorable seals are very scarce. Wherever there is a level field of this season’s ice inclosed by lines of hummocks, the fish are sure to be plenty. Such a field as this, about half a mile long, practically afforded a living to most of the people in the village during the season of 1883, be- cause that year the ice was very unfavorable for sealing, and food was pretty scarce in the village. The fishing is carried on mostly by the women and children, though one or two old men generally go out, and one or two of the younger men, when they cannot go sealing and food is want- ed at the house, will join the fishing party. Each fisherman is provided with a long-handled icepick, which he frequently leaves sticking in the snow near the fishing ground, a long line made of strips of whalebone, reeled lengthwise on a slender wooden shuttle about eighteen inches long and provided with a copper sinker and two pear-shaped “jigs” of walrus ivory armed with four barbless hooks of copper, and a scoop or dipper made of reindeer antler, with a wooden handle about two feet long. 114 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. Hardly an Esquimaux, and especially no Esquimaux boy, stirs out of the house in the winter without one of these scoops in his hand. To every party of two or three there will also bea good- sized bag of seal-skin, generally made of a piece of an old kayak cover, for bringing home the fish. Arriving at the fishing grounds, each proceeds to pick a hole through the ice, which is about four feet thick, clearing out the chips with the scoop. The “jigs” are then let down through the hole and enough line un- reeled to keep them just clear of the bottom where the fish are playing about. The reel is held in the right hand and serves as a short rod, while the scoop is held in the left hand and used to keep the hole clear of the scum new of ice which, of course, is constantly forming. The line is kept in constant motion, jerked up quickly a short distance and then allowed to drop back, so that the little fish that are nosing about the white “jigs” after the manner of codfish, are hooked about the jaw or in the belly. As soon as a fisherman feels a fish on his hook he catches up a bight of the line with his scoop and another below this with his reel, and thus reels up the line on these two sticks in loose coils till the fish is brought to the surface, when a skillful toss throws him off the barbless hook on the ice, where he gives one convul- sive flap and instantly freezes solid. The elastic whalebone line is thrown off the sticks without tangling, and paid out through the hole again for another trial. If fish are not found plenty at the first hole the fisherman shifts his ground until he “strikes a school.” They are sometimes so plenty that they may be caught as fast as they can be hauled up. One woman will frequently bring in upward of a bushel of the little fish—they are generally about five or six inches long—from a single day’s fishing. This fishing lasts until about the middle of May, when the ice begins to soften. A good many are also caught along the shore in No- vember in about a foot of water when there are tide cracks in the ice. At this season the Esquimaux use.a little rod about two feet long witha short line and a little ivory squid at which the fish bite. During the summer, many of the natives are encamped in tents at a place called Perginak, just at the bend of Elson bay, THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. Il5 and after the ice leaves the bay, gill nets are kept constantly set, and visited from time to time. In these they catch white- fish chiefly, Coregonus laurette, a few salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbus- cha, and another undetermined species, and occasionally large individuals of a sea-run form of Salvelinus malma, the Pacific red- spotted trout. This fishing lasts from the middle or end of July into Septem- ber, but is never very productive. The trading parties that go east to the Colville river in the summer, also catch large quan- tities of fish. Salvelinus malma was so abundant in the summer of 1882, that the dogs were fed with it. Another food fish appeared on the coast in the summer of 1882, which appears not to be utilized by the natives as they have not nets small enough to catch it. This is the caplin, AZa/- lotus villosus, which we netted by the thousand in the outlet of the lagoon close to the station, and found most excellent eating. The natives who live on the river running into Wainwright's inlet, seventy miles down the coast, also catch through the ice a good many smelts, Osmerus dentex, which are as delicious as the smelt of our coast. Fish, when cooked at all, are always boiled; as, indeed, all Esquimaux food is, but many are consumed raw or frozen. Very little of a fish is wasted except the scales and perhaps the larger bones. To close my account of the fish of this region, it may be well to say that the Esquimaux tell of a large lake between Point Barrow and the Colville, in which there are fish “as big as a kaiak.” This certainly has the appearance of a “ fish story.” COMPARATIVE EXCELLENCE OF FOOD FISHES. BY DR. JAMES A. HENSHALL. In this paper I design considering the relative merits of cer- tain fishes as food, solely as to their comparative excellence of flavor, and not, in any sense, as to their nutritive qualities, as 116 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION; commercial fishes, or as food for the masses. The inherent or innate excellence of flavor is alone considered; that is, the fish is supposed to be simply boiled, fried, broiled or baked, without the addition of extraneous substances, as sauces, condiments, etc., except the indispensable salt and perhaps a little black pepper. Moreover, I speak in the light of the ample personal experience of having eaten of all the fishes mentioned, from Montauk Point to Key West, and from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico, and, with the sole exception of the salmon, of having eaten of them all perfectly fresh, or literally out of the water into the kettle, broiler or frying pan, which is the only true test of the peculiar flavor of each fish. Of course one is necessarily guided in such a matter by his own individual tastes and idiosyncracies, and due allowance must be made for this ‘‘personal equation,” though I believe that most persons will agree with the conclu- sions drawn. But there is no accounting for gastronomic tastes. likes and dislikes, which proverbially disagree, as evidenced by the old saying, ‘‘What is one man’s meat is another man’s poi- son,” or to express it more appropriately in this connection, and to perpetrate an old Anglo-Gallic-ichthyc pun: What is one man’s fotsson is another man’s poison. For the sake of conven- ience I will separate the different fishes into several groups: (1) fresh water, (2) anadromous, (3) estuary, and (4) marine. The various fishes in the several groups are arranged in their se- quence according to their degree of merit. FRESH-WATER FISHES. The white-fish (Coregonus clupetformis) is far ahead of all other fresh-water fishes in its exquisite delicacy and richness of flavor. Its flesh is pure white, firm, flaky and free from small bones; and while a “fat” fish, does not cloy the palate like the salmon, mackerel, and other “oily” fishes.” ‘But to realize the delicraus savor and flavor of the white-fish, it is imperative that it be in its best condition, and that it be cooked as soon as possible after being taken from the water; for when in poor condition, or long out of the water, it loses entirely its characteristic excellence. The white-fish is essentially a broiler, being excessively fat in the fall before spawning, when it is in its best condition. Those THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 1T7 of Lake Superior and the Straits of Macinac are preferable to those of other waters of the United States. I have eaten broiled white-fish at the old Mission House, at Mackinac, for twenty- one meals a week and like Oliver Twist, asked for more. It re- sembles, more than any other fish, the pompano in flavor, and in my opinion is second only to that peerless fish in its excellence for the table. The brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), when freshly caught, I consider, among the fresh-water fishes, next to the white-fish for the table; but as obtained at the restaurants, I prefer the black bass or pike-perch. When served up in camp beside a trout stream (the small ones fried, the large ones boiled), the flesh is pinkish, very firm, and of a delicate, delicious flavor, though rather too dry to suit some palates. It is a fish that will not bear transportation, however carefully packed, without losing its savor; and this is likewise true of all delicately-flavored fishes. Moreover, it will retain and absorb the “twang,” and smack of the packing material or the container. The black bass (A@icropterus).—Next to the freshly caught and cooked brook trout, I rank the black bass of either species. Its flesh is pure white, firm, flaky, free from small bones and of a rich, sapid flavor when in proper condition. Just after the spawning period the flesh has a musky taste and odor, which is disagreeable to’some persons. The character of the water has much to do with the excellence of the black bass for the table, and as it inhabits so many waters of different conditions of pur- ity and temperature, there are as many opinions of its gustatory qualities. The small-mouthed bass is generally the best flavored, as it usually exists in the purest waters; but where both species co-exist in the same water there is no apparent difference in taste or flavor. I have eaten small-mouthed bass of some waters which were inferior to large-mouthed bass of others. Contrary to a popular impression, I will state that the finest-flavored black bass I ever ate, and even superior to any brook trout I ever tasted, were large-mouthed bass of certain streams in Florida, notably the upper waters of St. Lucie river, on the east coast, and the Weckawachee river, on the west coast. These are re- T18 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. markably clear and pure waters. Black bass should be fried or boiled, according to size. The pike-perch (St/zostedium vitreum) is a staple fish during the early spring throughout the West, being shipped from the great lakes. It bears transportation well, the flesh being hard, white, flaky, and of good flavor; consequently it is much esteemed dur- ing the Lenten season. It is a very desirable fish for lakes and’ rivers which have a good depth of water, being very hardy and prolific; and .one),of .the best .percoid,; fishes: |The ~smalies ones should be fried, those of six pounds and over should be boiled. The mascalonge (sox nobilior) may be classed as a good din- ner fish in the fall and winter, when it is in its best condition; it has, however, been much overrated. It has yellowish or pink- ish flesh, according to season, which is of good quality and fair flavor, with fewer small bones than any of the pike family. It is never a “‘fat’’ fish, and should be either boiled or cut in verti- cal slices and fried. The Mackinaw trout (Salvelinus namaycush) varies greatly ac- cording to size, season and locality, as to its edible qualities. In the great lakes, where it is taken with the white-fish, it is lightly esteemed in comparison. In other waters, as in the lakes of the Eastern States, it is more highly prized. The flesh is yellowish white to red in different waters, and may be classed as rather good and well-flavored when in its best condition. In good con dition it is a very fat or oily fish, and should be boiled or cut into vertical steaks and broiled. Catfish (Sz/uride). The various species of catfish and bull- heads are good, bad, and indifferent as articles of food. Some of them are really excellent when properly cooked, and would prove an agreeable surprise to most persons who are prejudiced against them. The fork-tailed cat of the lakes and the Missis- sippi (4. nigricans), and the channel cat (/. punctatus), when of suitable size, and when parboiled and baked brown, are not to be despised by an epicure, the flesh being rich and savory, though not very firm. There are a number of fresh-water “ pan fish,” fair in quality, _ which I consider best in the order named, as white bass (Z. THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. I1g chrysops), croppies (Pomoxys), rock bass (A. rupestris), the sun- fish (Lepomis), yellow perch (P. americana), etc. Last and least in point of merit among fresh-water fishes (and which are just better than “no fish”’) are the pike, pickerel, buffalo, suck- GIs; Cte; ANADROMOUS FISHES. The salmon (Sa/mo salar) stands at the head of this group when “fresh run” from the sea. Its excellence is so well known that it needs no further notice here, more than to observe that after spawning no fish is more sorry or ill-flavored. The compara- tive excellence or worthlessness of anadromous fishes, before or after the breeding season, is more strikingly exhibited in the salmon than any other of the group. | The shad (Clupea sapidissima). Of the anadromous fishes, none is so well known or so much appreciated as the shad, whose rich, delicate and luscious flavor is pronounced by many to be superior to that of any other fish. Suffice it to say that he who has never partaken of that Lenten luxury, ‘“ planked shad,” has an epicurean revelation in store that will surprise and delight him. The shad should never be served in any other way than planked or boiled. It well merits its name, sapidissima, and one can tolerate its numerous bones in consideration of its fine flavor. ESTUARY FISHES. This group comprises so many species, and of so widea range, and some vary so much in edible qualities in different waters, that it is difficult to institute a just comparison. The pompano (Zvachynotus carolinus). Although a fish of Southern waters, the excellence of the pompano for the table places it at the head, not only of the estuary fishes, but of all known members of the finny tribe. It is incomparable with any other. While in the restaurants of New Orleans and Mobile it is the fish beyond compare, it is worth a trip to Southern Florida to realize the delectable, luscious savor of a freshly caught and broiled pompano. ‘The salmon, white-fish, and shad alike pale before its superexcellence. A broiled pompano’s head is a don- ne-bouche to eat and dream of for a life-time. See Rome and die, I20 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. eat pompano and live! The pompano has a creamy white flesh, of a gelatinous richness, without the oily taste of most broiling fishes. It must not be confounded with the dark-meated fish called pompano on the Carolina coast, which is a crevalle (Car- anx). The bones of the pompano.are few and soft, and one can eat them ‘ bones and all.” The striped bass (Roccus saxatilis) enjoys a deserved reputation as a table fish. Its firm, white and delicious flesh is so well known that it needs no further comment. The memory of its savory flavor and odor, broiled at camp fires on the Chesapeake, steals over me as I write, with a conscious yearning for the flesh- pots of Egypt. The sheepshead (Diplodus probatocephalus), while excellent in Northern waters is only tolerable in those of the extreme South. North of Cape Hatteras it is justly considered a great delicacy, broiled or baked; while in Florida it is not above mediocrity, having a piquant, pungent flavor that is decidedly unpleasant. The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is another fish that varies in its eatable qualities in different waters, and which, perhaps, depends on the nature of its food. North of Cape Hatteras, it is well-flavored, of good quality and much esteemed, though inclined to be too oily; while in Florida waters it is ex- cellent, far exceeding in richness and flavor those of the North. Its flesh is firm and white, and it should always be boiled or planked. The whiting (Menticirrus nebulosus) is a small, but good fish, one of the best for chowders. It has a fine, white, flaky flesh of rich flavor, and is much esteemed as a breakfast fish, broiled or fried. The weakfish (Cyzoscion regale) is worthless, unless absolutely fresh, when it is peculiarly sweet and gelatinous, fried or boiled. The Southern species, the salt-water trout (C. maculatum), is equally as good a fish for the table. The red snapper (Lutjanus blackfordii) has become a popular hotel and restaurant fish throughout the South and West, where it is shipped from the Gulf of Mexico. It is also extensively shipped to Havana. Being of large size it is a good dinner fish, THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 25 its flesh being rather coarse, but very white, firm, flaky, juicy, and of good flavor. It should be either boiled or baked. The tautog (zatula onitis) has fine white flesh, and broiled or or fried is quite toothsome, with a rich lobster flavor. It does not lose its good qualities when out of water, so soon as most fishes. The redfish (Sczena ocellata) is essentially a Southern fish, though during the summer it ranges as far north as Cape Cod, when it is in its best condition. It grows to a large size, with firm white flesh, of no decided flavor. It is a tolerable dinner fish, and should always be boiled. It is also a fair chowder fish. Crevallé (Caranx). There are several species of crevallé, the C. hippos being the most common in Southern waters. They are dark-meated fishes, firm and flaky, with a sharp, strong flavor (similar to the bonito), which is relished by some but disliked by others. It is an oily fish and should always be broiled. It is easily cured by smoking, when it forms an appetizing dish, far better when fresh, and superior, I think, to smoked halibut. There are quite a number of good estuary “ pan-fish,” among the best being the Lafayette (Z. xanthurus) and white perch (A. americanus. MARINE FISHES, The Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus) stands at the head and front of the pelagic or marine fishes. It is secondasa table luxury only to the pompano and white-fish. It is a creamy, white-meated fish of great delicacy and richness of fla- vor when broiled. By many it is thought to be the best fish that swims. The common mackerel (8. scomérus), when fresh and fat, as in the early fall, is one of the best fishes for broiling. As a break- fast fish it is greatly and justly prized, and is too well known to need further notice here. The codfish (Gadus callarias). 1 mention the codfish out of respect and sympathy for my fellow man, and not for any love that I bear for it myself. It is, perhaps, only necessary to say that at the last annual meeting of your Association, your worthy 22 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. recording secretary declared that he preferred a fresh codfish to the brook trout or black bass.* WEDNESDAY, MAY 147TH. At half-past ten the President called the Association to order, and announced that the election of officers would take place at the afternoon session. The following Committee on Nomina- tions was then appointed to propose officers for the ensuing year: Messrs. G. Brown Goode, R. E. Earll, C. A. Kingsbury, C:;G i Agkine and’ Tarleton H.) Bean,:,~ The -President, furines stated that all names proposed for membership in the Associa- tion would be voted upon during the afternoon session. Mr. Buackrorp: | beg to state that there is one name which I feel that we should add to the list of honorary members, viz.: Professor Spencer F. Baird. I think that this action would be- no more than a fitting appreciation of his great work, and I therefore name Professor Spencer F. Baird as an honorary mem- ber of this Association. The PresipENT: Professor Baird is nominated as an honorary member of this Association; All those in’ favor ‘say Awes: (There being no dissenting voices, the nomination was carried.) The RECORDING SECRETARY: Mr. President, | have received a telegram from Mr. W. F. Witcher, formerly Commissioner of Canada, in which he expresses his inability to attend this meet- ing, on account of family sickness. I have here many letters from members and others who regret their inability to be pres- ent. To read them all would consume the morning. I would; however, ask your attention to three of them. The first is from the father of American fish-culture, who writes: *Being a prominent member of the Ichthyophagus Club, any statement of his regarding the flavor of fishes should be be received with due caution, inasmuch as by virtue of the onerous duties of his office—‘*‘ head taster’’—his sense of taste has presumably become perverted or impaired. THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 123 BEDFORD, Ohio, April 25th, 1884. DEAR SIR :—I am in receipt of the announcement for the Washing- ton meeting of the American Fish-Cultural Association to be held in May. My health is such that it is impossible for me to be there. I feel as much interest as ever in this important industry. What a great debt our country and the world owe to Prof. Spencer F. Baird for what he has accomplished in promoting this industry. I have no paper to be read on that subject at the meeting. I would be glad however if a correction is made in the report of the proceedings of the meeting of 1881. On page 42, under the head of Fish-Culture in America, it is stated that my experiments were made in 1853, and that I read a paper before the Cleveland Academy of Natural Sciences, detailing my experiments, Fébruary 14th, 1854, which is correct. But it is further stated in the report, that my paper was not printed until 1857, which is incorrect, and does me great injustice, as it gives Dr. Bachman four years of priority of publication (or record). My paper was published the month and year that it was read before the Acad- emy, in the “ Annals of Science,” edited by Prof. Hamilton Smith. Iam writing, or trying to write, lying on my lounge, and fear you will find some difficulty in reading my letter. Hoping you may have an interesting meeting, I am, dear sir, very truly yours, T. GARLICK. P. S.—The first edition of my book on Fish-Culture was run through the Ohio Farmer in 1857. Prof. Ackley, my partner in the practice of surgery, never wrote nor published a line on the subject of Fish-Cul- ture. The next letter comes from across the water, and asks that our notices of meetings be issued earlier. It is as follows: BERGEN-OP-ZOOM, gth of May, 1884. To the American Fish-Cultural Association: Mr. CHAIRMAN :—Marshall McDonald’s letter came yesterday to hand, not leaving a ghost of a chance to get a hearing for what I might have to say in the meeting, either by mouth or by paper. Please send in future communications for meeting, if possible, soon- er, to this side of the great fish-pond, to give us time to prepare if we have something to say. I remain, dear sir, yours truly, C.J. BOTTEMANNE, Government Inspector of Fisheries, Netherlands. 124 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. The third relates to the lobster question. It says: Boston, April 25th, 1884. DEAR SIR :—I would say in reply to the circular received this morn- ing thatI regret that I shall be unable to attend the meeting of the American Fish-Cultural Association, which promises to be so interest- ing and instructive. And I earnestly hope the matter in which I am particularly interested (the best method for the preservation of lob- sters), may be discussed and bring out the views of those familiar with fish-culture and protection in its broadest meaning, for I am confident of its importance as compared with other branches of fish-culture, and protection and its intelligent consideration will in the end be of great benefit to the people, for whose good the efforts of this Association are directed. With best wishes for a successful and profitable meet- ing, I remain, Yours respectfully, S: M: JOHNSONS The President then declared the reading of papers to be in order. THE SHELE FISHERIBS OF CON NECZICOR BY DR. WILLIAM M. HUDSON. Before beginning to read my paper I think it is fair to state that, in view of the papers in regard to the special matter of the propagation of oysters, etc., which we shall have from experts, I have thought it best to confine myself entirely to the relations existing between the State of Connecticut and the shell fisheries of that State, especially the oyster. The especial object of this essay will be to consider the rela- tions existing between the State of Connecticut and the public and private oyster beds in Long Island Sound, within the bound- aries of the State. Until 1855, all the vyster grounds of the State were treated as common land, open to every one, and no one having any exclusive right to any portion of them. In 1855, the legislature enacted a law providing for the appointment of com- mittees in towns adjoining the shore, who should have the right, for a given consideration, to designate and allot to private indi- THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 125 viduals, plots of ground not exceeding two acres in extent, for the sole purpose of cultivating oysters. Numerous applications were made to these committees, and many acres of ground, most- ly in the shallow waters of the bays and coves, were designated for this purpose. The State then passed laws recognizing the right of property in these lots, and punishing depredators and thieves for stealing from them. The business of raising oysters gradually increased in magnitude, new laws were enacted for the regulation of the industry, and finally some of the more ad- venturous of the cultivators conceived the idea that oysters might be successfully raised in deeper water than had yet been tried. Their efforts were successful and a new impetus was given to the business. An interesting account of the industry up to and including 1880, may be found in the article contrib- uted by Mr. Ernest Ingersoll to the tenth census of the United States. During all these years a dispute had existed between the States of New York and Connecticut in reference to the re spective boundaries of the two States in Long Island Sound, and also as to that of Connecticut on the west end, and New York on the east; in the former case New York claiming to low water mark on the northern shore of Long Island Sound, and in the latter about 2,600 acres more than Connecticut was willing to concede. Commissioners were appointed by the two States to take the matter into consideration, and after due consultation they re- ported in favor of Connecticut conceding the 2,600 acres in dis- pute on her western boundary to New York, and New York giving to Connecticut about one-half of Long Island Sound, the line running practically through the center. An act carrying out the recommendation of the Commissioners was passed by the legislatures of New York and Connecticut, and finally ap- proved by Congress, February 26th, 1881, and the new boundary was finally fixed. On the 14th of April, 1881, the legislature of Connecticut passed an Act Establishing a State Commission for the Designa- tion of Oyster Grounds, a copy of which is here inserted: L264. FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. CEIAPPTER: Gi: An Act Establishing a State Commission for the Designation of Oyster Grounds. Be tt enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives tn General Assembly convened: SECTION 1. The State shall exercise exclusive jurisdiction and con- trol over all shell-fisheries which are located in that area of the State which is within that part of Long Island Sound and its tributaries bounded westerly and southerly by the State of New York, easterly by the State of Rhode Island, and northerly by a line following the coasts of the State at high water, which shall cross all its bays, rivers, creeks, and inlets at such places nearest Long Island Sound as are within and between points on opposite shores from one of which ob- jects and what is done on the opposite shore can be reasonably dis- cerned with the naked eye, or could be discerned but for intervening islands. And all shell-fisheries not within said area shall be and re- main within the jurisdiction and control of the towns in which they are located, under the same laws and regulations and through the same selectmen and oyster committees as heretofore. It a difference shall arise between any town and the commissioners as hereinafter provided for, as to the boundary line between said town and the area so to be mapped, said town, by its selectmen, may bring its petition to the Su- perior Court for the county within which said town is situated, to de- termine said boundary line, and said court upon reasonable notice to the parties shall hear said petition and appoint a committee to ascer- tain the facts in such case and report the same to said court, and said court shall thereupon make such order as may be proper in the _ premises. SEc. 2. The three fish commissioners of the State now in office, and their successors, shall also be and constitute a board of commissioners of shell-fisheries, and be empowered to make or cause to be made a survey and map of all the grounds within the said area in Long Island Sound which have been or may be designated for the planting or cul- tivation of shell-fish; shall ascertain the ownership thereof, and how much of the same is actually in use for said purposes; they shall also cause a survey Of all the natural oyster beds in said area, and shall lo- cate and delineate the same on said map, which survey and map when completed shall not cost a sum exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars, and shall report to the next session of the legislature a plan for an equitable taxation of the property in said fisheries, and make an an- THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 127 nual report of the state and condition of said fisheries to the legisla- ture, and the said commissioners shall be empowered to appoint and employ a clerk of and for said board, and they shall each give a bond to the State with sufficient surety for the faithful performance of their duties, and for the payment to the State treasurer of all money that may come into their hands under this act in the sum of two thousand dollars. SEC. 3. The said commissioners shall also be empowered, in the name and in behalf of the State, to grant by written instruments, for the pur- pose of planting and cultivating shell-fish, perpetual franchises in such undesignated grounds within said area as are not and for ten years have not been natural clam or oyster beds, whenever application in writing is made to them through their clerk by any person or persons who have resided in the State not less than one year next preceding the date of said application. The said application and the said grant shall be in manner and form as shall be approved by the chief justice of the State, and all such grants may be assigned to any person or persons who are or have been residents of the State for not less than one year next preceding such assignment, by a written assignment, in manner and form approved by said chief justice; and the said commis- sioners shall keep books of record and record all such grants and as- signments therein, and the same shall also be recorded in the town clerk’s office in the town bounded on Long Island Sound within the meridian boundary lines of which said grounds are located. SEc. 4. When any such application is filed with the clerk of said commissioners, he shall note on the same the date of its reception and shall cause a written notice, stating the name and residence of the ap- plicant, the date of filing the application, the location, area, and de- scription of the grounds applied for, to be posted in the office of the town clerk of the town bounded on the said Long Island Sound within the meridian boundary lines of which said grounds are located, where such notice shall remain posted for twenty days. Any person or per- sons objecting to the granting of the grounds applied for, as aforesaid, may file a written notice with the town clerk, stating the grounds of his or their objections, upon the payment to said town clerk of the sum of twenty-five cents, and at the end of said twenty days the said town clerk shall forward all such written objections to the clerk of said commission; and in case such objections are so filed and forward- ed the said commissioners, or a majority, shall upon ten days’ notice in writing, mailed or personally delivered to all the parties in interest, hear and pass upon such objections at the town in which such grounds are located as aforesaid, and if such objections are not sustained and 128 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. the area of ground is not, in the opinion of the commissioners, of un- reasonable extent, they may for the actual costs of surveying and mapping of such grounds, and the further consideration of one dollar per acre, paid to the said commissioners to be by them paid over to the treasurer of the State, grant a perpetual franchise for the planting and cultivating shell-fish in such ground or in any part of the same in the manner aforesaid, and where no such objections are made such grants may be made for the considerations hereinbefore named. At all hearings authorized by this act the said commissioners may, by themselves or their clerk, subpoena witnesses and administer oaths as in courts of law. | SEC. 5. The said commissioners shall, previous to the delivery of any instrument conveying the right to plant or cultivate shell-fish on any of said grounds, make or cause to be made a survey of the same, and shall locate and delineate the same, or cause it to be located and delineated upon the map aforesaid, and upon receipt of said instru- ment of conveyance the grantee shall at once cause the grounds there- in conveyed to be plainly marked out by stakes, buoys, ranges, or monuments, which stakes and buoys shall be continued by the said grantee and his legal representatives, and the right to use and occupy said grounds for said purposes shall be and remain in said grantee and his legal representatives; provided, that if the grantee or holder of said grounds does not actually use and occupy the same for the purposes named, in good faith, within five years after the time of receiv- ing such grant, the said commissioners shall petition the Superior Court of the county having jurisdiction over the said grounds to appoint a committee to inquire and report to said court as to the use and occu- pancy of such grounds in good faith, and said court shall in such case ap- point such committee, who, after twelve days’ notice to the petitioners and respondents, shali hear such petition and report the facts thereon to said court, and if it shall appear that said grounds are not used and occupied in good faith for the purpose of planting or cultivating shell- fish, the said court may order that said grounds revert to the State, and that all stakes and buoys marking the same be removed, the costs in said petition to be paid at the discretion of the court. SEC. 6. When, after the occupancy and cultivation of any grounds designated as aforesaid by the grantee or his legal representatives, it shall appear to said commissioners that said grounds are not suited for the planting or cultivation of oysters, said grantee, upon receiving a certificate to that effect from said commissioners, may surrender the same or any part thereof, not less than one hundred acres, to the State, by an instrument of release of all his rights and title thereto, and shall THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. I29 on delivery of such instrument to the said commissioners receive their certificate of said release of said grounds, the location and num- ber of acres described therein, which shall be filed with the State treasurer, who shall pay to the holder the sum of one dollar for every acre of ground described in said release, where said sum has been paid therefor to the State. And the said release shall be recorded by the said commissioners in their record books, and in the town clerk’s of- fice in the town adjacent to and within the meridian boundary lines of which said grounds are located. For all purposes relating to judi- cial proceedings in criminal matters, the jurisdiction of justices of the peace of the several towns bordering on Long Island Sound shall ex- tend southerly by lines running due south by true meridian from the southern termini of the boundary lines between said towns to the boundary line between the States of Connecticut and New York. SEC. 7. Said commissioners shall provide, in addition to the gener- al map of said grounds, sectional maps, comprising all grounds located within the meridian boundary lines of the several towns on the shores of the State, which maps shall be lodged in the town clerk’s office of the said respective towns, and said commissioners shall also provide and lodge with said town clerks blank applications for such grounds and record-books for recording conveyances of the same, and all con- veyances of such grounds and assignments, reversion, and releases of the same shall be recorded in the books of said commissioners, and in the town clerks’ offices of the towns adjacent to and within the merid- ian boundary of which said grounds are located, in such books as are provided by said commissioners, subject to legal fees for such record- ing, and the cost of all such maps, blank books, surveys, and all other expenses necessary for the carrying out the provisions of this act, shall be audited by the comptroller and paid for by the treasurer of the State, and the said commissioners shall each receive for their services five dollars per day for the time they are actually employed, as pro- vided for in this act; their accounts for such service to be audited by the comptroller and paid by the treasurer of the State. Sec. 8. All designations and transfers of oyster, clam, or mussel grounds within the waters of Long Island Sound heretofore made (ex- cept designations made of natural oyster, clam, or mussel beds), are hereby validated and confirmed. Sec. 9. All the provisions of the statutes of this State relating to the planting, cultivating, working, and protecting shell-fisheries upon grounds heretofore designated under said laws, except as provided for in section eight of this act and as are inconsistent with this act, are 130 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. ; hereby continued and made applicable to such designations as may be made under the provisions of this act. SEc. 10. When it shall be shown to the satisfaction of the said com- missioners that any natural oyster or clam bed has been designated by them to any person or persons, the said commissioners shall petition the Superior Court of the county having jurisdiction over the said grounds to appoint a committee to inquire and report to the said court the facts as to such grounds, and the said court shall in such case ap- point such committee, who after twelve days’ notice to the petitioners and respondents shall hear such petition and report the facts thereon to said court; and if it shall appear that any natural oyster or clam beds, or any part thereof, have been so designated, the said court may order that said grounds- may revert to the State, after a reasonable time for the claimant of the same to remove any shell-fish he may have planted or cultivated thereon in good faith, and said court may further order that all stakes and buoys marking the same be removed, the costs in said petition to be taxed at the discretion of the court. SEC. 11. Any commissioner who shall knowingly grant to any per- son or persons a franchise as hereinbefore provided in any natural oyster or clam bed, shall be subject to a fine of not less than one hun- dred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, and if such franchise is granted the grant shall be void, and all moneys paid thereon shall be forfeited to the State; and the said commissioners shall in no case grant to any person or persons a right to plant or cultivate shell-fish which shall interfere with any established right of fishing, and if any such grant is made the same shall be void. SEC. 12. The Superior Court of New Haven county, on the applica- tion of the selectmen of the town of Orange, and the Superior Court of any county, on the application of the oyster-ground committee of any town in said county, shall appoint a committee of three disinterested persons of the town within the boundaries of which any natural oys- ter, clam, or mussel beds exist, to ascertain, locate, and describe by proper boundaries, all the natural oyster, clam, or mussel beds within the boundaries of such town. Said committee so appointed shall first give three weeks’ notice, by advertising in a newspaper published in or nearest to said town, the time and place of their first meeting for such purpose, they shall hear parties who appear before them, and may take evidence from such other sources as they may. in their dis- cretion deem proper, and they shall make written designations by ranges, bounds, and areas of all the natural oyster, clam, and mussel beds within the boundaries of the town they are appointed for, and shall make a report of their doings to the Superior Court, and such re- THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. I3I pc I a a ee ee, ee port, when made to and accepted by said court, and recorded in the records thereof, shall be a final and conclusive determination of the extent, boundaries, and location of such natural beds at the date of such report. It shall be the duty of the clerk of the court to transmit to the town clerk of each of said towns a certified copy of said report so accepted and recorded, in relation to the beds of such town, which shall be recorded by said town clerk in the book kept by him for the record of applications, designations, and conveyance of designated grounds. Such public notice of said application to the Superior Court, and of the time and place of the return of the same, shall be given by said selectmen or oyster-ground committee as any judge of the Supe- rior Court may order. It shall be the duty of the selectmen of the town of Orange, and of the oyster committees of other towns, upon a written request so to do, signed by twenty electors of their respective towns, to make such application to the Superior Court within thirty days after receiving a copy of such written request, and said applica- tions shall be privileged and shall be heard and disposed of at the term of said court to which said application is returned, in preference to other causes. All expenses properly incurred by such selectmen and oyster-ground committees in said applications, and the doings there- under, and the fees of said committees so appointed by court, shall be taxed by the clerk of said court and paid by the State upon his order. Any designation of ground for the planting or cultivation of shell-fish, within the areas so established by such report of said committee, shall be void. SEc. 13. The selectmen of the town of Orange and the committees of other towns:shall, at the expense of their respective towns, proeure and cause to be lodged and kept in the office of the town clerk of each town respectively, accurate maps showing the boundary lines of their said towns in the navigable waters of the State, and all designations of ground for the cultivation of shell-fish heretofore made and that shall hereafter be made within such boundaries, and shall number said designations on said maps, and shall cause to be designated on said maps all natural oyster, clam and mussel beds lying within their sev- eral towns respectively, as the same shall be ascertained by said report of said committee recorded in said towns as hereinbefore pro- vided. Sec. 14. All.acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed, but this act shall not affect any suit now pending. Approved April 14th, 1881. It will be important to recollect hereafter that while this act 132 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. was approved April 14th, 1881, yet by a general act of the same legislature, it did not take effect until May rst, 1881, and as there was on the part of a portion of the oystermen a bitter op- position to the new commission, a grand scramble commenced to secure from the town committees all the good grounds possi- ble, before the act should take effect. In this way, about 40,000 acres were designated by town committees before May 1st, and as this was necessarily done in the most hurried manner, great confusion arose as to the titles of many of the designations. The newly appointed commissioners immediately established an of- fice in the city of. New Haven, secured a clerk, and soon after an engineer, who, with his two assistants does all the surveying required by the commission. The first work of the commission was to establish the line known as the eye-sight line, which is demanded by the first section of the act, and which extends from headland to headland along the whole shore of the State. All the ground lying north of this line remains as formerly in the jurisdiction of the towns, and all south of it to the New York line is under State jurisdiction. The line as established with one or two amendments in certain localities, was ratified and confirmed by the legislature April 26th, 1882. Section 3 of the act authorized the commissioners, in behalf of the State, to grant perpetual franchises for the planting and cul- tivation of shell-fish, in any undesignated grounds within the jurisdiction of the State, which were not and had not for ten years been natural clam or oyster beds, to any person who had lived in the State one year next preceding the date of applica- tion. The application and grant were required to be in a form approved by the chief justice of the State, and all grants were to be recorded in books kept for the purpose. Notices of appli- cations were to be sent to the town clerk of the town within the meridian lines of which the grounds were located, and if after twenty days’ posting, no objections were made, the application was returned to the office, and the commissioners for $1.10 per acre granted a deed to the applicant. If, on the other hand, ob- jections were made, the party objecting paid to the town clerk twenty-five cents, filed his written objections, and, at the end of twenty days, the application and objections were returned to THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 133 the commissioners, who then gave all parties interested ten days’ notice of a hearing in the matter. If the objections were sustained nothing further was done, but if not the grant was made as before. By section 5, the commissioners are required to have all de- signations mapped and surveyed, and the grantee 1s required to have the ground at once plainly marked out by “stakes, buoys, ranges or monuments.” The same section provides that if the grantee does not use and occupy the grounds for the cultivation of oysters within five years, the commissioners shall apply to the Superior Court to appoint a committee to examine and report, and if said committee after twelve days’ notice to petitioners and respondents, on a hearing of the case, finds that the grounds have not been used in good faith for the purpose of cultivating or planting shell-fish, the court may or- der that said grounds revert to the State, and that all stakes, and buoys marking the same be removed, the costs in said pe- tition to be paid at the discretion of the court. On the other hand, section 6 provides that if after occupancy and cultivation of any gounds designated, it shall appear that said grounds are not suited for the planting or cultivation of oysters, the grantee, upon receiving a certificate to that effect from the commission- ers, may surrender to the State the same or any part thereof, not less than one-hundred acres, and receive one dollar for each acre from the treasurer. Section 8 provides that all designations and transfers of oyster, clam or mussel grounds within the waters of Long Isiand Sound heretofore made (except designations made of natural oyster, clam, or mussel beds) are hereby validated and confirmed. It is under the authority of this section that so many designations were made by town committees between April 14th and May 1st, 1881. Section to provides that if the commissioners unintentionally designate a natural clam or oyster bed, they shall apply to the Superior Court of the county having jurisdiction over said grounds to appoint a committee of investigation, and if said committee find that any natural oyster bed has been so desig- nated, the court may order said grounds to revert to the State, 134 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION, after the claimant has had a reasonable time to remove any shell- fish he may have planted or cultivated thereon in good faith. Section 11 provides that, “ Any commissioner who shall know- ingly grant to any person a franchise in a natural clam or oyster bed, shall be subject to a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars, the grant shall be void, and all moneys paid thereon shall be forfeited to the State.” Section 2 provides that the commissioners shall make or cause to be made a survey and map of all the grounds within the jurisdiction of the State in Long Island Sound, which have been or may be des- ignated for the planting or cultivation of shell-fish, and also cause a survey of all the natural oyster beds in said area, and shall locate and delineate the same onamap. The same sec- tion provides that the commissioners shall report to the next session of the legislature a plan for an equitable taxation of the property in said fisheries, make an annual report and give a ‘bond for the faithful performance of their duties. One of the first things to be done under the law was to designate the natu- ral oyster beds of the State, and after long and patient hearings and consultation with the oystermen, all of the natural oyster beds have been mapped, except one about which there has been much litigation, and as one question in reference to its location is now in the hands of the Supreme Court of the State for decision, the mapping has been delayed until this question shall be decided. Eight in all have been described to the satisfaction of everyone, and they comprise 5,498 acres. Surveying and mapping the des- ignations made by the town committees has been exceedingly difficult, caused by the fact that in many cases the survey was done hurriedly, and in many more by incompetent persons who seem never to have pretended to do more than guess at the work: The consequence is that frequently a person has a deed described in words, an accompanying map of the ground, and is in occu- pation of a plot of ground which corresponds with neither; the map and description also being found utterly irreconcilable. Now as his next neighbor is in a similar predicament, and the ground has become valuable, it is easy to see that ill feeling and prolonged litigation are almost inevitable. In order to meet this difficulty the legislature April 26th, 1882, THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 135 enacted a law relating to disputes about boundaries, which is here inserted: CHAPTER CXXIV. An Act Pertaining to Shell Fishery Grounds within the Exclusive Jurisdiction of the State. Be zt enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General As- sembly convened: SECTION 1. All questions and disputes touching the ownership, titles, buoys, boundaries, ranges, extent, or location of any shell fishery grounds within the exclusive jurisdiction of the State may be referred to and settled by the Commissioners of Shell Fisheries, who are hereby empowered, on petition of any person interested therein, to summon all the parties in interest, so far as such parties may be made known to them, to appear before them at a time and place in the summons named, such summons to be signed by the clerk of said commission- ers, and served by him or such other person as the commissioners may direct; whereupon, at such time and place named, or any other time and place to which the hearing may from time to time be ad- journed, the party petitioner shall file a sworn statement of the facts as Claimed by him, to which any interested party may respond by fil- ing a sworn counter statement of the facts as claimed by him; and after hearing all the parties interested with their witnesses and coun- sel, the commissioners shall make their decision in writing as soon as convenient thereafter, which decision shall be recorded in the books of record in their office, and the same shall be binding on all the par- ties in interest so summoned or appearing, unless an appeal shall be taken from such decision to the Superior Court in and for the county where the town is situated, between whose meridian lines any portion of said grounds may be, within ten days after such decision shall be filed by said commissioners with their clerk aforesaid, and unless such appeal shall be prosecuted to judgment, and said decision reversed by said Superior Court. Said appeal may be taken in the same manner as appeals in civil cases from justice courts. SEC. 2. Every person filing a petition, statement, or counter state- ment, as in the foregoing section provided, shall, at the time of such filing. deposit ten dollars with the Commissioners of Shell Fisheries, who shall return to the prevailing party the sum so deposited by him, and shall retain the money so deposited by the defeated party as a for- feit to pay the expenses of the investigation, which money so retained shall be accounted for and paid to the State treasurer for the benefit of the’ State: 136 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. SEc. 3. All applications, designations, papers and maps pertaining to any allotment or designations of shell fishery grounds within the area of the exclusive jurisdiction of the State, heretofore made by town officers, and all assignments of such grounds or of parts thereof which have not been recorded in the office of the town clerk or of the shell- fish commissioners, shall be left by the owner or owners, claimant or claimants thereof for record, and shall be recorded in the office of the shell-fish commissioners, or in the office of the town clerk of the town between whose meridian lines said grounds or any part thereof are situated, and they shall be so left within three months after a copy of this section sha]l be posted in the town clerk’s office of the town where such grounds are situated ; and upon failure to leave such evi- dences of title within such time, for record, the Commissioners of Shell Fisheries may order the alleged owner or owners, claimant or claimants, to appear before them at a time and place in such order named and show cause why said grounds should not be deemed as property of the State; and if such parties or any of them fail to appear as ordered, or, on appearing, shall refuse to produce any evidences of the title which they may havé or claim to have, or shall refuse to per- mit the same to be recorded, or if they shall fail to produce any evi- dence of title, or shall fail to show any reason for such failure to pro- duce the same, the grounds shall be treated, as against such alleged owner or owners, Claimant or claimants, as undesignated grounds be- longing to the State, and said commissioners may thereupon desig- nate the same or any part thereof as provided by statute. SEc. 4. The same fees shall be paid for recording or copying papers and maps in the office of the Commissioners of Shell Fisheries as are charged by town clerks for like services; and all fees so paid shall be accounted for and paid to the treasurer of the State for the benefit of the State; and one of said commissioners, or their clerk, shall have power to sign and issue subpcenas inall matters of inquiry before them. SEC. 5. Sections one and two of chapter seventy of the Public Acts of 1879, are hereby repealed, so far as they may apply to shell-fish grounds within the exclusive jurisdiction of the State; and section three of said chapter is hereby amended, so far as it applies to such grounds, so as to read as follows, viz.: When any designation of shell- fish grounds which are wholly or partially within the exclusive juris- diction of the State, contains therein a map thereof, or refers therein to such map lodged on file in the town clerk’s office, and the owner or owners of the adjoining grounds, so far as they lie within the exclu- sive jurisdiction of the State, do not agree as to the location of the THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 137 line fixed by such map, or if the boundary between such owners is a town boundary and they disagree as to the same, one or more of such owners may apply to the Commissioners of Shell Fisheries who shall » thereupon notify all parties in interest to file sworn statements of facts and copies of maps as claimed by them respectively, and said com- missioners shall thereupon appoint a surveyor who shail take such maps and statements and lay out and survey the grounds in the vari- ous ways Claimed, and if any town boundary comes into question he shall ascertain and report upon such boundary as it appears from the maps and records in the custody of the respective town clerks of such towns. Thereupon he shall report his doings, accompanied with the maps or copies of maps found by him touching the dispute to the dis- pute to the Commissioners of Fisheries, who shall thereupon summon all parties in interest before them at a time and place to be named in the summons, and after a full hearing of said parties, with their witnes- ses and counsel, the commissioners shall establish the line in dispute, and cause the same to be located and marked by ranges and buoys; and the line so established shall be the true dividing line between such grounds, unless an appeal is taken to the Superior Court, as provided for in section two of this act, and said decision shall be there reversed: and the costs and expenses of such proceedings shall be equally divid- ed between the adjoining owners, who shall pay the same to the com- missioners upon the filing of their decision, and the same shall be ac- counted for and paid to the State treasurer for the benefit of the State; and the cases provided for by this section shall not be deemed includ- ed under section one of this act. Sec. 6. All expenses necessarily incurred in carrying out the pro- visions of this act shall be audited by the comptroller, and paid by the treasurer of the State. Sec. 7. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. Sec. 8. This act shall take effect from its passage. Approved April 26th, 1882. This act provides that all questions and disputes touching the ownership, titles, buoys, boundaries, ranges, extent or location of any shell fishery grounds within the exclusive jurisdiction of the State, may be referred to and settled by the commissioners upon the petition of any person interested therein, after due hearing of all persons interested, and their decision shall be final, unless an appeal be taken to the Superior Court of the county, within ten days after the decision has been filed with 138 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. the clerk, and said decision be reversed by the court, Practical- ly the law has been very successful in its operations. Parties in dispute have generally agreed to submit their differences to the commissioners for adjustment, all persons interested have been summoned to appear, the facts have been investigated and patiently considered in all their aspects, and in every case thus far tried the parties concerned have submitted to the decision of the commissioners. A plan of taxation was also recommended in accordance with the requirements of the original law, and the result was the passage of an act providing for the taxation of oyster grounds, a copy of which is here inserted. CHAPTER CRYV: An Act providing for the Taxation of Oyster Grounds. Le tt enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives tn General Assembly convened : SECTION I. All owners of shell-fish grounds lying within the exclu- sive jurisdiction of the State shall, on or before the first day of Novem- ber, annually, deliver to the Commissioners of Shell Fisheries a state- ment under oath specifying the number of lots owned by them, the location and number of acres in each lot, the number of acres in each lot cultivated, and the value thereof per acre, the number of acres in each lot uncultivated, and the value thereof per acre; and printed blanks for such statements shall be prepared by the commissioners and furnished to such owners upon application to them or at their othce; and upon the failure of any owner to deliver such sworn state- ment to said commissioners at their office within the time above specified, said commissioners shall make up such statement from the best information they may obtain, and shall add for such default ten per cent. to the valuation so made. SEC. 2. All statements or delivered so made shall be alphabetically arranged, and said commissioners shall equalize, if necessary, and de- termine the value of all the property so returned and described in said statements, which property shall be liable to taxation at the valu- ation so determined, including the ten per cent. for defauft as afore- said; and said commissioners are authorized and empowered to de- clare and lay a tax thereon, annually, at the rate of one per cent. upon such valuation, which shall be payable at the office of said commis- sioners on and after the first Monday in May, annually; and said tax shall be a lienupon the grounds so taxed from the time it is so laid by THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 139 said commissioners, until paid, and shall be in lieu of all other taxes on said grounds. SEC. 3. If any tax so laid shall not be paid on or before the first Monday in July, the said commissioners shall make and issue their warrant for the collection thereof, with interest thereon, at one per cent. per month from the day such tax became due and payable until paid, together with the expenses of such collection, which warrant shall authorize any reputable person named therein, to seize such grounds and any oysters or other shell-fish thereon. or any other property of the owner or owners thereof not exempt from execution, and to sell the same, or so much thereof as he may find necessary, at such time and place, and in such manner, and by such person as said commissioners may direct, whereupon such sale shall.beso made, and such warrant shall be immediately returned to said commissioners by such person with all his doings endorsed thereon, and he shall pay over to said commissioners the money received upon said sale, and they shall apply the same to the payment of such tax and all the ex- penses thereon, including the expenses of such sale, returning any balance that may remain to such owner or owners; and all moneys re- ceived by said commissioners in payment of taxes and interest there- on shall be accounted for and paid to the State treasurer for the bene- fit of the State, within thirty days fromits receipt. Said commissioners shall each, in addition to the bond now required by law, give a bond with surety in the sum of one thousand dollars to the State, con- ditioned for the performance of the duties imposed upon them by this act. Sec. 4. All other shell-fish grounds lying within the waters of this State shall be taxed in the same manner in all respects as real estate in the several towns within the meridian lines of which such shell-fish grounds are situated, and no other tax or rental shall be laid or col- ‘lected on said grounds, or the franchise of any person therein. SEC. 5. All expenses necessarily incurred in carrying out the provi- sions of this act shall be audited by the comptroller and paid by the treasurer of the State. Approved, April 26, 1882. It provides that all owners of shell-fish grounds shall on or before the first day of November, annually, deliver to the com- missioners a sworn statement of their property, the number of acres cultivated, the number uncultivated, and their estimate of the value of each. In case of a failure to make a statement, the commissioners are empowered to make one from the best infor- [40 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. mation they can obtain, and add ten per cent. for the default. The commissioners are authorized to “equalize if necessary, and determine the value of all the property so returned and de- scribed,” and to lay a tax of one per cent. thereon, and said tax is a lien upon the grounds so taxed from the time it is so laid by the commissioners until paid. If the tax is not paid by the first day of July, the commissioners are required to make and issue their warrant for the collection thereof, with interest at one per cent. per month from the time the tax became due until paid. The commissioners are further empowered to enforce such war- rant by the seizure of any taxable property which the party in default may own. Under this law the commissioners collected in 1883, $3,681.47, the entire tax laid. Of course there are difficulties in estimating the value of oyster grounds, and the commissioners were obliged in many cases to equalize and determine the value of the grounds returned. The general plan of valuation adopted was the following. The commissioners assumed that the very all best grounds should be assessed at a given figure, and then were graded with reference to their proportionate value com- pared with the best. This subject is one requiring careful con- sideration, and the system may doubtless beimproved by further experience. As no appeal can be taken from the assessment of the commissioners, they have themselves acted as a board of re- lief for the present year. In other words, after the valuations of the grounds had been fixed according the best information ob- tainable by the commissioners, appointments were made of cer- tain days on which they would be present with the lists at each of the principal towns along the shore, and listen to any parties who might wish to present reasons why the assessment of their grounds should be reduced. This proved to be a very popular move, and when the assessment was finally fixed, the only person seriously dissatisfied with the result was the one owning the largest acreage of oyster grounds in the State. The oystermen of this State are divided into two principal classes, namely, those who own and cultivate grounds of their own, and those who gain a subsistence by work upon the natural or public beds. The former are generally men of some means, and work with steam- THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. I4I ers, the latter are poor men, who use sailing vessels. The pub- lic beds have been raked so constantly for a number of years that very few large oysters can be found upon them. Most of the “stuff” as it is called, taken from them is used for the plant- ing of other beds more or less remote. A few years ago a serious controversy arose as to the effect of steamer work upon the natural beds. The steamer owners claimed that their work tended to improve the bed by preparing the bottom for a better set of the spat in the breeding season. The owners of sailing vessels on the contrary claimed that the heavy dredges of the steamers plowed up the ground to such an extent asto ruin it. The result of the discussion of the subject was that in 1881, the legislature passed an act forbidding the use of steamers upon any of the natural beds of the State, and that law still remains in effect to-day. While most of the natural beds are in comparatively shallow water, the cultivators of oysters do not deem it safe to plant oysters inless than twenty- four feet of water, and many of their productive beds are in water from thirty to sixty feet deep. They claim that in less than twenty-four feet of water, the crop is liableto be destroyed by heavy storms, the oysters being either covered up and smothered with mud or sand, or washed ashore by the action of the waves. The hydrographic work of the engineer of the commission is so accurate that confidence has been given to cultivators to take up claims in deep water, witha certainty that if they secure valu- able ground and their stakes or buoys are removed or carried away by storms or steamboats, they can be replaced. The sys- tem adopted in this respect is the following: When an appli- cant has secured a grant of a plot of ground from the commis- sioners, on an appointed day, the engineer with an assistant pro- ceeds to the locality with the applicant, and having fixed the precise situation with their instruments, the buoys are placed in position, and a record is made of the spot, which is transferred to the books of the office, each buoy being numbered. If at any future time, the buoys are misplaced, all that is needed to cor- rect the error is to consult the number of buoys in the records, and they can be replaced without difficulty. The amount of 142 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. ground lying within the exclusive jurisdiction of the State re- turned to the commissioners for taxation, in 1883, was 74,930 acres, of which 13,008 acres were described as cultivated and 61,922 as uncultivated. In 1882 the returns were 9,007 acres cultivated, and 46,316 uncultivated. The gain therefore for 1883 over 1882, was 4,oo1 acres cultivated and 15,606 uncultivated. New applications are constantly being made, and more acres are annually put under cultivation. The usual method of planting new ground is to strew about three hundred bushels of oyster shells, and thirty bushels of spawning oysters to each acre. In some cases where the new ground is in the vicinity of a natural bed or other ground on which are spawning oysters, a good set is obtained without the deposit of any mature oysters. The time of planting is from June 15th to September 1st, the deeper the water the later is the “set,” and the cultivators govern themselves accordingly in their work, the great requisite being that the “‘cultch” shall be clean and fresh at the time of the floating spat. All kinds of business have their drawbacks, and the cultivation of oysters is no excep- tion. In Connecticut the two principal enemies of the oyster cultivators are the star-fish (Aster¢as rubens), and oyster thieves of the human species. The oyster growers sumetimes say that it is questionable which is the greater pest, the “five fingers” or the “ten fingers.” The star-fish are much more destructive in some years than others, and during the same season inflict great injury upon the beds in one portion of the State, while in others they do not appear at all, or in such insignificant num- bers as to do no appreciable harm. Until recently the only rem- edy has been to remove the oysters and star-fish together, the star-fish being destroyed, and the oysters either sold or removed to some locality where no star-fish were to be found. Mr. J. F Homan, of New Haven, in this State, has invented a dredge which, it is claimed, will remove the star-fish without taking the oysters. Its construction is based upon the fact that the star- fish is of lighter specific gravity than the oyster. The bag of the dredge is located about six inches behind the bar or rake, and a few inches higher. The practical effect is that the oysters and star-fish being: stir- THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 143 red up together, the oysters drop back to the ground, and the star-fish fall into the open mouth of the bag. When this pest makes its appearance upon the oyster grounds, great vigilence is needed to prevent the loss of the crop. The owners of pri- vate beds watch their grounds carefully, with a view to prompt action in case of necessity, but the public beds being open to every one, no one takes special pains to remove the star-fish, and it has been claimed that some of the oystermen have thrown them overboard after being taken. A stringent law to prevent this was passed at the last session of the legislature, and the owners of private grounds introduced an act to enable the com- missioners to remove star-fish from the public beds at the ex- pense of the State, but as some of the sections of the bill were deemed objectionable, the act was defeated. Another effort will be made next year to accomplish the same end, and uncomplicated with other measures, will probablv be successful. The whole area of ground in the exclusive jurisdic- tion of the State is about 300,000 acres. Of this about 45,000 acres were designated by the town committees before the ap- pointment of the commission. The aggregate area designated by the commission during the last three years has been 38,548 acres, making in all 83,548 acres under their supervision. In “addition to this, applications for 15,714 acres are now awaiting action, and this number will be increased as fast as parties dis- cover what they consider to be advantageous locations. The oyster cultivators seem to be generally thriving, are eager to acquire larger areas of suitable grounds, and new steamers and sailing vessels are constantly being added to the fleet. New purchasers are coming into the field, more capital is being in- vested, and under the fostering care of the State the industry bids fair, at no distant day, to be one of the largest and most important in the entire commonwealth. Lieut. WInsLow: I would like to ask if, at the last session of the Connecticut State legislature, any act was passed which would facilitate the detection and punishment of theft from the oyster-beds. As I understand the law, as it existed a year or so a 144 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. ago, a designation of a natural oyster-bed could not be made. Therefore, when the thief wanted an oyster he assumed all beds to be natural, and took what he wanted. He did not care whether it was a natural bed or not. The burden of the proof did not rest upon him, but upon the owner of the area. Any bed was assumed to be natural until the owner could prove to the contrary. Such a state of affairs surely militates very serious- ly against the owner. It has seemed to me that, after an area has once been designated, the owner should not be called upon to prove that it was not a natural bed. I would like to know if any measures have been adopted looking towards a remedy for that evil. Dr. WiLtiam M. Hupsen: Such a bill was introduced in the legis- lature, but owing to the unfortunate fact that our oystermen in the western part of the State were in opposition to those in the eastern part, the bill fell to the ground. Earnest efforts have been made by our State Fish Commission to bring about that bill, and yet the only act passed in reference to the oyster inter- est, was one that simply prevented, under heavy penalties, any of the oyster dredges from throwing back into the water any star-fish they might catch. But the attempt to pass an effectual bill failed on account of this opposition between the east and west sections of the State. I think that possibly during the next twelve months a suitable bill will be passed. Lieut. WinsLow: Another question occurs to me. After hav- ing once adopted the system of proprietary ownership, the great- est difficulty was experienced in detecting a theft. You cannot prevent a man from traveling over the ground, and although you can readily see his appliances, dredge, etc., for taking the oyster, you have to prove that the man has actually taken the oyster: in other words, you must catch him in the very act, and prove that they are your oysters before you can really accomplish any- thing towards punishing him. Now, thatisavery difficult thing to do, and it seem to me that there should be incorporated in the laws a provision for the punishment of a man found on a area with implements for taking oysters. His presence under such circumstances should be sufficient ground for his arrest, be- ? THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 145 cause evidently his intention is to take oysters. The excuse cannot be made that he mistook the ground, for each area is marked plainly. When you see the dredge-line going, it is pretty good proof that oysters are being taken. Public opinionis now very strong against the stealing of oysters, and it certainly seems to me that a provision should be made, which would assist the oyster grower in bringing an offender to jus- tice: Dr. Hupson: I think that what Lieut. Winslow has said would be readily acknowledged by any who have looked into the mat- ter. The Connecticut commissioners are anxious for favorable legislative action on this matter; but, as I have stated, there is unfortunately this controversial feeling which has arisen between the natural growers and the cultivators, which has thus far been the means of preventing the enactment of such laws as Lieut. Winslow has referred to. I have no doubt, however, that per- haps in the immediate future suitable laws will be passed. Lieut. WiInsLow : I would like to say in addition that I do not know of any State that has made so great an advance in this matter as Connecticut. By examining the legislation on the subject for the last four or five years, it may easily be seen that itis of the most practical nature, and it is based on sound busi- ness principles. The people of Connecticut, proverbially shrewd, have certainly managed to get all the milk out of this particular cocoanut. Prof. Goope: I think that there can hardly be too much stress laid upon the importance of the work which Dr. Hudson and his colleagues are carrying on, the results of which have been de- scribed by him this morning. I have been looking into the history of the oyster industry of Europe lately, and am convinced that Connecticut is putting into practice the best system of oyster-cul- ture inthe world. The manner in which that State is dealing with the questions of fishery legislation, is certainly extremely interesting and worthy of commendation. The eyes of the world are upon Connecticut at the present time. I can appreciate this fact perhaps better than most of us here, having heard the eager questions and seen the intense interest of the fish-culturists and 146 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. oyster-raisers of Europe last summer in London, and having heard what was said concerning the action of Connecticut. Every country which has any oyster-fisheries is trying to solve the same problem, viz: how to protect the beds and give oyster- culturists right of property by the fruit of their labors. It really appears to me that this subject—the progress of the work in Connecticut—is one of the most interesting that could be brought before this society. THESOYSTER INDUSTRY (OR EEG IW ORs BY G. BROWN GOODE. The oyster industry of the world is seated chiefly in the United States and France. Great Britain has still a few natural beds remaining, and a number of well conducted establishments for oyster culture. Canada, Holland, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Norway and Russia have also oyster industries, which are comparatively insignificant, and, in the case of the last two countries, hardly worthy of consideration in a ‘statistical "statement. “Recent ‘and “accurate statistics; ving Goode said, were lacking except in two or three instances. A brief review by countries in the order of their importance was presented. The oyster industry of the United States was shown to employ 52,805 persons and to yield 22,195,370 bushels, worth $30,438,852, and that of France in 1881, employed 29,431 per- sons, producing oysters valued at $3,464,565. The industry of Great Britain yielded a product valued at from two to four mil- lion pounds sterling. Holland was shown to have a considera- ble industry in the Province of Zeeland, and to have produced native and cultivated oysters to the value of $200,000. Germany has an industry on the Schleswig coast valued at about $400,000; while the products of other European countries mentioned were too insignificant to deserve a place in this brief abstract. An THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 147 estimate of the total product of the world was presented as follows; the figures being given in the number of individual oysters produced. COUNTRIES. NUMBER OF OYSTERS. Witibed. States .«.. / ic ete 5,5 50,000,000, ianada ..;... +... cae 22,000,000. Hotal Jor North Americasiae: 5,572,000,000. Prance> >. 6. 0 Ne Rea 680,400,000. Great) Britainyi: 2}. Oise. 1,600,000,000, Rieter des? 303 sad sieves xi Mae dns Bas COO, 2} no ec were sida gy ZOIQOOQ00, Re RONAN. . <4 5,055 = a you bE tae 4,000,000. NO UT fee ssn 2 wo ee 2,500,000, DAUR es acs 2 ons $e 1,000,000, POECUOAL cx. 2. ce 800,000. Penitatik ="... 2. ets c eee 200,000. 12 HGS] Fr ae les a ree Ee LT 250,000. Norway Ue ots i See 250,000. Monat tom Kit ONG ..052 ane 2,331,200,000. The oyster industry is rapidly passing from the hands of the fishermen into those of oyster-culturists. The oyster being se- dentary, except for a few days in the earliest stages of its exist- ence, is easily exterminated in any given locality, since, al- though it may not be possible for the fisherman to rake up from the bottom every individual, wholesale methods of capture soon result in covering up or otherwise destroying the oyster banks or reefs, as the communities of oysters are technically termed. The main difference between the oyster industry of America and that of Europe, lies in the fact that in Europe the native beds have long since been practically destroyed, perhaps not more than six or seven per cent. of the oysters of Europe passing from the native beds directly into the hands of the consumer. It is probable that sixty to seventy-five per cent. are reared from the seed in artificial parks, the remainder having been laid down for a time to increase in size and flavor in the shoal waters along the coasts. In the United States, on the other hand, from thirty to forty per cent. are carried from the native beds directly to mar- 148 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. ket. The oyster fishery is everywhere carried on in the most reckless manner, and in all directions oyster grounds are becom- ing deteriorated, and in some cases have been entirely destroy- ed. ' It: remains*to be ‘seen whether thes g@overiments( ‘ofuse States will regulate the oyster-fisheries before it is too late, or will permit the destruction of these vast reservoirs of food. At present the oyster is one of the cheapest articles of diet in the United States, while in England, as has been well said, an oyster is usually worth as much as or more than a new laidegg. It can hardly be expected that the price of American oysters will always remain so low; but, taking into consideration the great wealth of the natural beds along the entire Atlantic coast, it seems certain that a moderate amount of protection will keep the price of seed oysters far below the European rates, and that the immense stretches of submerged land, especially suited for oyster plant- ing, may be utilized and made to produce an abundant harvest, at a much less cost than that which accompanies the complicat- ed system of culture in France and Holland. PRESENT CONDITION AND FUTURE PROSPECTS OF THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. BY LIEUT. FRANCIS WINSLOW, U.S. N. I beg that you will bear in mind that in a consideration of the oyster industry, present or future, there is opened to us so wide a field for investigation that it is hardly possible in a few min- utes to treat the subjeet fully or thoroughly. I shall not at- tempt to go into minute details, but confine myself to the gen- eral principles which, in my opinion, govern successful oyster- culture. At the last census, the oyster industry of the United States em- ployed nearly 53,000 persons and over $10,500,000 of capital. Its production amounted to more than 22,000,000 bushels of oysters, THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 149 valued at about $13,000,000. While these figures are not of aston- ishing magnitude when compared with those of many of the in- dustries of the country, they indicate, nevertheless, a gratifying volume of business, and when compared with the returns from the other fisheries they show the oyster industry to be of more importance than any. I learn from Professor Goode’s paper read at one of the con- ferences held in connection with the late London Exhibition, that the entire fishing interest of the country employs 131,426 persons and nearly $38,000,000 of capital, and produces $43,000,- ooo of products. Thus it is seen that the oyster industry em- ploys nearly one-third of the persons, more than one-fourth of the capital, and produces over one-third of the income. Its product is about six times as great as that of the whale, seal, or menhaden fisheries, and considerably more than one-half of the product of all the other fisheries put together. Surely such an industry is well worth care and preservation. The question is, what degree of care does it receive; is its preservation in any way endangered? The subject is of considerable moment, but that I need not impress upon you. Its full discussion would occupy more time than either you or I have just nowto spare for it. I shall, therefore, only touch upon a few of the more important points, and salient features. Oysters are found along the whole coast of the United States from Maine to the Rio Grande, and a species also exists on the north-west coast. But notwithstanding this wide distribu- tion, pointing out the possibilities of the future, the greater part of the fishery and business is confined to the Chesapeake region; that is, to the States of Maryland and Virginia. Of the 53,000 persons employed, nearly 40,000 belong to those States; and of the $10,500,000 of capital, over $7,000,000 is credit- ed to them, while of the 22,000,000 bushels of oysters, more than 17,000,000 come from Chesapeake bay and its tributaries. That is four-fifths of the laborers, seven-tenths of the capital, and considerably more than three-fourths of the product should properly be assigned to the Chesapeake region. Evidently, then, any consideration of the oyster industry must be to a great ex- 150 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION, tent a consideration of the industry as it exists in the bay. Whatever other localities may produce; however valuable sys- tems and methods in use in other States may be, whatever su- periority of means or intelligence other fishermen may possess, they have not yet succeeded in.wresting the trade from the Maryland and Virginia people. Superiority in intelligence, means, systems and crops, are but as so many drops in the buck- et when compared with the natural advantages offered by the Chesapeake and enjoyed by those who fish in her waters. The present condition of the Chesapeake fishery is, then, prac- tically the condition of the whole industry, and the future pros- pects of the whole may be largely predicated upon the prospect in Maryland and Virginia. What is that condition? What are those prospects? Generally speaking, the condition is bad; the prospect worse. It is stated by many persons of good judgment and sufficient knowledge to enable them to speak with authority, that not only has the number of oysters on the great natural beds diminished very much of late, éspecially during the last five years, but it is stated by one of the most eminent and exper- ienced observers and students of this question, Dr. William K. Brooks, of the Johns Hopkins University, chairman of the Mary- land Oyster Commission and a member of the National Acad- emy of Sciences, that the oyster property of the State is in im- minent danger of complete destruction. From time to time during the last decade notes of warning have been sounded, but unfortunately, have not been heeded. Only within the last few years has the public awakened to the gravity of the situation and the necessity of taking steps to avert the threatened evil. The vague feeling of alarm which seized the oystermen as they discovered that the apparently exhaustless beds were no longer yielding their former returns, became sufficiently concentrated two years ago to cause the appointment, by the State of Mary- land, of a commission to investigate the condition of the whole oyster industry. The rapid deterioration, both in size and qual- ity of the oysters offered in the Baltimore markets, together with the frequent failure of the supply altogether, roused the packers of the city to set in motion under their own auspices, an entirely separate investigation. The expansion of the guerilla- THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 151 like depredations of the dredging vessels upon the beds reserved to the tongers, into first, a systematic onslaught of periodic oc- currence; and second, into open, defiant and serious warfare with, not only the tongers, but also the civil, military and naval forces of Virginia and Maryland, lead to a more thorough and thoughtful discussion of the whole oyster subject, by both press and people. The results of the discussions and investigations are now before the public. It is not necessary that I should re- view them in detail. It will suffice if I mention but a few of the many indications of deterioration. The report of the commission created by Maryland and Vir- ginia in 1868, shows that the production of the Chesapeake was, in that year, 21,500,000 bushels. Possibly, saysa writer in Lzf- pincott’s Magazine, it went as high as 25,000,000,000 bushels. If these figures are trustworthy, in spite of the improvements in implements, boats and general apparatus of the fishery, the pro- duction has fallen off rather than increased during the last fif- teen years. Indeed, the testimony of all the oystermen isto the same effect. According to them, from three to seven times as many oysters could have been taken twenty years ago as at present, and a larger number actually were taken, some five years back. Iam inclined to doubt the accuracy of the figures quoted for 1868. I am rather of the impression that the yield at that time was considerably less than it is now. Possibly not half so great. But there are very safe indications of a decrease within the last few years, even if the yield was an absolutely es- sential factor in determining the condition of the beds. But it is not essential by any means. Anabnormally large production is quite as alarming, if not more so, than an abnormally small one, paradoxical as the statement may seem. According to Mr. Edmunds, the gentleman who investigated the condition of the Chesapeake beds for the census, not only has the trade in raw oysters been greatly hampered, but, during the year of 1882, the packers were frequently compelled to quit steaming oysters on account of a deficiency in the supply. My own investigations in 1883 confirm this statement. One of the most prominent and well known Baltimore packers stated to me that he was compelled to take stock at 25 cents per bushel, which ¢ 152 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. three years back he could have purchased at 5 or 10 cents per bushel, and five years back would not have had at any price at at all. I might continue quoting opinions indefinitely with the same result, but the decision of the matter is based upon sounder pos- tulates than opinions. In 1878-79 I made an examination of certain beds of the Chesa- peake, and found them to be in a much impaired condition. Com- paring my results with the results obtained by himself in 1883, Dr. Brooks states that the beds have decreased in value more than 39 per cent. This statement is based upon the following data: My examination in 1878-9, showed that in Tangier sound there was about one oyster to every 2.3 square yards. Dr. Brooks after examining the whole of the Maryland beds, states that in 1883, there was only one oyster to each 4.2 square yards. That is, the deterioration equalled nearly 40 per cent. In 1876, Mr. Otto Lugger visited most of the Chesapeake beds and measured the quantity of shells and oysters obtained by dredging. He found 3.7 bushels of oysters for each bushel of shells. In 1879, I made an examination of seventeen beds and found 1.9 bushels of oysters for each bushel of shells. A decrease of 1.8 bushels in three years. In 1882, Dr. Brooks found 1.3 bushels to each bushe! of shells, a decrease of 0.5 bushels in three years, showing that the deter- ioration was continuous. It is quite evident that an increase in the number of shells and a decrease in the number of oysters obtained at each haul of the dredge, is an indication of impair- ment, and combining that indication with the decrease in the number to the square yard, as shown by my own and Dr. Brooks’ measurements, the impoverishment of the beds is apparent to the most superficial observer. But other evidence is not want- ing. The principal test of the decrease of a commodity is the increase in its price; and it is well known among all oyster dealers of this region that oysters have been not only much more difficult to obtain, but much more expensive than they were a few years back. Fully twice and three times as much are now paid per bushel as was customary ten and fifteen years ago. THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 153 In 1861, oysters in the Chesapeake were worth, according to the writer in Lippincott's whom I have already quoted, 15 and 20 cents per bushel. In 1868, they had advanced to 25 and 30 cents. In 1879, the average price of the crop of 17,000,000 from Mary- land and Virginia was over 4o cents per bushel; and at the pres- ent time it is nearer 50 cents than 4o, and occasionally is much higher. And this increase in price is not wholly due to increase in demand. There has been an actual diminution in the number of oysters produced. The number of oysters passing through the Chesapeake and Delaware canal, the connecting link between Chesapeake and Delaware bays, is a pretty fair indication of the production of the Chesapeake beds. In 1879, in round num- bers, 940,000 bushels passed through. In 1883, only 550,000. That is, the reduction was about forty per cent. of the amount in 1879. And it is worthy of notice how close this result agrees with Dr. Brooks’ statement that the oyster beds had fallen off thirty-nine per cent. in value, since the examination made by myself in 1879. The facts I have recited certainly should be sufficient to con- vince any one that the oyster industry in the Chesapeake is in a very bad way; and, as I have explained, the condition of the Chesapeake fishery is virtually the condition of the whole. In other words, the present offers but little encouragement. Does the future offer more? A correct answer to the question necessitates the examination of the several causes whieh may have operated in bringing about the present state of things. We must decide upon the agency which has been at work and having discovered it, consider how it can be precluded from further operation. It may be confi- dently asserted that no natural cause has had any considerable deleterious influence. The natural influences and conditions to which the oysters were exposed in the past and under which they increased and multiplied so greatly, have in no way changed. Temperature and density of the water have been no more various than in the past. Channels and bottoms have remained stable. Factories and mills with their polluting excrement have not been erected. Organic life of any kind has neither increased or diminished to 154 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. any noticeable extent. In fact, the environment has remained exactly as it has always been—with one exception. Continuous and exhaustive fishery has sprung up with all its attendant evils. To that and to that alone is the condition of the bedsdue. The prophecy so often made is at last coming true. The demand has outgrown the supply and in the effort towards equalization the beds, the source of wealth, are fast becoming a total sacrifice. All the facts, all the opinions, all the evidence, was before the legislatures of the two States, and they did nothing beyond building a few more police boats. The influence of the oyster men was too strong to be overcome. They either would not or could not submit to any restriction of their privileges, and the influence so strong in the present is not likely to be diminished in the future, unless it is shown that it is for the best interest of the fishermen that a change of policy, radical and entire, is abso lutely necessary for the preservation of the industry. Look at the facts. The natural beds in the Chesapeake like the natural beds in the Northern States, are no longer capable of returning an adequate supply. What has been done to rem- edy the evil? An increase of the police-force! In other words, a more perfect restriction of the fishery—a more extensive dimin- uition of the supply. Surely, that is not what we want! Wedo not care to have a valuable food product diminished. That is no real remedy. What should be done is to follow the course of the Northern States and endeavor, by artificial means, to culti- vate the oyster and increase the prodvttctive area and supply. I ask you but to look at the charts of the oyster beds exhibited in the fisheries, section and you will see a marked difference be- tween the region north and south of the old Mason and Dixon line. In the northern portion the preponderance of the artificial over the natural beds is as marked as the reverse in the south- ern portion. Years ago the natural beds of Long: Island Sound returned a sufficient supply to satisfy the demands of the consum- ers. Gradually those demands increased and with them the dis- position towards the inordinate fishing of the beds. The natural consequence followed. The beds were over worked, became depleted, were exhausted. But the demand still existed and had to be satisfied. New beds were created; new methods intro- THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 155 duced; and to-day Rhode Island has some 10,000, and Connecti- cut some 100,000 acres of oyster ground over and above the al- lowance originally made by nature. If the industry in the Chesapeake is to follow the same course as in the Northern States, then the establishment of artificial beds, and artificial extension of the oyster area with its conse- quent increase of the supply, will take place only upon the de- struction of the present natural beds. Indeed a prominent and intelligent oyster planter testified before the Virginia legisla- ture that he was half inclined to hope for just such a consuma- tion, so little had he to expect from the present condition of things. But a careful study of the Northern fishery and the laws, statutory and natural, which govern it, will show quite plainly, the steps necessary to be taken in order to accomplish the desired end. And if history and experience are to have any influence in forming men’s opinions and guiding their actions, the measures indicated by the study should surely be adopted. So far as I am able to see, the recuperation of an oyster industry is entirely dependent upon the recognition and adoption of one great principle as the foundation of the work. That principle is, the right of the State to cede and the individual to hold, tracts of bottom under a tenure similiar to that governing up- lands. In other words the practice of holding the oyster area open to any and all as common property, necessarily prevents in practice the adoption of conservative measures, or a policy of comprehensive and systematic improvement. On the other hand, no sooner is an individual and proprietary right affected than that powerful lever—self-interest—is brought into play, and progress becomes assured. Evidently cultivation of the common property will never be undertaken by the individual. Yet it must be undertaken by some one. It is impossible for the State to assiame work. The Chesapeake oyster area equals some 400,000 acres. If the cost of cultivation did not exceed $10 per acre, and it is much nearer $30 than gro, the expense would be $4,000,000 every three years. If the State of Connecticut undertook to cultivate her artificial beds, it would cost her from one to three millions per annum. If Rhode Island entered the field it would be at an expense of 156 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. from $100,000 to $300,000 per annum. Evidently the expendi- ture of such sums for the benefit of a portion of the population is out of the question, even was it necessary. But it is not nec- essary. Oyster-cultivation can be carried on by individuals just as well as the cultivation of potatoes or rearing of live stock. That this is not understood is the principal difficulty met by those who desire the advancement of the fishery, and the first condition I would make with a fish-culturist in discussing this question, is that he should dismiss from his mind all impres- sions he may have which are based upon the supposed analogy between oyster and fish-culture. It is true that we can impreg- nate the eggs of an oyster in virtually the same way we impreg- nate the eggs of a fish. It istrue we can keep the young oysters alive for some time in practically the same manner it is accom- plished with a fish. But there the similarity ends. Whoever may hatch the fish egg, the general public only can reap the benefit. Fish are migratory. Fisheries cannot be pre- served. But the oyster is not migratory. It is an animal of domestic instincts and strong local attachments. Where it is placed it stays. Consequently, its cultivation is eminently a proper field for the employment of individual exertion. I would not be understood to mean by the term “cultivation” in this relation, the artificial impregnation of the eggs. That has not yet been made of practicalimportance. I refer, principally, to the cultivation of oyster ground rather than oysters. To the improvement of areas and beds rather than of stock. To in- creasing the facilities for natural expansion, rather than the ex- ercise of natural function. It is quite possible to take a totally barren tract of bottom and seed it with mature oysters, fertilize it with shells, and ina few years reap from itan abundant crop. But evidently no one will undertake this trouble or expense unless he is reasonably certain of gathering the harvest. Equally evident is it that the State cannot sow the ground for the fishermen. Naturally, but one conclusion can be reached. The harvest must be made sure to the individual, and it can only be made sure by the possession of indefeasible proprietary rights. How soon the industry re- vives under such conditions is proved by the history of every THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 157 Northern fishery, but I have not time to quote them in detail. Rhode Island offers perhaps the most instructive instance. In 1865 there was only some 60 or 70 acres of bottom under culti- vation. The product was only some 71,000 bushels. The price was $1.75 per gallon. In that year the law was passed which gave individual and proprietary rights to oyster ground, and an advance began which has never since been checked. In 1883, 11,000 acres were under cultivation; the product was in the neighborhood of 1,000,000 bushels, and the price per gallon had fallen to less thana dollar. The fishery in Connecticut will be, I understand, the subject of a subsequent paper by a member of the Association, and I will not therefore do more than touch upon it. It will suffice for my purpose to state that since the operation of the law giving pro- prietary interest in defined tracts of bottom, an enormous area of what was entirely barren ground has been turned into pro- ductive oyster beds, and the crop of native oysters increased from insignificance to millions of bushels. Indeed, so great has been the success and so encouraging the prospect, that the most prominent planter in the State has said that the Connecticut people could easily afford a subsidy of $50,000 per annum to keep in existence the present Chesapeake policy. These facts appear so overwhelmingly conclusive that it is a matter of astonishment that the course indicated by them has not been immediately adopted. Yet, though it has been urged with great persistency for several years, advocates and adherents have gathered but very slowly. The most important work to be done is, therefore, that of proselyting. But to accomplish this, methods differing from the usual ones must be adopted. Experience shows that the class which it is desirable to con- vert cannot be reached by mere arguments, no matter how sound the postulates upon which they are based may be. It is useless to apply reason to prejudice. Only actual, tangible evidence . can have any effect; and such evidence can only be given by what is practically a system of ‘object lessons.’’ An excellent illustration of the value of such examples is given by the success of oyster-culture in France. There the individual oyster-cultur- ist has been educated by the observation of the model govern- 158 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. ment farcs, until perceiving all the advantages which would accrue from systematic and intelligent effort in this field, he has engaged in the pursuit with wonderful success and credit. Some such system, it seems to me, must be adopted in the Chesapeake region, if we wish to secure sensible legislation and actual ad- vance prior to the destruction of the great natural beds. The people must be educated—must be made to see the folly of their ways and the wisdom of those of others. And, though I am ut- terly opposed to the entrance of the State into the oyster busi- ness, yet if the establishment of a few model oyster farms can teach the people of Maryland and Virginia how to husband and increase the wealth nature has given them, I should regard the money expended in such establishment well spent. But I have detained you far longer than I intended when I first thought of addressing you, and must bring this paper to a close. The range of my subject and the importance of the prin- ciple I have been most desirous of urging upon your considera- tion, have precluded discussion of many minor points of great interest to oyster-culturists, and possibly to the general public. It has also necessitated a more general and superficial treatment of the question, than I would desire. But if I have succeeded in impressing the need for some more efficacious measures than have yet been adopted my end has been accomplished. Certain- ly something should be done. Glance at the census tables and you will find that, with the exception of Virginia, Maryland employs ten times as many persons, and produces ten times as many oysters as any other State. The gross value of her pro- duct is two to four times as large, and her capital five times as great. She has at work two and three times as many vessels, and produces nine and ten times as many oysters. In every re- spect upon a superficial examination, Maryland’s oyster trade appears head and shoulders above that of any other locality. But when a comparison is made of the percentage of capital returned as income, instead of Maryland’s heading the list as would be supposed, she actually brings up at the bottom, her in- dustry returning a smaller income than any other State in the Union. Though the area of the oyster ground is about 400,000 acres, the yield per acre is only 40 bushels, while at the North THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 159 it is fully three times as much. Such a condition of affairs ap- pears bad enough ; but unless some such measures as I have suggested are undertaken matters will soon be worse. If the people are left to themselves, they will, in their ignorance, give us only another instance of exhausted beds and destroyed in- dustry. Unless they can be convinced of the folly of their present course we will have but a repetition in the Chesapeake of the experience in Long Island Sound. The natural oyster of marketable size will disappear, and only a small “seed” oyster will be left. The goose will be killed ; the golden eggs will be laid no more. And the vast fleet of pungies and canoes, and multitudes of men and women will have no employment beyond picking out the pin feathers of the inanimate carcass. In the examination of one of the largest beds in Pocomoke Sound, I found that the shells represented 97 of the product ; in other words, I had to get about fifty bushels of shells before I could get one bushel of oysters. Prof. RyprEer. I have listened to Dr. Hudson, Prof. Goode, and Lieut. Winslow with a great deal of interest, and it seems to me that all the data furnished in their papers point in the same direction, but I cannot but believe that artificial oyster- culture still holds out to us some little hope of success. I have lately read a recent paper by M. Bouchon-Brandely in which he makes the following remarkable statement : “It is to the French investigators that we are indebted for the first advances and ex- periments in artificial oyster-culture.” That includes, I presume, the development of the methods of artificial oyster-culture, or rather of artificial fertilization as applied to oyster-culture. And I take this occasion before the American Fish Cultural Asso- ciation to make a reclamation in favor of American investi- gators, and especially Prof. Brooks, of Johns Hopkins Univer- sity, in whose footsteps I and several others have trodden, and particularly in our work along the Chesapeake bay. We have succeeded in confining the spawn of the American oyster in arti- 160 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. ficial ponds, so as to develop the fry to that point in their life- history at which they can be transferred from the fertilizing pans or dishes to parks, and there placed under such conditions as will enable them to grow into adult’ oysters. I do not mean to insist that the American methods of confining the oyster spat are of paramount importance, but I do assert that we were the first to practically apply any methods, or to devise suitable ap- paratus for such experiments. In the pamphlet to which I have referred, there is described a machine in which the embryo are confined and in which the water is kept in continuous circula- tion. That machine was devised and operated by Colonel Mc- Donald in 1882. I believe that Lieutenant Winslow, in associa- tion with Professor Brooks operated a similar machine about the same time. Both of these experiments were successful, I think, in getting the fry attached within about twenty-four hours after artificial fertilization. So much for the facts. Subsequent- ly, or about ayear later, I carried on some experiments at Stock- ton, Maryland, following out on a larger scale the methods which I had devised in 1880, in order to confine the artificially fertilized eggs with the result of getting spat from artificially fertilized eggs. The method of confining the fry is simple, and merely involves the use of a diaphragm of sand through which the tide may ebb and flow automatically, and thus renew the water in the inclosure. It is evident that such a diaphragm might be utilized to confine the larvz which are thrown off from the beds, and which are confined to coves or areas with re- stricted months: in other words, that there are a great many places (as indicated on the maps in this hall, prepared by Lieut. Winslow) in which diaphragms might be constructed on a very simple plan, but upon a larger scale, and by means of which we could actually confine the spawn and prevent it from escaping from the areas, whilst we would provide in those same waters clean “cultch” to which the spat could adhere. The history of the attachment of the spat has been worked out very carefully by Professor Huxley and mvself, for both the American and European species. The papers in which these matters have been discussed may be found in the Luglish /llus- trated Magazine for 1883, and in the Bulletins and Reports of the THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 161 ee Se See United States Fish Commission for 1881 and 1882. So that I think that purely artificial methods, as applied to the cultivation of oysters in this country, are not altogether without indications of success in the near future. Lieut. WinsLow: I did not mean that the artificial propaga- tion of the oyster might not in the future be brought to some practical issue. [ only stated that it had not yet been. But while the process of raising oysters by artificially fecundating the eggs of the female, will not, probably, soon be made a matter of economic importance, the study of the embryonic life of the oyster will certainly be of great value to oyster-culturists in the future. For instance, the usual method of the oyster farmer is to deposit in the spring or late winter months, a certain number of ‘“‘spawners” or mature oysters. After those oysters have lain on the ground three or four months and the spawning season has approached, vast quantities of shells or other suitable ‘“cultch” are scattered in the vicinity, for the young fry to fast- en to. Now it is of the utmost importance that this “cultch” should be clean, and consequently the later it is thrown over- board the better, as the deposit of sediment is thus avoided. But care must be used not to wait too long, else the time when the fry attach will be passed. Now as every oyster-man knows where an oyster is spawning, if, through the study of the embry- ological life of the animal, we could tell him just how much time elapses between the spawning and the attachment, we would provide him with information of great practical value. For reasons such as I have just recited, I think embryological work in this direction desirable. Possibly we may also make oyster raising through the artificial impregnation of eggs a matter of practical importance, but so far as my experience goes, I am in- clined to doubt any such consummation, desirable though it may be. Prof. Ryvper: The results of my own experiments and obsery- ations in this matter are I think of some value. I have found by more recent study of spat which I obtained in vast abundance at Buzzard’s bay that after the fry-shell had grown to the di- mensions of 1-go inch or about four times the size of the fry-shell 162 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. when it first affixes itself, there was proof that the fry-shell had been attached to the surface of fixation for a considerable time before the spat-shell was formed, and that the fixation of the fry-shell was continuous with the fixation of the spat- shell, which may last until the diameter of the lower valve is nearly two inches. I take it that the fixation occurs in from 24 to 72 hours. There is, however, this fact opposed to it. I have found embryo oysters not larger than 1-250 inch, still free; that is about twice the size of the larvze oysters ordinarily observed in our waters or obtained by artificial fertilization. These large free oyster larve were obtained from the stomach of adult oysters. Prof. Goope: It seemsto me that, from what we have to-day heard from Dr. Hudson, Lieut. Winslow, and Professor Ryder, we cannot fail to see what no doubt we have all partially real- ized before, namely, that there is a great cause for alarm as to the future of the oyster fisheries. I have already stated that the natural oyster-beds of Europe have become almost extinct, except as a source of seed ‘for private ‘cultivation, and ie seems as if our own beds were becoming similarly destroyed. I think that Professor Ryder has not in the least overstated the importance of theartificial culture of the oyster, as developed by himself and others. One of the most striking events connect- ed with the participation of the United States in the fishery ex- hibition at London last summer, was the receipt of a telegram from Professor Baird, stating the results of Professor Ryder’s work at Stockton, Maryland. The substance of the telegram was printed in one of the English papers, and in less than a week it had been reprinted in at least 5,000 papers. Letters began pouring in from Russia, Denmark, Holland and Scotland, ask- ing for details, and the general enthusiasm over the matter was indeed astounding. Some of the recommendations which Lieut. Winslow has made with reference to the encouragement on the part of the Govern- ment by the establishment of model farms, are of great import- ance, as also are many of the other suggestions which he made. It seems desirable that the United States should carry out that sys- tem, as has been done at St. Jerome, Maryland. I think that a THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 163 special obligation of this Association is to utter a word of warn- ing to this country that unless something is done very soon, a portion, at least, of the oyster grounds in some of our States will be as worthless as some of those of the European countries have already become. And it appears to me that we ought to put forth some official utterance in the matter, which shall be quoted in legislative houses as the deliberate opinion of this body of men, which includes all who have given any attention to the sub- ject of fish-culture. I therefore move that a committee be ap- pointed by the president of the Association to report before the close of the session, some resolution which shall express the opinion of the Society as to the necessity of protecting our oys- ter-fisheries by legislation by artificial propagation, and by all other possible means. Mr. BLacKForp: I second the motion, and believe this matter to be one of the most important that could come before this meeting. Iam of the opinion that such a resolution, going out at this time from the Association, would havea great effect upon the action of the State legislatures, some of which are now con- sidering the propriety of taking some measures for the protec- tion of the oyster industry—especially New York. The PresipENT: It is moved and seconded that a committee be appointed by the president, to report as soon as possible, as to what steps shall be taken by this Association to warn the differ- ent States in regard to the oyster depletion. I will appoint for that committee, Messrs. Goode, Winslow and Ryder. 164 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. NATURAL CAUSES INFLUENCING THE’ MOVEMENTS QE FISH IN RIV ERS: BY MARSHALL MC’DONALD. If we will consider for a moment the varieties of conditions that concur in and modify agricultural production, we will be better prepared to appreciate the multiple influences that enter into the question of maintaining and increasing the production of our fisheries. . The farmer of to-day has a guide in the conduct of the prac- tical operations of agriculture, the collective experience of all who have preceded him. The observations of many generations condensed in proverb and apothegm, and handed down from father to son, gives to the unlettered peasant the interpretation of natural signs, the forecast of seasons and the empirical rules by which he tills and sows and garners the unequal harvests, which the unequal seasons bring. Less than a century ago, chemistry allying herself with agri- culture, laid the foundation of rational methods, and since then chemists and botanists, physicists and physiologists, have been busy with their investigations, each contributing in some essen- tial particular to the solution of the important problem of in- creasing and maintaining the fertility of the soil. In those countries, like England for example, where the re- sults of scientific investigations have been formulated into rules of practice, the average production of cereals per acre now ex- ceeds two-fold, and often three-fold, the average production per acre two hundred years ago. This result has been accomplished in the face of an intensive system of cropping, which long ago would have rendered the fertile fields of England unproductive moorlands, or barren wastes, but for the lessons taught by chemists in its application to agriculture, and appropriated and applied in practice. Just in proportion as man has learned to dominate the condi- tions which influence agricultural production, he has been en- abled to raise the average yield per acre; but, unequalities of THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 165 production from year to year, resulting from the influence of natural conditions beyond his control, still persist. Confronted with those adverse influences, all the toil of the husbandman, all his stores of experience, all the resources of science, are powerless to avert scanty harvests, or absolute fail- ure of crops. What is true of agriculture is equally true of aquiculture, and more particularly of pisciculture in rivers. The restoration and maintenance of our river fisheries de- pends upon our ability to promote conditions favorable to pro- duction, and exclude those which are adverse. First—The seed of the future harvest must be sown. Where, in consequence of the interference of man by excessive fishing, or by the destruction of spawning grounds, natural agencies are inadequate to produce the young fish in numbers sufficient to repair the inroads made by capture or by natural casualties, we must supply the deficiency by artificial propagation. But the breeding and planting of shad or herring by the sisi lion or tens of millions, in an area like the Potomac or the James, or the Susquehannah rivers, cannot carry the annual product of the fisheries in these rivers beyond a certain maxi- mum limit, which is defined, first by the extent of the breeding and feeding area acceptable to the fish, and second by the abund- ance of food for the fry which is to be found in this area. Second—The extension of the breeding and feeding areas to their natural limits, by providing practical passes for our ana- dromous fishes over the artificial or natural obstructions which have contracted these areas, is a second essential condition to be fulfilled, and is one of equal or even greater importance than the artificial propagation and planting of the fry, because it is possible by this means to secure the permanent restoration of our river fisheries under natural conditions. A third condition, exercising an important influence upon the permanence of our river fisheries, has only recently attracted at- tention, and offers an inviting and important field of investiga- tion. We may plant the young of shad or herring in our rivers in countless millions, we may extend the breeding and feeding 166 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. areas to their natural limits, but if the agency of man has so modified the natural conditions that the proper food of the young fish during their river life is no longer found, or occurs in much less than the necessary abundance, then the effort to increase the supply by artificial propagation and planting will prove a dismal failure. How far the pollution of our rivers by sewerage, gas tar, ref- use chemical products, etc., has changed the original conditions of our rivers, is a matter inviting exhaustive and critical inves- tigation. Fourth—A rational code of laws, relating to the fisheries, may exert an important conservative influence, by imposing such re- strictions upon the time and methods of capture, as will permit some considerable portion of the shad and herring which enter our rivers, to reach their spawning grounds and deposit their eges without molestation. By the observance and enforcement of the conditions above indicated, we may reasonably expect to greatly increase the average annual production of our river fisheries, but we can never hope to eliminate great unequalities in the product of the fisheries in different seasons. Natural conditions, apparently beyond the control of man, will determine disastrous and discouraging failures one season, and the next a teeming abundance in the same river. The influence of water temperatures, in determining the pres- ence. or absence» of; certain: species ‘of fish! inj) certainy areasvor water, has been observed both in regard to the ocean and the river species which are the object of commercial fisheries. Ob- servation of water temperature and its relations to the migra- tions of fish, have not been continued long enough to justify us in formulating conclusions, but the drift of investigation and observations goes to show that there is for each species a normal temperature in which it prerers to be, and that its migrations are determined by the shifting of these areas of congenial tem- perature under the influence of the seasons. Observations, now continued for several vears, have led to the conclusion that, in the case of the shad, the normal tempera- ture, toward which it is ever moving, is about 60 degrees, Fahr. THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 167 The data upon which this conclusion is based are as follows: First—The shad make their appearance in the St. Johns river, Florida, as soon as the temperature of the river falls to 60 degrees, or thereabouts, which takes place from the middle of November to the rst of December. At this time the river is colder than the ocean plateau outside, and the movements or migration is from warmer to cooler areas in the direction of the normal temperature of 60 degrees. Second—The shad which are spawned in the Potomac in April, May and June, remain in the river all summer. Schools of them may be frequently seen in the river in front of Washing- ton. They continue abundant until the latter part of October or 1st of November. When the temperature falls below 60 de- grees, they begin to drop down the river in their migrations seaward. In this case they are moving from cooler to warmer waters and toward the normal temperature of 60 degrees. Third—The beginning of the spring run of shad into the Po- tomac river is about coincident with the date when the river temperature rises above that of Chesapeake bay. In this case, too, the shad are moving from cooler to warmer waters, and in the direction of the normal temperature of 60 degrees, for the temperature of both bay and river is at the beginning of the season always below 60 degrees. It will be seen, therefore, that wherever we have been able to intercept the shad in its migrations and place it under observa- tion, it is always moving in the directiqn of the normal tempera- ture of 60 degrees. Assuming it to be true as a general fact that the shad in their ordinary migrations are ever traveling on temperature paths which lead to the normal temperature of 60 degrees, it becomes possible to determine the law, the rate, and the Jimit of their movements in a certain area, by tracing the shifting of the areas of congenial temperature under the influence of the seasons. The data for the discussion are furnished by the records of observations of water temperatures, made at the lighthouses by the direction of the Lighthouse Board, and at Washington by an employee of the United States Fish Commission. The three stations selected for comparison of ocean, bay and 168 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. river temperature are (1) Winter Quarter Shoals for the ocean plateau, (2) Wolf-trap Light for Chesapeake Bay, and (3) Wash- ington, D. C., for the Potomac River. The station at Winter Quarter Shoals is up the coast about forty miles north of Cape Charles,and is about eight miles from shore. “It iS close to the edge of that cold ‘Arctic’current whien wedges itself down between the Gulf Stream and the shore, and, bringing with it the temperature of Arctic latitudes, builds a wall of minimum temperature beyond which the shad probably never pass in their migrations. The only records of bay temperature available for the season of 1881 were the signal service observations in Norfolk Harbor. These records, which give the temperature of Elizabeth river rather than the bay, indicate more rapid fluctuations than is pos- sible in the general temperature of the bay, and give a daily range of temperature several degrees higher than that of the bay. This correction I have approximately applied in the discus- sion of the temperature observations of 1881, in order to bring them into harmony with the observations of bay temperature for 1882 and 1883, which were made by observers at Wolf-trap Light. This locality is on the west shore of the bay, half way between: the Rappahannock and York rivers, and being well off from the shore, little influenced by local variations, the temperatures taken here may therefore be taken to represent the general tem- perature of the bay waters for corresponding dates. The result of the study of the data above indicated are graph- ically presented in the three outline maps of the Chesapeake and Delaware basins, illustrating the movements of the areas of con- genial temperatures under the influence of the seasons, and in the chart showing the relations between the temperatures of the Potomac river during the fishing seasons of 1881, 1882 and 1883, and the fluctuations in the shad fisheries of the rivers for the same period. (The rest of Col. McDonald’s remarks were oral and with re- ference to the maps and charts exhibited.) THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 169 The conclusions deducted by him from the discussion of the data presented were as follows: The temperature records of 1881, ’82 and ’83 indicate that for the winter months the area of maximum temperature is not in the rivers or in the bay, but on that ocean plateau outside, ex- tending from the capes of the Chesapeake to the Delaware breakwater. The presumption, therefore, is that the schools of shad belonging to both the Chesapeake and the Delaware, have their common winter quarters on this plateau. When under the influence of the advancing seasons the waters of the Chesapeake and the Delaware bays become warmer than on this plateau, the migrations into continental waters begin. The proportion of the entire run that will be directed to the Delaware or the Chesa- peake, will be determined at this time, “If the northern end of the area warms up more rapidly than the southern, then an un- usual proportion of the shad will be thrown into the Delaware. On the other hand, cold waters coming down the Delaware, may effect a contrary movement, and throw the schools of shad al- most entirely into the Chesapeake; thus leading to a partial or total failure of the the shad fisheries of the Delaware for the season. When the schools of shad have entered the Chesapeake, their distribution to the rivers will be determined in the same way by temperature influences operating. If the season i$ backward, so as to keep down the temperature of the larger rivers which head back in the mountains, then the run of shad will be mainly into the shorter tributaries of the bay, which have their rise in the tide-water belt, and which, of course, are warmer at this season than the main rivers. . Again, warm rains at the beginning of the fishing season in our large rivers, and the absence of snow in the mountains, will determine the main movement of the shad into the larger rivers of the basin; and if, when the schools enter the estuaries of these rivers, they encounter a temperature considerably higher than that in the bay itself, the movement up the river will be tumult- uous; the schools of shad and herring all entering and ascend- ing at once, producing a glut in the fisheries such as we some- times have recorded. 170 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. It follows, therefore, in the light of these facts, that we may have a successful fishing on the Delaware, accompanied by a total or partial failure in the Chesapeake area, and wice versa; and con- sidering the Chesapeake area alone, we may have a very success- ful fishery in the aggregate, yet accompanied by partial or total failure in particular streams under the influence of temperature conditions, as above indicated. Statistics of the shad fishery, if they are to furnish a measure of increase or decrease, must in- clude the aggregate catch of the Chesapeake and Delaware riv- ers and indeed of the rivers much further to the north. Statistics based upon a comparison of the catch in the same river in differ- ent seasons, are of no value as serving to give a measure of the results of artificial propagation. THE AFTERNOON SESSION. At the afternoon session the President asked if the Committee on Nominations was ready to report. Professor GoopE: Your committee has nominated: For President, Hon. THEODORE LYMAN, M. C., Massachusetts. For Vice-President, Colonel MARSHALL MCDONALD, Virginia. For Treasurer, Hon. E. G. BLACKFORD, New York. For Corresponding Secretary, Mr. R. E. EARLL, Illinois. For Recording Secretary, Mr. FRED, MATHER, New York. As members of the Executive Committee: Mr. JAMES BENKARD, New York. Mr. GEORGE SHEPARD PAGE, New Jersey. Mr. BARNET PHILLIPS, New York. Prof. G. BROWN GOODE, Connecticut. Dr. WILLIAM M. Hupson, Connecticut. Mr. S. G..WoRTH, North Carolina. These nominations were formally carried. THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. E71 The PresipENt: I would like to suggest to the gentlemen of the Executive Committee, and also to the officers for the ensu- ing year, that during the present meeting there be held a con- ference for consultation. We are sadly in need of rules and regulations, and have no order of business, and I think it desir- able to move in this matter as our Association is rapidly growing in size and importance. THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND NUTRITIVE VALUE OF OUR AMERICAN FOOD FISHES AND INVERTEBRATES. BY, W.<.@. “AVG Wea TR At the meetings of the American Fish-Cultural Association in 1880 and 1881, I had the pleasure of presenting some brief state- ments of the results of an investigation of the chemistry of fish and marine invertebrates, which has been going on for some years past in the chemical laboratory of Wesleyan University, under the auspices of the United States Fish Commission and the Smithsonian Institution. Since the papers referred to were presented to the Associa- tion, the investigation has been continued so as to include chem- ical analyses of the flesh of some one hundred specimens of food-fishes, embracing fifty-one species, and sixty-four speci- mens of invertebrates, oysters, lobsters, etc., embracing eleven species, making in all one hundred and eighty-two specimens of sixty-two species. Besides the analyses, the range of the investigation has been extended so as to include two other, but closely related, topics. One of these is the digestibility of the flesh of fish as compared with that of mammals used for food, e. g., beef, mutton, etc. The other line of research is more purely chemical, and consists in the study of the constitution of the compounds of which the tis- sues of the fish are composed. 172 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION, Along with the analyses of food-fishes and invertebrates, a parallel series of analyses ofeother food materials, animal and vegetable, has been undertaken at the instance of the United States National Museum, to furnish data for illustrating its food collection. The results are, of course, valuable in connec- tion with our present subject, as we need to know not only the composition and nutritive value of fish, but, also, how they com- pare in these respects with other materials used for food. The report of the United States Fish Commission for 1880, contained accounts of some of the earlier portions of the inves- tigation. I hope a detailed account of the work up to the pres- ent may be printed soon. Meanwhile I desire to lay before the Fish-Cultural Association some of the more important results, in so far as they bear upon the nutritive values of the food-fishes and invertebrates that have been studied. Inasmuch as these statements may come under the notice of some who are not entirely familiar with the later results of the investigation of the laws of nutritive values of food materials, and how they are most economically utilized, a few explanations may be in place. These will be the more appropriate, because late investigation is tending to decide some disputed questions re- garding the ways in which food is used in the body, and because many of the statements which go the rounds of the papers and still linger even in current works on physiology and chemistry, are shown by the researches of a few years past to be mislead- ing, and in too many cases, decidedly incorrect. I may, perhaps, be pardoned therefore if the statements which follow contain some slight repetition of those made in papers previously pre- sented to the Association. THE NUTRITIVE VALUES OF FOODS. It is a striking fact that while the chief item of the living ex- penses of the majority of civilized men is the cost of their food, even the most intelligent know less of the actual value of their food than of any other of the important articles they buy. It makes but little difference to the man with $5,ooo per annum, whether he pays fifteen cents or five dollars per pound for the THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 173 eee ee eee protein of his food, provided it pleases his palate. But to the humble housewife whose husband earns but $500 a year, it isa matter of great importance, and she is very apt, after hesitating at the dry-goods store between two pieces of calico for her daughter's dress, and taking one at ten cents a yard for econ- cmy’s sake, though the one at eleven was prettier, to goto the grocer’s, the butchers, or the fish-dealer’s, and pay a dollar a pound for the nutrients of her children’s food, when she might have obtained the same ingredients, in forms equally whole- some and nutritious, for fifty or even twenty cents. She will continue this bad economy until she obtains a general idea of the actual cheapness and dearness of foods, as distinguished from their price. A pound of lean beef and a quart of milk both contain about the same quantity, say a quarter of a pound, of actually nutri- tive material. But the pound of beef costs more than the quart of milk and it is worth more as a part of a day’s supply of food. The nutritive materials or nutrients, as we call them, in the lean meat, though the same in quantity as in the milk, are dif- ferent in quality, and of greater nutritive value. Among the numerous branches of biological research, one, and by no means the least interesting and important, is the study of foods and nutrition. Within the past fifteen years especially, a very large amount of scientific labor has been devoted to the investigation of the composition of foods and the function of their ingredi- ents in the animal economy. Indeed, very few persons this side of the Atlantic have any just conception of the magnitude of this work and its results. And, though the most important problems are still unsolved, and must, because of their complex- ity, long remain so, yet enough has been done to give us a toler- ably clear insight into the processes by which the food we eat supplies our bodily wants. The bulk of our best definite knowledge of these matters comes from direct experiments, in which animals are supplied with food of various kinds, and the effects noted. The food, the excrement, solid and liquid, and in some cases the inhaled and exhaled air, are measured, weighed and analyzed. Many trials have been made with domestic animals-—horses, oxen L74 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. cows, sheep, goats and swine—with dogs, rabbits, birds and the like, anda large number also with human beings of both sexes and different ages. Inthe philosophical planning of the researches, in the ingenuity manifested in devising apparatus, in accuracy, thoroughness, patience, and long. continuance in the work, as well as in the distinguished genius of many of the workers, chemico-physiological science has assumed the highest rank among the sciences of our time; with the rest it has brought us where we can estimate the nutritive values of foods from their chemical composition, with so near an approach to accuracy that in Germany, where the best research is done, tables, giving in figures, the composition and nutritive valuations of foods, have been prepared by eminent chemists and physiologists, and are coming into general use among the people. We eat meat and fish, potatoes and bread, to build up our bodies, to repair their wastes, and to supply them with fuel for the production of heat and muscular force. Of the meat my butcher sends me, the fish I find in the mar- ket, the bread and the other food upon my table, only a part serves to fulfill these purposes. The bone of our roast beef we do not use for food at all, and that of shad is worse than useiess because of the bother it makes us to get rid of it ; it is only the edible portion that is of actual value to us as food, the rest be- ing merely refuse. And when we come to consider the edible portion, the meat freed from bone and gristle, the flesh of the fish, or the flour as it is baked in bread, we find that these con- sist largely of water. And although water is indispensable, that in the meat or the potatoes on my table is of no more valuable for the support of my body, than the same amount in milk or in the glass of water by my plate. Leaving out of account, then, the refuse and the water, we bave remaining the nutritive material of our food. This con- sists of different materials which we may call nutrients. We may divide them into four classes: protein, fats, carbo-hydrates and mineral matter, or ash. Let me speak briefly of some of the characteristics of these classes of nutrients. Protein.—The terms protein, proteids, and albuminoids, are applied somewhat indiscriminately, in ordinary usage, to several THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 175 or all of certain classes of compounds charcterized by contain- ing carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and with them, nitrogen. The most important are the proteids or albuminoids, of which albu- men, the white of egg, fibrin of blood, casein of milk, myosin, the basis of muscle, and gluten of wheat, are examples. Allied to these, but occurring in smaller proportions in animal tissues and foods, are the nitrogenous compounds that make the basis of connective and other tissues. Gelatin is derived from some of these tissues, and may be taken as a type of the compound of this class. As these constituents are of similar constitution and have similar or nearly similar uses in nutrition, it is cus- tomary to group them together as protein.* What we should especially bear in mind, then, is that protein is a term applied to the nitrogenous constituents of our foods, and we shall see these are, in general, the most important, as they are most cost- ly, of the nutrients. Fats.—We have familiar examples of these in the fat of meat, (tallow, lard,) in the fat of milk which makes butter, and in olive, cotton seed, and other animal and vegetable oils. The fats consist of carbon oxygen and hydrogen and contain no ni- trogen. In nutritive value, as in cost, they rank next to the protein compounds. For some of the nutritive functions, in- deed, the fats equal or exceed protein in importance. Carbo-hydrates—Starch, cellulose, (woody fiber) sugar, and ino- osite, (“ Muscle sugar’”’) and other similar substances are called carbo-hydrates. Like the fats, they consist of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen, but they have less carbon and hydrogen, and more oxygen than the fats. Mineral matters or Ash—When vegetable or animal matters are burned, more or less incombustible material remains as ash. The ingredients which make the ash are called mineral matters, or sometimes, salts. They are for the most part compounds of the elements, potassium, sodium, calcium and iron with chlorine, sulphuric acid and phosperic acid. Sodium combined with chlor- ee EE eee * The muscular tissues of animals, and hence the lean portions of meat, fish, etc., contain small qualities of so-called nitrogenous extractives—creatin, carnin, etc., contained in extract of meat, etc., which contribute materially to the flavor, and somewhat to the nutritive ef- fect of the foods containing them. They are not usually deemed of sufficient importance, however, to be grouped as a distinct class in tabular statements of the composition of foods. 176 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. ine forms sodium chloride, common salt. Calcium with phos- phoric acid forms calcium phosphate or phosphate of lime, the mineral basis of bones. Our bodies contain scores of compounds, many of which can not be included in either of the-above four classes. But the bulk of the compounds in the bodies of animals, as well as in the food by which they are nourished, are either water or some material which we may call protein, fats, carbo-hydrates, or mineral matters. Animal foods, as meats, fish, etc., contain but little of carbo- hydrates, their chief nutrients being protein and fats. Milk, however, and some shell fish, as oysters, scallops, etc., contain more or less of carbo-hydrates. Vegetable foods, as wheat, po- tatoes, etc., contain less protein and consist largely of starch, sugar, cellulose, and other carbo-hydrates, though nearly all contain more or less of fats. THE FUNCTIONS OF THE NUTRIENTS. These different nutrients as we have seen, have different offices in nourishing the body, in building up its tissues, repairing its wastes, and serving as fuel to produce animal heat, and muscu- lar and intellectual energy. Just what is done by each class, exactly how they are transformed and used in the body, is not yet fully known. Still we have to-day a tolerably fair idea of the principal parts played by each class of nutrients. According to views formerly held and frequently met with, still, the protein compounds were regarded as the “ flesh-form- ers’? and the sources of muscular energy, while the carbo- hydrates and fat were looked upon as “fat-formers” and “ heat- producers.” A vast deal of painstaking research, however, has shown that these distinctions were not correctly drawn. The albuminoids are flesh-formers, it is true; indeed, according to the nearly unanimous testimony of the most trustworthy experi- ments, flesh, z. ¢., muscular and other nitrogenous tissue, is made from the nitrogenous constituents of the food exclusively. But the balance of testimony is decidedly against the production of muscular energy exclusively or mainly, by nitrogenous com- THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 177 a ed rN pounds. Each of the three groups of nutrients probably shares, directly or indirectly, in the production of muscular force. So, too, it appears that the combustion which produces animal heat is not confined to the carbo-hydrates and fats, but the protein compounds, or the products of their decomposition, are also used for this purpose. Again, the production of fat in the body was formerly ascribed to the fats and carbo-hydrates alone. On the other hand some physiologists maintain that the carbo-hy- drates cannot be transformed into fats, and that a very large part of the fat of the body is formed from the disintegration of the al- buminoids. The weight of evidence to-day is decidedly in favor of the assumption that all three of the great classes of nutrients in our foods—the albuminoids, the carbo-hydrates, and the fats— are transformed into fat, and that the fat thus formed is con- sumed, either before or after being stored as body-fat. It appears, then, that protein is the most important constituent of our food, because, while it performs the functions of each of the other two chief nutrients in being transformed into fat and in being consumed for fuel, it has a most weighty office of its own in forming the basis of the blood and in building up the muscular and other nitrogenous tissues, an office which no other nutrient can perform at all. And, as we shall see further, in ex- amining the pecuniary cost, protein is the dearest as well as the most important of the ingredients of foods. Next in physiological importance to protein come the fats. They lack the nitrogen of the protein and cannot do the work of protein in forming nitrogenous tissue, making blood, muscle, etc. But they are very rich in carbon and hydrogen, more so than either protein or carbo-hydrates, and hence they have a very high value for fuel, to supply heat and probably muscular force. And in pecuniary cost as well as in physiological importance they rank between protein and carbo-hydrates. The carbo-hydrates stand lowest in the scale of physiological importance and are pecuniarily the least expensive. Neverthe- less it would be wrong to class the carbo-hydrates of food as on the whole of minor importance. They have a most important use in taking the place of protein and fats and protecting them from being consumed, just as the fats replace and thus save the 178 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. 5 protein. The materials used for food by man contain, taken all together, more carbo-hydrates than fats or protein. The carbo- hyarates have their normal place in our food and we could not dispense with them. They are of inferior value to the protein and fats, in the sense that there is much of the work of food in the body which they cannot do as well as the protein and fats, and much more which they cannot do at all. But they do work which the scarcer and dearer protein and fats would otherwise have to do, and, furthermore, they occur in such large propor- tions, especially in vegetable materials which make the larger part of the food of man, that their actual importance is very great. AMOUNTS OF NUTRIENTS REQUIRED FOR A DAY'S RATIONS. Numerous attempts have been made to determine how much of each of the three principal classes of nutrients, protein, fats, and carbo-hydrates, is needed for a day’s food for an individual, an adult or a child, at work or at rest. We know, in general, a man when hard at work requires more, because more is consumed in his body than the same man would when doing no work. But different men have different requirements, due to individual pe- culiarities, so that the best we can do is to take an average amount as expressing the need of an average man. By compar- ing the amounts of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen, ac- tually found by experiments to be consumed by different indi- viduals, and also noting the amount and composition of the food consumed by different persons, estimates have been made of the quantities of the several nutrients by individuals of different classes under various conditions. Prof. von Voit, of the Uni- versity of Munich, for instance, who has made more extensive researches upon this subject, perhaps, than any one else, com- putes that a fair daily ration for a laboring man of average weight, at moderate work, would need to supply: 4.2 ounces of protein; 2 ounces of fats; and 17.6 ounces of carbo-hydrates. Of course he may get on with less of either one, provided he has more of the others. But there isa minimum below which he cannot go without injury, and especially he must not have too little protein. He may hgve more protein and less carbo-hy- THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 179 drates or fats with no great harm, but with too little protein he will suffer, no matter how much carbo-hydrates his food may furnish. If I have dwelt at some length upon this matter of the nutri- ents of foods and the ways they are used in our bodies, it is be- cause it is extremely important to a proper understanding of our subject. And perhaps I can do no better than to recapitu- late what I have said in the following tabular form. NUTRIENTS OF FOODS. 1. Protein Compounds:—Contain Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen and Ni- trogen. 2. Fats:—Consist of Carbon, Oxygen and Hydrogen. 3. Carbo-hydrates:—Consist of Carbon, Oxygen and Hydrogen. 4. Mineral matters or Ash:—e. g. Calcium, Potassium and Sodium, Phosphates and Chlorides. (A. Albumznozds or Protezds: e.g. Albumen of Egg, Myosin ; , ask ie, Seta ne (Lean of Meat), Casein of Milk, Gluten of | B. Gelatenozds: e. g. Collagen (which boiled, yieids Gelatin), Fats: e. g. Fats of Meat, Butter, Olive Oil, Oil of Maize and Wheat. Carbo-hydrates: e. g. Starch, Sugar, Cellulose. MEAN PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION. Protein Compounds. Fats. Carbo-hydrates. GaTDOn~....... el Ss 53.5 per Gent, 76.5 per Gent. 44.0 per cent. OSS AS pS Es Pace fis A9.6" "5 PATE ccs Se a ono FO oh ee PGi tty 6.4 Nitrogem 20. i>... ee tO ey Srp inere so. Pet eS TOF 94 100.0 100.0 100.0 FUNCTIONS OF NUTRIENTS: ze. Ways in which the nutrients are used in the body. (forms the (nitrogenous) basis of blood, muscle, con- The Protein | nective tissue, etc. of food is transformed into fats and carbo- hydrates. | is consumed for fuel. The Fats are stored as fat. of food are consumed for fuel, The Carbo-hy- ‘ are transformed into fat. drates of food jare consumed for fu®l. 180 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. AMOUNTS OF NUTRIENTS REQUIRED IN A DAY’S FOOD. Mintmum daily ration for laboring men at ordinary work. Protein Fats Carbo-hydrates 118 grams (4,2 ounces). 56 grams (2 ounces). 500 grams (17,6 ounces). The same experimental research which has revealed to us the ways in which our food supplies our bodily wants, has shown us how to estimate the relative nutritive values of different foods from their chemical composition. The estimates are only ap- proximate, because the nutritive effects are influenced by various conditions, some of which research has not yet been definitely ex- plained, while others vary with the nature of the food or the user, so that the value of a given food in a given case may vary from the standard set by the analysis. These sources of uncer- tainty are nevertheless so narrowed down by late investigation, and the errors confined within such limits, that by intelligent use of the facts at our disposal, we may judge very closely from the chemical composition of a food, what is its value as compared with others of the same class, at any rate, for our nourishment. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF FOODS. We are now ready to consider the amounts of the different ingredients, nutrients and non-nutrients, in fish and other foods. Perhaps I can illustrate this in no better way than by an actual example. A sample of beef, sirloin, of medium fatness, was found by analysis in our laboratory, to consist of about one- fourth bone and three-fourths flesh, edible substance. The flesh was analyzed and found to contain, nearly: water, 60 per cent.; protein, 19 per cent.; fats, 20 per cent.;)}mineral matter, jiaper cent. Calculating upon the whole sample of meat, which one- fourth, or twenty-five per cent., was bone and other refuse, and 75 per cent. flesh, the analysis would stand as in the following table, in which the composition of the flesh by itself and that of the meat, bone, and all, are both given:— in Te THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 181 n me In flesh, rae en This very imperfect analysis may be enna: cluding stated in the following form, as 1s done : refuse. in the tables beyond: Per cent. | Per cent. Refuse, bone, etc..... ... None. 25 ht tae HAALD US See Sater ee ge) IF 60 45 The tables beyond contain also col- PRONE say ops Gs sc, or 19 1414 umns for carbohydrates, etc., which oc- Te aoees te a Ra 20 15 cur in milk and in some shell-fish, but Mineral matters... __ of ee 1 34 are not found in ordinary meats in suf- ficient amount to warrant their insertion a eat sis b.* <5 F 100 100 in such tables as these. CONSTITUENTS OF SAMPLE OF BEEF—SIRLOIN. ' In EpisLte Portion— In MEATS AS PURCHASED— i.e., flesh freed from bone and other refuse including both edible portion and refuse. eS ere eee - EDIBLE PORTION. : NUTRIENTS. eS = FOOD=MATERIAL. ‘e ‘ Sey . NOS Pe — a ar is) mI ou e | 8 |2s| es |ss|es| & |ze|fe| 2 | se 3 a es &y es) fa} x | KY ee =e Z a i Beef, sirloin, medium|Per ct) Per ct Per ct/Per ct/Per ct| Per ct Per ct/Per ct Per ct}Per ct|Per ct PAINE SSE toe an eC 60 40 19 20 45 30 | 14.8] 15 0.7 I think that with the above illustrations the following tables, illustrating the composition of fish and other animal and vege- table foods will be plain. Table I gives the composition of a number of specimens of the flesh of fish and invertebrates, z. ¢., the edible portion freed from bone, skin and other refuse. Table II gives the composition of the specimens as actually found in the markets including both refuse and edible portion. Table I is the more interesting from the chemical and physio- logical standpoint, but Table Ilis more useful, practically, since it shows how much of the several nutrients we actually get in the materials as we buy them. Table III gives the composition of a number of our more common vegetable food materials. Table IV includes a smaller number of the analyses of fish, but gives other animal foods, meats, dairy products, etc., for comparison. The composition of edible portions and of the matérials as found in the markets are both given together. I ought to say with regard to all the figures in the tables, that they are based upon too few analysis to allow them to be en- tirely satisfactory. It is only a short time since analysis of American meats, fish, etc., have been undertaken in any con- siderable number, and those as yet accomplished are far from 182 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. sufficient for a complete survey of the subject. Indeed, the work already done can be regarded only asa beginning. Still, the figures will give a tolerably fair idea of the composition of the articles named. y The analysis of animal food, the tables with the exception of a few from European sources and indicated by italics, are se- lected from the results of the investigation of which I have spoken as conducted under the auspices of the Smithsonian In- stitution and the United States Fish Commission, and are al- most the only ones as yet attempted in this country. Those of vegetable foods are in part from the investigation, and in part from other sources. TABLE I. PERCENTAGES. OF WATER AND NUTRITIVE INGREDIENTS IN FLESH, EDIBLE PORTION. (Freed from Bone, Shells and other Refuse Matters) OF FOOD FISHES AND INVERTEBRATES. Specimens of flesh of Fish and of edible portion, (flesh and pine of Oysters, etc., were found to contain water and nutritive substances, as below. The figures represent parts in 100 by weight. Protein x Fats « Carbo-hydrates, etc. # Mineral Matters = Nutrients. Nutrients a Water —100. KINDS OF FOOD FISHES AND INVERTEBRATES, FRESH FISH. yer =) Ga Oe |e ee UOUMGA CT ets teenies sss ev cle see see se ce PRY es phg WIN os rercties area ete ese Scayoie pe le waco Maio. 6 chee se BVETAL Ce ios. siiecs siete © pislaieis-s ahaéets WIG 7 IH BGH os SG Gee Oee De Bee ane eee Pike ods reese fare spears As sire gs ee ecioe ibOO is S85 tat a oe eS OL ea Oe OTT ANIC ge are TRO MRO: 6. sts al Gare eae co Gene Ben ae pl MLOMVANEO UG oa ae, traejere ciais toc ae sree caeale VV LontyareSj Oe pg EM teks Oo eee) Ae eens Be PREPARED FISH. edi Dried Cod. Boned and dried ar-| Pe sent LHUTCCTEO LUI ee a eae 2.9 Salt Cod. Salted and Dried...... 20.6 Salt Mackerel. ‘‘No.1 Mackerel” Salted PM petits ete tao ope oie 10.6 ed and Dried. Pe ao aee tye Daal Smoked Herring. Salted. Smoked SWEta! TD eet yee oe a ee ee bie Canned Salmon. California (COREE iy Rian Goce Se eee ore 1.3 Canned Fresh Mackerel.......... 1.9 Canned Salt Mackerel. ‘‘No. 2 Mackerel” Salted............. 10.3 INVERTEBRATES. SHELL FISH, Ere. Oysters. Shell contents. Best (1)........ * ae < Inferior:(f):....- he ef st Average (1). 34 BADIBIES |. .6 once edecensaecssnceecsslene Oysters. Solids (2) Edible portion. Av’ge “ong Clams. Shell contents..........°.... Round Clams. ‘‘ So iP Sane he Oe ok Mussels. $6 a ie MASA ee tO ee Scallops. Edible portion (Muscle)........ Lobsters. *4 as PERN ne ea Crabs. ee RED! Ma 2 oh ie Pe aad Gray Hish. ** ed eee er ct GAMER OWSLCIS | ats, o.)a.0.c bogs. od a lane stern ele TING MO DSECEAN Axia 2 ee owas eee bow (1) Inrespect to quantity of nutrients. WWWNHWWWHWNNWDMWWWNMWHHNWONWHW ww SOW CCOWDOOCOD DH HD OTM D 2 GH WOWDRDOAWUDRAOWOOWDAOPKL Or _ ao beh DD ee ek ek ek DMWDOWUlWRWMW DWH MMWOwW-IDDeDO-3 — ~ ~WwmHODWwwowe AIA c) _ ¥ ) NUTRIENTS. =e hee MINER- rein. | FATS: |prares, Wana! ETC. Hi Per Per Per Per cent. cent. cent. cent. 19.5 GO Mes olaee 1.5 20.4 hed eaten oe 1.2 19.0 | eel esr aoa 1.3 15.8 Oe wee re 1.2 18.3 Ur aN ee See 120 14.9 GSAS ORS ee A O27. 13.8 fo is cor ee 1.3 16.8 NUK Hoe ae Se SP 1.2 18.3 Dae) nile kieicere t54 18.5 Os dictating 1.5 18.1 Roe) | aoe 1.0 18.2 16.8% | cccqeeue 5 18.2 (0 am i Po 1.3 18.7 ee ee 1.3 18.4 O80 I Soe 1.4 18.6 ES cnc bieee 1.2 24.2 feos ee 14 7.6 pa a ae Se 12 18.5 a a Peep ep oe 1.4 17.3 12 Ss sears Et 19.0 He Dal PEE 1.2 18.3 a US an ee 1.3 22.1 A a ee 1.6 74.6 Let fi eeaeats 5.4 21.4 U0 ee a a 4.1 22.6 2aedy ler oomnae 2.6 23.6 ret acer 0 36.4 LOSS! [Isa cere as 1.6 19.4 18.0; Pees tee 1.4 19.9 PY (is eerie + 1.3 17.3 7 a bk 2.6 Io et WHR COM HRM MWOMW RoonwwhHewwon na mi we whi Aare DIDADRE DROW BRD HS PODMUIIAHWWOS CO RKMWOWHOROHRHH or RR HODMHROMM O-2 CO, ROW FRE RCO HO — (2) Shell contents as commonly sold, including whole of ‘‘solid’’ and most of liquid portion. aay UL: PERCENTAGES OF REFUSE, WATER AND NUTRITIVE INGREDIENTS IN SPECIMENS OF FOOD FISHES AND INVERTEBRATES AS FOUND IN THE MARKETS. Samples of Fish—whole or dressed—and of Oysters, etc., including or freed from the shell, as ordiarily sold in the New York or Middletown, Conn. markets, were found to contain 1. RrerrusE—Bone. Shells, and other Inedible Matters. 2. Epin_te Porrion—Water and Nutritive Substances. 3. INGREDIENTS OF NUTRITIVE SUBSTANCE, NUTR ENTS-—Protein, Fats, Carbohydrates, etc. (‘*Non- nitrogeneous Extractive Matters’) and Mineral Matters in parts in 100 by weight, as below. (Nutri- ents 7 Water 7% Refuse = 100.) EDI BEE PORTO IN: REFUSE. KINDS OF FOOD FISHES AND INVERTEBRATES,| pong, EE Se AND PORTIONS TAKEN FOR ANALYSIS. eae e WA TER eed PRO- vas ae ae ETC. TRING oot DRATES, ieee DIS .< : Per, Per Per Per Per Per Per: FRESH FISH. cent. cent. cent. cent. cent. cent. cent. Mewwite:f< WHOLE! seme) pee ee ree ee se Ae 49 4 36.9 Le 9.9 SO vuln 0.8 Black Bass vihOlews emer sano ee 54.8 34.6 10.6 9.2 O28 aaa es 0.6 Bluefish, Entrails removed... ........... 48.6 40.3 lala 9.8 OlG. les. cess One Cod. Head and entrails removed ......... 29.9 57.9 12.2 11.0 On 83 Aa ee 0.9 Eel. Skin, head and entrails removed..... 20.2 neal aii 14.6 ect gel ROLE ees 0.8 amprey Hel; Wholete 2. 8. oc. enales 45.8 38.5 toed 8.1 ess | ee EE 0.4 IOUNGET Eo hss See aee ee TS kg 66.8 Dia 6.0 5.2 OFS or goer 0.5 Haddock. Entrails removed............... 51.0 40.0 9.0 8.3 OFF ll Gaaecer: 0.6 Halibut. -Sections of body. ........ 2.6.6... rere 62.1 20.2 15.1 7, oe ala Newnes? Soe? 0.9 ermine b> WhGlOias aise ot wp Siacs hos 46.0 B18 16.7 10.0 Bo Ow gen eB 0.8 Mackerel. Ratherlean. Whole........... 38.3 48.5 ee) We i | Lge (ac Say 0.6 IMackGrell* Hatin eee eee hc close 33.8 42.4 23.8 12.1 HO Midy Wexeeeeeice pine) Mackerel: AveriGertya: oo. res coe soks vies, 44.6 40.7 14.7 10.1 AC a beta te 8: 0.7 Welllow, Bercy os Wihtoletpss see ~ sucess 62.7 30.0 Oc} 6.7 Oe iaesennae 0.4 PikesBereh.: WihOles sto ee ggrk oc csseccieon ee S41 8.7 7.8 022) ee ee 0.6 Prekerel (Pike). “NWhole Ss 0 nik le 0 42.2 10.8 9.9 0227 a aneee 0.7 Salmon. In season, fat. Whole.......... 38.5 37.6 23.9 15.0 S50" Whee eee 0.9 ee “Spent’lean. Whole............ 46.2 42.6 117.2 9.5 1 0 aad WAR ae 0.7 Salad eV Ole |. cere ee AR ae 50.1 35.2 14.7 9.3 Andy |, ona neu 0.7 SCTE ANVNOLe .. choose ke ho. Leh 41.9 46.1 12.0 10.0 TO, Ieee 1.0 iBrools Trout. PWihOlGne sane ek coi otk eek 48.1 40.3 11.6 9.9 as ha ee 0.6 Salmon Trout. Entrails removed.......... 35.2 45.0 19.8 12.4 626 |. 0.8 iS TSHR EEE) Uy OMe OR Be ee. top fe a 58.5 82.5 14.0 10.3 3-0. Sages ucts 0.7 PREPARED FISH. | Salt iper cent Dried Cod. Boned and dried...... POT e lle Oe eae 15.2 81.9 74.6 19a ile See 5.4 Salt Cod. Salted and dried....... 15.4 24.9 40.3 19.4 16.0 0:4 lee ee 3.0 Salt Mackerel. ‘‘No. 1 Mackerel” Baiiedieee ses an Bebe eneee ae 8.2 22.9 32-0 36.4 A) 1743 ae 2.0 Smoked Haddock. Salted, smoked ETray(@ SCG eh Ve 6 epee 5 eo a 1.4 32.2 49.2 17.2 sal Ove eerste 1.0 Smoked Herring. Salted, smoked anidvdriledit.. i) eee es 6.5 44.4 19.2 29.9 20.2 Si 8ie hater 0.9 Canned Salmon. California (Ore- LO) eS SLES sa ctor os ORE ae eek nies a ter ine 59.9 38.8 19.4 Dotto kate keer nes Canned Fresh Mackerel........... WO! Wecteeeet oe 68.2 29.9 19.9 tole ied ieee hee 1.3 Canned Salt Mackerel. ‘‘No. 2 Mackerel? salted)... i448...) .- 8.3 19.7 34.8 37.2 13.8 Pailin} eal Mn ee Ee 2:1 INVERTEBRATES, SHELL FISH, Etc. Oysters: 7 In/shell.,) Inferior (1)). 2 8....... 88.8 10.2 1.0 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.2 ve ee 1B Le VRIES eens Os eee a 81.4 1522 3.4 15: 0.2 es 0.4 ay ie PALVICT AIDC. ahs SRR RS EER ne 82.3 15.4 Qe 1.0 0.2 0.6 0.5 ey Solids. In shell. (%) Edible por- fiom.) Average ths 0o else ee be a ee oe oN "2 12.8 6:2 1s 4.1 1.0 Bone: Clamis:)) Tngshelliy.. Wee . 2 Mien en. 43.8 48.3 7.9 4.3 0.5 1.3 1.8 ROUNGSCAM Say ite eu see. be Plea 68.3 20.3 4.4 PAE a| 0.1 as 0.9 Misseleedmnishellli se...) See sce cee hee 49.3 42.4 8.0 3.9 0.5 el! 1D Scallops. Edible portion. (Muscle).......]........ 80.3 19.7 14.7 0.2 3.4 1.4 ODETTE, gL S Mel Ano ets cio siecieok 60.2 33.0 6.8 5.4 0.5 0.2 0% Crabs. Se uk gatas Skee 1h AP CRI HRE Ss e 55.8 Sal 10.1 Woo 0.9 0.5 1.4 Crayfish. Pep of sere Sete es ees Fee raat fees 10.0 O53 1.9 0.1 0.1 0.2 CamimedkK@vSterssecen cc etme eek Feel erie 85.4 14.6 6.4 1.6 fal 1-5 CaginedMbobsterse: Go. c0ccst aco Sock nwalleioe oaeee Fda 22.3 18.1 heal 0.6 2.5 (1) In respect to quantity of nutrients. (2) Including solid and most of liquid shell contents as commonly sold. FABLE “LI. CONSTITUENTS OF VEGETABLE FOODS AND BEVERAGES. NUTRIENTS. 7) = 6) . KINDS OF FOODS AND BEVERAGES. > Pa Z Z 3 S) ~ & 3 a & i Oe Ps <= 3 7 & ~D mt om ° fe) =o = a o) = ne < 2 1S) Per Per Per Per Per Per FOODS. cent cent cent cent cent cent. Wiheat-flour, Xverace*. .. 2. bass. s55608 se.) eee 11.6 alaimal “La | 75.4 °0.2 0.6 Wheat-flour, maximum*............... Alene 13.6 2.0 78.5 1.2 5 I} WHERE OUT eUNITINNIIN 2a. 6 = aie lofs los wie 8.3 8.6 0.6 68.3 0.1 0.3 Grahamcanoury (wheat). so. ccc cs sss. e cess. oe 13.0 lal ay 1A 69.9 | 1.9 1.8 Ohanglaesl WHtety gd Saleen peer iotare Geer 10.4 11.9 TG 74.6 1.4 IRV cn OME ema ae tc ee c.ee atic oe salons oo Toe 6.7 0.8 78.3 0.4 OG REAM AGO Yeevesie neck f eee es ole see Ss oo 11.8 8.4 0.7 T8 0.3 1.0 Tig i 26 7) yr _ 18.5 6.5 3 7.3. Pe dvd UGK halls, clad ass sas eeleves ace 11.2 3.3 0.3 84.7 0.1 0.4 IBGEEWILeHU Er OTOAULNY rs. o% <6 2 sis: aer ete «lefts 2 ORG 4.8 0.6 83.1 0.3 0.6 CICA empress Per aitio st Sowa h eee sane Shea 15.1 fit! 67.2 0.9 2.0 AOC TEMA eliliee pepe pacers fesse Stars a) «5 dares ote ie Wate alae 14.3 8.4 3.5 70.9 1.6 1.3 LO MAM e eat echoes ie ela Dak eaiee Pea ph See 131.5 8.3 0.4 vie SI 0.3 0.4 TRIGG a obs ete an Lo eo RE nn eae a 12.4 7.4 0.4 79.2 0.2 0.4 IEGUT OR EA Ole Oe OE CEES eee ees) 23.2 Bed L535 Si 3.7 3.6 TEU So Be Se OR LA. ae PG Gen ttts OER Ree nena een rae oe 15.0 22.9 1.8 52.4 5.4 2:5 LRRD ER Oe ABS SoC ESIC a ee 75.5 2.0 0.2 20.7 0.8 1.0 DNV C CUE OUAUOGHe cpa tercie oOo tie nicole t's ale aie bimnss 75.8 1.5 0.4 20.0 ect 1.2 DEH DS eed oe AO Oe ORLA SE eR Er ae 91.2 1.0 0.2 6.0 0.9 Oni (OTRO A Laat Ooh o BO OOO: CE ECE 87.9 1.0 0:2 8.9 1.2 0.8 (HITT, Ser daPe elec DAP eee ee 90.0 1.9 0.2 4.9 1.8 1,2 CORAL OTN ETE SAE eNO os Siok sie ea sro are ss do 8 pe 90.4 2.5 0.4 5.0 0.9 0.8 WHITES OE eae Le Eh OS eee 95.2 at Bal 0.6 1.4 i a | 0.6 DEOMI. on ee COO DEE 90.0 0.7 0.1 7.3 1.3 0.6 AU ICN RE rete AA rea ole es sine De ses, Si5 05, co 84.8 Rant a eaeevs Ag 12.8 1-5 0.5 JERR ET oro Oe e es STOR ECEC EC OEE e 83.0 ORE ieee ee 12.0 4.3 0.3 PSU Ups Sone AMY AOA Ce ae mn pr 15.1 TR) eeemepsies 83.3 $ 0.4 (OOO SGUP So oc oO, OO CC OE AEE 2.2 OPS eiliis 2 see 96.7 , 0.8 Wheat Breadt........ RT ENS tote ok ae 32:7 8.9 1.9 55.5 1.0 (Gin oaie 0 PA eKG lt alae a gr SS 34.2 9.5 1.4 53.3 6 RAVE JBRECICL ee), SR RO Geis e Sie ace eee 30.0 8.4 0.5 59.7 1.4 OG MOT OMENS tps gation sree a aiaieisitvs efreyesc.> ele eke 8.0 10.3 9.4 70.5 1.8 EL ORTOM MC TACKCER: ccc cages =. oa « c/a ,y 0 evs 2-15 8.3 10R% 9.9 68.7 2.4 MOV SUCH OTAC MELE. acct ae sis) spc so ste ae 3.9 12.3 4.8 (Go 2.5 Gap ire ING RACES aa 52ecrcrettievere.e b)Soks «yee eens = 4s 4.9 10.4 13.7 69.6 1.4 Biloti(bren@ KOLaCe4rs.. & agi eam) Nie ao Ee a 2 me hts E 2 Bie P eae 2 Se | at 2 Oz & a ES % 2 & ES < 2 4 a> (eee eee cg | 7% é Saf ae} Beets (Italics indicate European Analysis, the rest denote om Qa z cy 3 og as American.) : | ae | = 4 Aa | my ie ite ee ee ee ae = 7 “Per Per Per Per Per Per Per Pers" rer Per Per Per Per MEATS—FReEsuH. cent. cent. cent. cent. cent. cent. cent. cent. cent. pe cent. cent. cent , 5 7 1 BS O ME etme ses 1.0 uf Rye 43.8 36.5 14. QIee |isaaeamian 0.8 Beef, side, well fattened..........---.eeee eee ee eeeree eee ees ba8 Re a 3 i ¥ sige |Win : 48.0 54:0 91:8 OU, oa 8 Beef, lean, nearly freed from fat. ........ 0 -. eee cere eteeees a | ae ai ae 2 He 18 i0.0 60.0 30.0 20:7 a ORS 3 Beef, round, rather lean (1). .....--.eeee eee eter ee renee a vie an snip ao cb oA 6 pe aOL0 ae Roe hee aie Beef, sirloin, rather fat (1).. -...-..+--ee cere eter reece ne ae ed posta fa Ce 07 12.5 23.9 63.6 108 aoa (eee 06 ete des ae A le i a a €0.5. |°.90.5; 801 | Gok ee ate Rd 69.5 | 30.5 | 20.1 | 5.4 | 8.5 | 1.5 URE Mite acter Cece dens voitdeogurs arava eteaso = 9! 30. 0 _ mh - é ; ASA TE ie il a a EES NE Ee TD 63:8 | 36.2 ish (TR Le temas 1.0 15.3 1.02 Ib, S07, vi Ose [tok ee 0.9 Nee ee ee cicebut. 56.8 | 4.9 | 35,8.) 288 leche. 11 6.0 58.4 | 40.6 | 14.9 | 24.8 |........ 0.9 NOS ST EOE RRS a RD m8 | ate | 19:9 | “0.8 focc02. eR Ok ee a dG oe SE Ba eee, WMO rc ie cai cng coe cia rananenngicst aside ene yes M8) M7) IBY |e leataee: 0.8) ogo laste aricl asec vare (cccoee ae Mutton, side, well fattened...............-- cee eee erences 53.6 46.4 3.5 249 se fect f i 2.§ Bu. 8.2 2 ae eee 4 TRE LOIN Gs ics ha sag vr ten gine bared ete ransees ork eves 62.0) | 89ct- | 182-7) 1020) Aten. 0.9 18.4 40,20 () 40.05 1 12a Saar Ty ok ce 0.6 PERM MR AUIMOD CIN Gn scan cerss cst enakd rr encetdns deeets han 58.6 41 4 18 0 aed Sih Ingots ne aac rats pin oh ae Releiescinters ate Mutton, loin (CHOPB).......ve ccc sececce seer eene cscs receiv 49.3 50.7 14.9 ba) Gl o2, ySarmer si d. a : 2.0 eta ||, arate, onal A MEATS PREPARED. While fayTongegs 3 NS Onte Ber eCe BBE OIC IC cS Ree CRE eT ROR erie 59.5 40.5 29.2 Bie | ee bere Se 6.8 6.5 55.5 38.0 7.4 BET i Oran cance 6.4 OTe ORE TAURED LGA es cay spines vn kin lets «0s vcecnies.n dieleisin% cle 58.1 41.9 21.4 Ted Nee hes eet 3.1 6.2 54.5 39.3 20.1 UGA il eet 2.9 SaTrTPe UTM, unt tie ers ward Center giv emeraned sie iteierh eae es 41.5 58.5 24.0 B06) \seeaece 3.9 12.4 - 36.4 51.2 21.0 BORG Sill cathe wine 3.4 PTT PRE LOREAL LGUs fata Whacsluidn sg nie elbie w'sielenluy &iote'e civ}s.ace's\ evra serait 10.0 90.0 3.0 SOLD iia tasracis 6.5 5.0 9.5 85.5 2.8 ObO. lM aca re 6.2 FOWL. POO OATOGIMLERI shes crccisvis's (a. phases =. ods aisieert sist vious 71.6 28.5 25: 1 DEO! Sileen tate ors 1.4 41.6 41.8 16.6 14.6 1 2 pvebavatans 0.8 TPUMSON MGCL TAUNEBE Sco c <4 tv xy omecrevcijoin doen s Sue wyesy alae 65.6 34.4 24.7 SO eee hes 1.2 35.4 42.4 22.2 16.0 OFDY oliearcrents (U8 (AER. yt H actin: Bie RATE eee AOA Se OBIE OTE DIR ee oe 38.0 62.0 15.9 456) Slade: 0.5 Ea | | ae | ieee Spree Mima Ae btn wheal ee SU ae DAIRY PRODUCTS, EGGS, Ere. NOCD FIREH ontients ORe i EA hes Sisto ie Kare vinislel Sac ualtlece AId vay adios ate lee 7.4 12.6 3.4 3.8 4.8 OR PA | orcisvs wees 7.4 12.6 3.4 3.7 4.8 0.7 LI BMRUTTRLONE RU LI TRAY Ehsan Mier t cn's ceo ld cross Galea wakes coaratele 90.7 9.3 8.1 0.7 4.8 eee WL eilenceieer tone 90.7 9.3 3.1 0.7. 4.8 0.7 CUR TIAL GM OPELL MT TALIE Sannin Sn ginny oc aaeanie dus aw sie’ e oh oad tie 90.3 9.4% 4.1 0.9 4.0 OOS Malilsaceeae 90.3 9.7 4.1 0.9 4.0 0.7 TOD LEAIAEL NIUE Hata Reha afaik atkte's-dts areata, aera. sh ceiaroiace er diel 93.2 6.8 0.9 0.2 5.0 IT ekT Allis oe Seen 93.2 6.8 0.9 0.2 5.0 OT RSMMC es SHUCUOIIULCGUM)leie tie = as,aina'w gucbiGie gus easly deg visl «oe os 31.2 68.8 27.1 35.4 2.4 ed: Malice 31.2 68.8 27.1 35.4 2.4 3.9 CGM Gy ALT RELOOITOUN sc aishy ss Cvw's) gv amigaiv.e waeidtesiica aleve oe 41.3 58.7 38.3 6.8 9.0 18 ae Ol eee ee 41.3 58.7 38.3 6.8 9.0 4.6 MUL re maeneR ee Tene E Nat An Adis sow ta ttae a auict ohne e's oes 7.0 93.0 1.0 89.0 eos BAO Sat || 22 eaten 7.0 93.0 1.0 SOKO ic necaes 3.0 Butter... OPES a eco ae SSE Dr OR MOR Gone Re ae eee 4.5 85.5 0.7 83.3 0.6 ORD Giilietoxe ea 14,5 85.5 0.7 83.3 0.6 0.9 AMULET ECR RIN Reese ane Ehieie s.b rete einen te 73.7 26.3 12.5 1207 0.6 inal 11.0 65.6 23.4 val al 10.8 0.5 1.0 PUD GC se WOO S v ashe catem Ge beivsisinssubiens ts 84.2 15.8 13.8 Oi diiebaret. 1.3 66.8 27.2 6.0 5.2 0) a AP Oe 0.5 Haddock, dressed 81.7 | 18.4 | 16.8 OB chains: 2 51.0 40.0 9.0 8.3 Ole haan: 0.6 ey ee ae 78.5 21.5 19.0 DBS ARS oo 13 48.6 40.3 Dea 9.8 (0)"(Cia | Ieee ec 0.7 tod, CU IR ee Ce 82.6 td 5 a: : VIRTUE DSRS. Ut Settee cc sca sueoisned aestt 69 8 30:2 a a de ee i's 58.8 38.8 0 10°83 30 ae 07 OP MNUHO LSM errant gc tM te.) a iat 70.6 | 29.4 | 18. OR the 1a 50.1 9592 | 14.7 93 rit an 0% Mackerel, average, whole 34 | 96. = a ; eige piel es pe 4 te EB see Re 5 73. 26.6 18.2 (fe Ula Pee Pane 1.3 44.6 40.7 14.7 10.1 SEO Ee tects. 3 0.7 ‘ ’ c.f a f : SALT SALT ae Santee ced ade sins y 53.6 25.8 21.4 0:3) 5 eae 4.1 | 20.6]|24.9 | 15.4} 40.3 19.4 | 16.0 (OF: ans Geers 3.0 EST es elt ee eae one Ee eee eee 34.5 53.8 36.4 1b: 8)5 laos 1.6 | 11.7//44.4| 6.5) 19.2 29.9 20.2 BES" coer 0.9 POMBE Anca a tas culo cls Cais » aloe dicate fava oacerek Peck cc -.| 42,2 47.2 22.0 Qe Oi nce. 2.6 10.6 oat | 8.2} 32.5 36.4 17.0 ioe sli rxsserdtine 2.0 Oysters, average (8)..... ay ¢ ry Seallope. editk Wav tata Wadia s cosiea vies. s sole bck ch evlate « 87.3 12.7 6.0 1.2 3.5 2.0 |} 82.3 15.4 2.3 1.0 0.2 0.6 0.5 PM EIN POPU, Ai hy scas ones boiv veschicsine cs 80.3 19:7 14.7 0.2 3.4 1.4 es, Pn. 80.3 19.7 14.7 0.2 3.4 1.4 SS ee | ee ee eee dee ST aig Pee Ne ein eee) oe AES hem, (1) Portions of the side hi is is piv ; ‘ the markets, including the ae of which analysis is given above, (2) New York Factory Cheese. (3) i.e; The edible portion as ordinarily purchased in and most of the liquid portion of the shell contents, 188 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. material is nearly all protein. That is to say, fish supply the nutrient that is at once the most important and the most costly of all. DIGESTIBILITY OF FISH. Regarding the ease and rapidity of the digestion of fish, the experimental evidence 1s as yet insufiterent for exact. cone um sions. The investigations thus far made upon the constitution of the ingredients of the flesh, as well as those upon artificial digestion, indicate no great difference between the fish and the leaner meats, as lean beef, and imply that both would be very readily digested. The actual amounts of nutritive ingredients digested from fish can be only told by actual experiment. The only attempts to test this question, of which I am aware, were made in connection with the investigation the results of which I am alluding to, and are very few innumber. It wasmy fortune sometime since to spend some months in Munich, Germany, where through the kindness of Prof. Voit, I was enabled to make some experiments in the physiological laboratory of the university in that city. The proportions of the nutrients di- gested were tested in a series of experiments with a healthy man and witha dog. The man digested some 95-97 per cent. of the protein of the fish, and nearly the same proportion from meat (lean beef). That is to say, the digestion of the protein of both meat and fish was nearly complete. The experiments with the dog also gave essentially the same results with both kinds of food. In brief, the experimental facts at hand do not {indi- cate any decided difference in digestibility between fish and the leaner meats. Both belong to the more readily and completely digestible foods. To get a fully satisfactory knowledge of the digestibility and nutritive values of fish compared with other foods, it will be necessary to make detailed studies of the nature of the chemical compounds contained. in them. During a late residencesm Heidelberg, I was enabled through the courtesy of Prof. Kuhne, who kindly gave me all needed opportunities in his laboratory, to commence some studies in this direction. Though far from complete, they indicate a very great similarity in the constitu- ents of the flesh of fish and mammals used for food. THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 189 eee eee _—_— oe In brief, while fish contain somewhat less percentages of nu- trients than ordinary meats, they have more waste, more water, and less fat. The nutrients they do contain seem to be very similar in constitution, and in nutritive value to those of other animal foods. COMPARATIVE EXPENSIVENESS OF ACTUAL NUTRIENTS IN FISH AND OTHER FOODS. The relative physiological values of the nutrients in different foods depends upon (1) their digestibility and (2) their functions and the proportions in which they can replace each other in nutrition. An accurate physiological valuation is, in the present state of our knowledge, at least, impracticable. The pecuniary costs of the nutrients are, however, more nearly capable of ap- proximation. From extended comparisons of the composition and market prices of the more important animal and vegetable food-mater- ials, such as meats, fish, flour, etc., those which serve for nour- ishment and not as luxuries, and form the bulk of the food of the people, it has been estimated that a pound of protein costs, on the average, five times as much, and a pound of fats, three times as much as a pound of carbo-hydrates; that in other words, ‘these three classes of nutrients stand related to each other in respect to cost, in the proportion: Assumed ratios ( Protein . 5 of costs in Fats 6 See staple foods: ( Carbo-hydrates 1 Suppose a pound of beef of average fatness to cost 25 cents, and to contain 25 per cent of inedible matters, bone, etc., 45 per cent. of water, and 30 per cent of nutritive substance, upon which latter—the bone and water being assumed to be without nutri- tive value—the whole cost comes. The 30 per cent. or vcs pounds of nutritive substance thus costs 25 cents, or at the rate of 835 cents per pound. If now we leave out of account the minute quantities of carbo-hydrates and the mineral matters, the whole cost will fall upon the protein and fats. Assuming these to cost in the ratio of 5:3 and the amounts in the meats to be: protein 14 per cent., and the fats 15 per cent., an easy computation Igo FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION, will show the protein to cost 107,7 cents and the fats 64,6 cents per pound.—Proof: 14},,, pound of protein at 107,7 cents—=15,3 cents. +s pounds of fats at 64,6: cents=9,7 cents. 15,3 centsx 9,7 cents=25 cents; the cost of the pound of meat which con- tained the given amounts of protein and fats. The above ratios, protein: fats: carbo-hydrates=5: 3:1 represent at best only gen- eral averages, and may in given cases be more or less incorrect. A method free from these objections consists in simply comput- COMPARATIVE COSTS OF PROTEIN IN FISH AND OTHER ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE FOODS. Ordinary | Cost of FOODS. prices per) protein pound. |per pound Cents. Cents. Beef: Sirloin, medium fatness.......... 25 108 Samer atlowerprice.. 25 -ssnriccee 20 86 Eee IGOUN Geral Ghee merle seer ate 18 7 “© Round, rather lean, lower price... 16 62 SP OOLNE C3) CMa Peta wattcrats ace atari 18 56 ee Hlamile Veny batt «cio ae, Reet 15 36 MET OMS: Cree oye is gee ERR eat or oe 22 107 i Side, medium fatness .... ... 20 59 Rorks* very piabece ose se Srapslotevens yess 16 30 > Smoked -hameeey 8. fake cc seectstoraaeee 18 48 Mili 8icents per, Quantv. jem ose toes 4 61 @heesess) Whole mull. Ke iiect a. ccesos 18 38 ce Skammiedimatlikeys emcee commer 8 19 Salmon: Harly in seasom:... ..... .-<- 100 572 if When plemty ao. nes lace coe cle 30 172 li 6 eee ares NG esa on sent minarets Sosne 12 98 Po When abundantss sts uetel ened 8 65 Bluefish .$: 42 saae Seat ee aeies eee 10 98 Haddock, cement see e en ee eee see ee f 94 Fal tows Sees ets ag desciae shee oe car 15 87 Mackerel. icc. Bis. sctse anne bi aieleloragioneats 10 80 . Wihenralumidamie, iene a2 aecr 5 40 COO eRe ee eA ne Bate a patie Sia iays As 8 67 ow hen plentyenc:.-thasiesn ace, 6 50 ALE WAL Gane OM eene bee ete taleich ei are sacs eats 3 19 Carined Samos sew ecules cere sees eats 20 7 aitPIMACI ERE] «seated iecgeicselomicleee ates 12.5 46 SITCOM. sees wees cee eee eee 7 38 AUT MUOW EL cil s Le cctet- cee panee lee ade 6 33 Oysters; {2 CENtS. Perigmart=s sc cja. = sete 12% 156 JOLCEULEAD CL QUAL eee ae cele 17.5 220 - 50 cents per quart, choice.... 25 312 TUODBUCES itera clay keane storobnee mietaneretes 12 209 Wie atalGurs se St. wae cicwine meee eeeres 5 19 Indian corn (maize) meal............... 3 12 ORinied Res Masta acue dere dene anet f 5 15 BEADS 2) Ween eects aan ei cuuleiere toasts aera. 5 ia wa: Potatoes: 7= 50 cents per bushel. .......- 0.8 14 100 cents per bushel. ey, 28 * Contains very little protein. + Shell contents. THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. Ig! ing the amounts of nutrients that may be bought for the same price in different food materials. At the same time the method above detailed is doubtless accurate enough for a general com- parison of the relative cheapness and dearness of ordinary foods, and is used in calculating the costs of protein below. Of the different nutrients, protein is physiologically the most important as it is pecuniarily the most expensive. In fish, .fur- thermore, as in the leaner kinds of meat, it is the predominant nutritive ingredient. For these reasons the cost of protein in fish and other foods may be used as a means of comparing their relative cheapness or dearness, as is done in the preceding table. The figures represent the ordinary prices per pound and the corresponding costs of protein, in specimens of food-materials obtained in New York and Middletown, Conn., markets. Though the number of specimens is too small for reliable aver- ages, the figures, taken together, doubtless give a tolerably fair idea of the relative costliness of the nutrients in the different classes of food. [hus the nutrients of vegetable foods are, in general, much less costly than in animal feeds. The animal foods have, how- ever, the advantage of containing a larger proportion of protein and fats, and the protein, at least, in more digestible forms. And further, the so-called “ nitrogenous extractives” of kreatin, car- nin, etc., of meats, which contribute so much to their agreable flavor, exert a nutritive effect which, though not yet explained, is nevertheless important. It is these which give to “extract of meat” its peculiar flavor and stimulating effect. Among the animal foods, those which rank as delicacies are the costliest. By the above calculations, the protein in oysters costs from two to three dollars, and in salmon rises to nearly six dollars per pound. In beef, mutton and pork, it varies from 108 to 48 cents; in shad, bluefish, haddock, and halibut, the range is about the same; while in cod and mackerel, fresh and salted, it ranges from 67 to as low as 33 cents per pound. Salt cod and salt mackerel are nearly always—fresh cod and mackerel oftener, and even the choicer fish, as bluefish and shad, when abundant, furnish cheaper sources of protein than any but the inferior kinds of meat. 1g2 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. In short, we pay for many of our foods according to their agreeableness to our palates rather than their values for nour- ishing our bodies. At the same time it 1s interesting to note that the prices of the materials that make up the bulk of the food of the people seem to run more or less parallel with their actual nutritive values. Here, as elsewhere, the resultant of the general experience of mankind has led slowly and blindly, but none the less surely, to the same general result to which accur- ate research more understandingly and quickly guides us. USE, OF FISH AS #OOD. ~1TS PLACE AN. DIETARIES. The chief uses of fish as food are (1) as an economical source _of nutriment, and (2) to supply the demand for variety in diet, which increases with the advance of civilization and culture. As nutriment, its place is that of a supplement to vegetable foods, the most of which, as wheat, rye, maize, rice, potatoes, etc., are deficient in protein, the chief nutrient of fish. The so-called “nitrogenous extractives,” contained in small quantities in fish as in other animal foods, are doubtless useful in nutrition. The theory that fish is especially valuable for brain- food on account of an assumed richness in phosphorus is not sustained by the facts of either chemistry or physiology. It is an interesting fact, that the poorer classes of people and communities almost universally select those foods which chemical analysis shows to supply the actual nutrients at the lowest cost. But, unfortunately the proportions of the nutrients in their dietaries are often very defective. Thus, in portions of India and China, rice; in Northern. Italy, maize meal ; in certain districts of Germany, and in,some re- gions and seasons in Ireland, potatoes; and among the poor whites of the Southern United States, maize meal’ and bacon, make a large part, and in some cases almost the sole food of the people. These foods supply the nutrients in the cheapest forms but are all deficient in protein. The people who live upon them, are ill nourished, and suffer physically, intellectually and morally thereby. On the other hand the Scotchman, shrewd in his diet as his THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 193 dealings, finds a most economical supply of protein in oatmeal, haddock and herring, and the rural inhabitants of New Eng- land supplement the fat of their pork with protein of beans and the carbo-hydrates of potatoes; maize and wheat flour with the protein of codfish and mackerel, and while subsisting large- ly upon such frugal but rational diets, are well nourished, phy- sically strong, and distinguished for their intellectual and moral force. In conclusion I have two more things to speak of : The first is to repeat, but more emphatically, what I have al- ready said, that the work of which I have been speaking is only the tentative beginning of an investigation which, if rightly prosecuted, may, I believe, develop into one of great import- ance. The second, a very pleasant subject to refer to, is the assist- ance which has been given to the investigation thus far. Be- sides pecuniary and other aid which has been granted by the United States Fish Commission through Prof. Baird, one of the most efficient promoters of the Fish Cultural Association, Mr. E. G. Blackford, Fish Commissioner of New York, has donated roo in money, and a large number of specimens of fish. Mr. A. R. Crittenden of Middletown, has also contributed $100 to- ward the expenses of the investigation of the chemistry of fish. Thanks are likewise due to Mr. G. H. Shaffer of the well-known firm of Dorlon & Shaffer, of New York, for a considerable num- ber of specimen of invertebrates. As I have stated, the investiga- tion of fish has been supplemented by one of other food materials A considerable portion of the expense of these, also, has been met by private generosity. Mr. F. B. Thurber, of the firm of H. K. & F. B. Thurber of New York, having donated $500 for this purpose, while Hon. J. W. Alsop, M. D., of Middletown, has contributed a considerable sum in aid of researches,carried on in the chemieal laboratory of Wesleyan University, in which, with more abstract investigation, the studies of fish and other foods have been included. These gifts of gentlemen interested in science, have covered a not inconsiderable part of the total expenses of the investigations whose results I have thus briefly detailed. Without such aid they would have been, in their pres- ent form at least, impracticable. 194 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. The Prestpent: Although this paper has been quite exhaus- tive, I have no doubt that some members would like to ask questions. Mr. Witicox: We have, I am sure, been greatly interested in Professor Atwater’s paper, and I would like to ask whether one animal by eating the flesh of another can transform that food into fats. Prof. ATwaTer: A great deal of experimental study has been devoted to the precise question to which you refer, during the past thirty years, and it may be thirty years more before it is fully answered. We have, however, a great deal of information already; enough to prove that the protein of one animal may be transformed into fat in the body of another. Dogs fed on lean meat have been proven to grow fat upon it in the limited sense that some of the protein of which the lean-meat was composed was changed into fat and stored as fat in the bodies of the dogs, It is quite possible that a portion of the protein of the beef steak which you and I may have eaten for breakfast this morn- ing, is during the course of the day, being changed into fat and carbo-hydrates. But how much of the protein of our food is transformed into fats, or how much of the fats in our bodies comes from the protein we eat, are matters which cannot, in the present state of our knowledge, be answered exactly. The members of the Association then visited the Central Hatching Station of the United States Fish Commission in the armory building, east of the Smithsonian grounds, where they saw a model of the McDonald fishway in operation, and the hatching of shad in the McDonald hatching jars. THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 195 ON THE FORCES WHICH DETERMINE THE SURVIVAL OF FISH EMBRYOS. BY JOHN A. RYDER. Mr. PresipentT: Unfortunately the programme announces the title of my communication in a form somewhat different from the one actually chosen for my paper, although in reality there is no great difference between the two. I propose to-day to discuss some of the causes which limit the survival of fish em- bryos. It is well known to fish-culturists and naturalists that there is a great amount of variation in the number of ova pro- duced by different species of fishes. This great variation is sig- nificant and can be accounted for on no other ground than this: that it must be supposed that there is a great over-production of eggs in order to make up for the losses in the struggle for exist- ence, as indicated in the first place by Malthus and afterwards elaborately worked out by Mr. Darwin. This disparity in the number of germs produced by different species is so great as to astound us at first. There are species, for instance, in which the number of germs produced by the female fish would not exceed twenty. There are some, indeed, that only produce five or six. Again, there are species which produce as many as 10,000,000, Now, how is this difference to be explained? It isa singular fact that the greatest number of eggs appear to be produced by those fishes that take the least care of their progeny, viz., those species which discharge their eggs into the open sea and com- mit them to the mercy of the winds and waves, such as the cod- fish and flounders and many of the Clupeoids. Whereas the re- verse seems to be true, in the case of those fish which studiously take care of their eggs, or incubate them inside of their ovaries —as for instance the Hmdiotocoid fishes of the west coast—or as in another case (Gameusta) within the ovarian follicle, modified into a quasi-placental structure; or, as in the case of the catfish, where the male hovers over the adherent mass of ova and forces the water through them, or yet again where the eggs are retained in a pouch underneath the abdomen, as in the pipe-fishes, or are 196 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. kept in a similar pouch under the tail, as in the male sea-horse (Hippocampus). It seems as if the number of eggs was diminished just in proportion to the amount of care taken—usually by the male—of the embryos. This, of course, indicates that in the case of eggs which are not protected in the way mentioned, millions of surplus ova are destroyed in the struggle for existence, where- as with the species which protect their ova, the struggle for ex- istence at the commencement of development must be much less severe. There are other points to be noticed. Some species have very small ova. Such are usually hatched in a condition in which the little fish is much feebler than in those cases in which the ova are large, and in which the young fish leave the egg in.a much more vigorous conditon—in a condition, in short, in which they are able to contend with the environment more effectually. That is an important fact to be considered. Again, there are some species which leave the egg with the throat perforated, and other forms which do not. In the case of the shad, for instance, the young fish cannot swallow at the time of hatching, but in other forms the young can swallow as soon as they leave the egg membrane. There are still other causes which would affect the percentage of survivals, such as changes in their habitat pro- duced by man, or the pollution of a river by substances which sink into its ooze, and so vitiate the water and thus render incu- bation on the bottom impossible. There are also forms in which there are protective contriv- ances developed on the eggs themselves. We are all familiar with gelatinous strings that we find in stagnant ponds and which enclose the eggs of the toad, for example. Most of the various kinds of frogs have a different kind of spawn, adhering together in masses instead of in strings. Certain fish-ova, again, have long thread-like appendages, by which they are suspended on weeds and grass, so that the currents of sea-water can pass backward and forward among them, erating them and prevent- ing them from being smothered. This isthe case witha number of marine, and some few fresh-water forms of fishes. There are cases where mimicry doubtless plays a part in preventing the capture of young fish, as in the case of the young of the stickle- THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 197 back, where the young fish seem to undergo a sudden change of coloration, rendering them much more difficult of detection in the water. A certain writer, speaking of sticklebacks, asserts that the male will acutally catch and return the young fish to the nest during the first day or two after hatching. This change of coloration may possibly be dependent upon the action of light. Regarding the survival of fish embyos, the specific gravity of the eggs of different species, is another point to be considered. Thus, the eggs of the cod, mackerel and crab-eater, are buoyant and tend to come to the surface of the water. Others as persistently sink. In other fish ova the oil drops are so arranged as to per- sistently turn the germinal disc to the top, as is the case with the salmonoids; this relation is reversed in the case of floating eggs, in which the vitellus is on the top and the germinal disc underneath. Judging from the attempts made to rear and multiply certain feral mammalia, we know that confinement tends to produce sterility. I believe that under such conditions certain changes are effected in the ovaries of fishes in their efforts to free them- selves from the bondage imposed by man, and that the physio- logical organization of the eggs is destroyed. The distribution of food—especially articulate food—is also an element to be considered with respect to the survival of young embryos. In various regions of the globe certain living aquatic food seems to swarm at particular times and in fixed localities. I know this to be so from my own observations in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and especially in the swamps and low grounds of New Jersey. It is impossible to predicate from outward appear- ances what particular forms of articulates will be encountered until you are on the ground and make a careful examination, and there is no doubt in my mind that the absence from streams of certain small forms of articulates, such as Daphnids and Cofe- poda, have a great deal to do with the survival of the young fish. As this kind of food is absent or abundantly present, so will the young fishes perish or survive. There is another cause to which may be attributed the destruc- tion of the fish embryos, and that may be embraced under the head of “shocks” which pervert development. We know, for 198 FISH—CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. instance, that shocks given to fish eggs during the time that they are in process of incubation, will often produce monstros- ities, and if very violent will produce death. Shocks may be exerted as the result of natural causes, or may be brought about in the course of the application of.artificial methods in the incu- bation of fish ova. The ordinary mode of formation of any fish embryos is around a globular vitellus. There is a dome-shaped cap of plastic material formed over the yelk in which nuclear matter is imbedded immediately after fertilization. Segmenta- tion proceeds step by step, and in the course of this process shocks may produce aberration of development. The germinal matter at first covers, or is partially scattered through the vitellus and connected with the surface, migrating toward that surface and to one point so as to form a discoidal germinal mass at one side of the egg. That, of course, is not the first step in development. Now it is easy to understand that the shocks would impair the delicate processes of development going on within, especially when we remember that during this time the nuclear matter is arranged in a certain peculiar way, and that as cleavage pro- ceeds, this nuclear body elongates and throws out rays through the enveloping protoplasmic matter. If at this stage of devel- opment I should shake the eggs violently, a second embryonic axis may be formed which soon fuses with the axis of the origi- nally formed embryo, and the result would be a double-headed fish. Thus you can readily see that certain forces tend to dimin- ish the number of normally developed embryos, malforming them and producing irregularities which cannot become adult or perfect fishes like the parents. I have only mentioned some of the forces which are opera- tive in diminishing the chances of survival of young fishes, but I trust that enough has been said to indicate to some extent, the nature of the ploblem still to be solved by those who are interested in the breeding, protection and multiplication of food fishes. The first and most important principle which I would espe- cially commend to the thoughtful attention of the Association is the general law already hinted at, namely: that just in propor- tion as the individuals of a species are prolific in respect to the THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. I9g9 number of their germs, just in that proportion do the chances of survival of the individual germs seem to be diminished, and wice versa, and that this natural fecundity, or the want of it, is depend- ent upon the amount of protection received by the eggs in the course of development. Prof. Gitt: The observations of Mr. Ryder are very interest- ing, and it is one of those strange cases that we so often meet in nature—the accommodation and correlation of different things. In this case we have the number of eggs in a certain ratio to the capability of the young fish to take care of themselves. We have it now established on a large basis that there is generally a close correlation between the two, and that the number of eggs is in inverse ratio to the capability of the young to protect themselves. Besides the cases alluded to by Mr. Ryder, we have an interest- ing instance of the female of one type of catfish found in South America, Aspredinide, in which there occur periodically swell- ings of the skin of the abdomen in which the eggs are received, and therein they are nourished for some time. Again in the same group, or order of catfishes, but in another family, we have the Ariz, in which the male parent takes care of the eggs by holding them in his mouth, and so preserving them from danger very skillfully. Care is taken of the young by other species of the family. It was with great interest, that some months ago Mr. Ryder and myself observed the habits of our common catfish. The male hovered over the young, and when feeding frequently took the young into his mouth, but always ejected them again, thus discriminating accurately between the objects taken as food and the young fish incidentally transferred to his mouth. This same habit of taking care of the young in the mouth is ex- hibited by certain Cichlids, forms somewhat like, and perhaps akin to, our common sunfishes. One of these is a fish found in the Holy Land,a species of Chromis. And the same peculiar habit is likewise manifested by species of the same family living in South America, the Geophag?. The belief was also long cur- rent, and found expression in most of the old books, that fishes not only did not take care of their young, but were invariably 200 FISH—CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. oviparous. We all know how false such a statement is. In one class, the Sedachians, the larger proportion of forms are vivipar- ous. For example, of the sharks proper, three-fourths, or more, are viviparous, and the same statement holds good with respect to the rays or skates. Thus, out of 150 species of ravs, over Ioo are viviparous, and another noteworthy fact is that the oviparous rays are nearly all included in one family—the common skates or rays brought to our markets. This feature of viviparity was known to the ancient naturalist, Aristotle, who even went so far as to say that the Se/achians were viviparous, while all scaly fishes were Oviparous. There, however, he erred, for there is no such limitation. Many of the Se/achtans are oviparous, and, on the other hand, many of the scaly fishes are viviparous. For in- stance, all the Zmédiotocoids are viviparous; and of these the com- mon perch of the Pacific is an example; also viviparous are the eelpout of our markets, and species of the Cyprinodont family among others. Viviparity is, indeed, largely manifested among fishes. The only reason why reverse statements are found in the old books is that in Europe these cases were almost un- known. I agree with the statement of Mr. Ryder that confinement fre- quently affects the power of procreation, either directly or indi- rectly, and this does not apply to fishes alone, as is evident from the experience of those in charge of menageries and zoological gardens. It is knownsthat many animals and birds which are confined seem to live with perfect freedom in zoological collec- tions, but they do not bring forth young, or their eggs are ster- ile. There are many exceptions to this rule, but many cases of sterility for which we can assign no other cause. Somewhat anologous is the peculiar pathological condition of animals living in confinement, in which the bones become softened or rickety. THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 201 THURSDAY, MAY 15TH. The President called the meeting to order at 10 o’clock A. M., and declared the reading of papers to be in order. NOTES ON THE DECREASE OF LOBSTERS. BY RICHARD RATHBUN. One of the most important of our seacoast fisheries is that afforded by the American lobster, the Homarus americanus of na- turalists. This interesting crustacean, the largest of its kind in North American waters, ranges from Labrador in the North to Delaware in the South; but is most abundant and most sought for along New England and the southernmost of the British coast provinces. Its great abundance and rare flavor are not unfrequently men- tioned in the early annals of New England, and it probably formed an important element in the food supply of the seacoast inhabitants of colonial times. As a separate and distinct in- dustry, however, the lobster fishery does not date back much, if any, beyond the beginning of the present century, and it ap- pears to have been first developed on the Massachusetts coast, in the region of Cape Cod and Boston, although some fishing was done as early as 1810 among the Elizabeth Islands and on the coast of Connecticut. Strangely enough, this industry was not extended to the coast of Maine, where it subsequently at- tained its greatest proportions, until about 1840. Concerning the history of this unique fishery, but few authentic records of any kind exist, nor was any attempt ever made to estimate its 202 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION, extent and value prior to the census investigations of 1880. We are, therefore, left without much reliable data for comparing its past and present conditions, and for solving the many problems which now, in the minds of many, seem to threaten its con- tinued prosperity. The great question at issue, and one which demands the earn- est attention of every lobster fisherman and dealer, is whether lobsters are decreasing in abundance, and will eventually be- come rare and difficult to obtain, or whether they are still as plentiful as ever and show no indications of approaching ex- tinction. While we hope for the latter, we are forced to ac- knowledge that a carefuf study of all the materials at our com- mand inclines us to the belief that the abundance, of lobsters has very perceptibly diminished within comparatively recent times, and that, unless some active measures are instituted to prevent continued decrease in the future, a great and irrepara- ble injury to the fishery will ensue. Although, as we have just said, the lobster fishery is without a carefully recorded history, we have been enabled, through the assistance of many intelligent fishermen and dealers, some of whom have shown themselves to be very capable observers, to trace back the conditions of the fishery through a number of years. The results so obtained have been embodied in a report prepared for publication by the United States Fish Commis- sion. It has been suggested that a short statement of some of the facts bearing upon the supposed decrease might be of in- terest to the members of this Association, and it is for that pur- pose that the following brief notes have been prepared: Concerning the distribution of lobsters it may be stated that a few stray individuals have been occasionally recorded from the extreme northeastern corner of Virginia, but the Delaware Breakwater may more properly be regarded as the southern limit of their range. On the New Jersey coast they are some- what more abundant, and give rise toa limited fishery in the neighborhood of Atlantic City and Long Branch. Though formerly quite plentiful and extensively fished for in New York bay and Hell Gate, they are now nearty exterminated from that region, due to overfishing combined with the pollution of the THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 203 waters by the refuse from large factories. Along the Connecti- cut shores they are moderately common, while at the eastern end of Long Island and in the region of Block Island, the outer Elizabeth Islands and Marthas Vineyard they afford a very profitable industry. The entire coast line of Massachusetts abounds in lobsters, wherever the character of the bottom is suited to them; but overfishing has nearly depleted some of the shallow-water areas which were once prolific, as at Provincetown. The sandy shores of New Hampshire furnish only a moderate supply, but on the Maine coast they are much more abundant than anywhere to the southward, and the yearly fishery greatly exceeds in quantity and value those of all the other States combined. This State is in fact the main source of supply for all the principal markets of the United States. Contrary to the beliet of many persons the lobster is not a migratory animal in the common acceptation of that term as applied to fishes. On the approach of cold weather it leaves the shallow areas near shore, and retreats into somewhat deeper water, where the temperature remains milder and more uniform during the winter. As the spring advances it returns to its summer haunts. These spring and fall migra- tions vary as to time and extent on different portions of the coast, occurring earlier in the spring and later in the fall at the South than at the North. During the summer they often ap- proach very close to the beaches, and in some favorable locali- ties, especially on the coast of Maine, the traps set for their cap- ture become partially uncovered at low water. The more usual depths for the summer fishery are, however, those of a few fathoms. The winter grounds are in depths of twenty to fifty or sixty fathoms, and generally not far from those of the sum- mer, especially in regions where the water deepens rapidly. In so far as it has been possible to make the observations, it is supposed that the different schools of lobsters, if we. can so define them, return to about the same shallow places every spring, and do not journey northward or southward along the coast to any very great extent, although there may be a gradual interchange of ground in the course of time. If this supposi- tion be correct, as appears most natural, and there are many 204 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. facts to substantiate it, each geographical region is more or less independent of all others, and not influenced by large and fre- quent migrations from them. This division into distinct schools, and defined geographical regions, while an arbitrary one, not strictly existing in nature, serves to simplify the argument which we desire to make, and which is to this effect: That con- tinued overfishing in any one region will tend to eventually re- duce the stock of lobsters in that region, without the hope of its being replenished by early accessions from neighboring reg- ions, and that the almost total depletion of that region is, there- fore, quite within the bounds of possibility. This is not the case with such truly migratory fishes as the mackerel, menhaden and herring, and the laws which govern the movements of the latter cannot be applied to the lobster. In support of this pro- position there are several well-authenticated instances of the almost entire extinction of lobsters in what were formerly re- garded as exceedingly rich regions, and since lobster-fishing has been more or less abandoned in those regions, the abund- ance of lobsters has never perceptibly increased. Another strong proof of the continued decrease in abundance of lobsters has been the gradual decrease in the average size of those brought to market. It is not rational to suppose that lobsters grow less rapidly now than in former years, or have in any way become dwarfed in size. Onthe contrary, it has been overfishing, restricted by legislation which protects the young, and influenced by the higher prices paid for the larger individuals in the fish markets which has caused the greater di- minution in the supply of large lobsters. A strict observance of existing laws may prevent the total extinction of the species, but it cannot maintain the average size of those taken for mar- ket much, if any above the limit prescribed by those laws. This limit in nearly every instance is, moreover, about the size of che young female just beginning to spawn, and, therefore, with absolutely no protection for the spawning female, excepting in the close season, during which there is but little spawning, it is doubtful. whether existing legislation is of much avail. A care- ful consideration of all the facts available certainly indicates THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 205 that a marked decrease in the sizeof lobsters is proof of an equally great, if not a greater diminution in the supply. It is not possible within the scope of this short paper to strengthen our conclusions with a long array of facts, but the brief statement of some of our evidence must here suffice. One of the best illustrations of the great decrease in the abundance of lobsters is furnished by the once famous fishing- grounds of Cape Cod. The lobster fishery was first started in this region about the year 1800, by Connecticut lobstermen, who carried nearly their entire catch to New York city. As early as 1812, the citizens of Provincetown began to entertain fears that unless some restrictions were placed upon the fishery, the ex- termination of the species would be speedily effected. Protec- tive laws were at once passed by the legislature of Massachu- setts, and from that time to the present they have been con- tinued in one form or another, but all without avail unless it may have been to somewhat prolong the fishery which might otherwise have been much earlier destroyed. The fishermen of Provincetown did not themselves engage in lobstering until about 1845, but between then and 1850 the fishery was greatly expanded and a large trade started with New York city. In fact about this time the latter market received nearly its entire supplies from the vicinity of Provincetown. A great many men engaged in the fishery, using the old style of hoop-net pots, and catching from 100 to 200 lobsters each every night. These were prosperous times, and yielded the inhabitants of the town a pro- fitable income. The carrying smacks obtained large fares and were kept busy. No marked diminution in the supply was noticed until about 1865, since which date there has been a rapid decrease in abundance from year to year, obliging the lobster- men to resort to other occupations fora living. In 1880 there were only eight men engaged in lobstering, and although they used the most improved appliances, their annual gross earnings were only about $60 each. On the cost of Maine, although the fishery is of much more recent date, it has already exhibited many unfortunate changes, and in numerous places there has been a marked decrease in the average size of individuals caught. The shore fisheries have 206 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. also, in some cases, been well nigh exhausted, and the fishermen forced to resort to more distant grounds. When the fishery first began hoop-net traps were in general use, but soon after the intro- duction of lath-traps competition caused them to be universally employed. From year to year the fishermen increased the num- ber of traps they used, and the custom of. setting them, trawl fashion, rapidly came into vogue. These changes were due to the competitions of trade, the desire to obtain larger catches and for one man to perform the work of two. The fishing grounds were strained to their utmost, and there was no fear of an overstock, as the canneries were ready to buy all that were not taken by the market smacks. More recently the fishermen have begun to return to the old method of setting their traps singly, and why ? Because they say the lobsters are more scat- tered over the bottom, and that by altering the position of the traps every time they are set, they fish better. But why should they be more scattered now than formerly unless they are more rare? In 1864 lobsters were so abundant at Muscle Ridges that three men tending forty to fifty traps each, caught all the count lobsters which one smack could carry to market, making a trip once in eight days. In 1879 the same smack was obliged to buy the entire catch of fifteen men in order to obtain full fares, and at times required to visit other localities to complete the load. Regarding the Booth bay region, very nearly the same may be said. As late as 1856, lobsters were very abundant about the islands of Booth bay harbor, and the fishery was carried on close to the shore in slight depths of water. The season lasted about six months, and each man setting fifty traps could make about $500 during the season. By 1869, the number of fishermen hav- ing increased, however, the season’s stock was reduced to about $175 per man, and the average size of lobsters had greatly di- minished. This caused the fishermen to try further out from shore, and the fishery is mainly carried on in depths of twenty- five to thirty-five fathoms. The facts of these changes were fur- nished from many places in this section, between Cape Small Point and Pemaquid Point. The canneries have undoubtedly largely influenced this result on the coast of Maine, as all sizes of lobsters large enough to THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 207 i pay for the handling are consumed, and the ready market thus afforded has tempted the fishermen to save every specimen that enters their traps. It is unquestionably this extensive destruc- tion of the young that has hastened the decrease; but that the decrease is not solely due to the presence of canneries is evi- denced by the statements we have already made regarding other sections of the coast. In the Saco district, allhough there are no canneries located nearer than Portland, a smack trade between the fishing grounds and the canneries to the eastward has recently been started, and several witnesses have testified to a marked falling off in the proportionate catch since it began. The average catch per man is now about one-third what it was twenty years ago, and while, in 1876, a barrel of lobsters averaged 65 by count, an average of 80 lobsters is now required to fill a barrel. On the New Hampshire coast the decrease for twenty years is stated to have been from 50 to 75 per cent. From Rhode Island and Connecticut we have complaints re- garding a decrease in abundance and size of lobsters, similar to those already noted from the more northern States; but the statements we have given constitute but a small proportion of the evidence that we have obtained. That this evidence is unimpeachable as to a general and lasting decrease, we would not now affirm, but to our minds it has been conclusive. To press a definite and unfavorable opinion, however, regarding so extensive and valuable a fishery, after the meager returns of a single investigation extending through only one or two years, would scarcely be justifiable, but it has seemed to us that public attention should be now attracted to the sub- ject, as it appears in the light of the tenth census. The fishery has had sucha rapid growth, and the demands upon it have so exceeded its capacity, that the problem of weigh- ing evidence has been somewhat difficult. The total catch of lobsters has increased from year to year, but so has the number of fishermen, and the number of traps used, even in greater pro- portion; and the grounds have been enlarged until they now cover an exceedingly broad area, and extend into deeper water than was ever dreamed of formerly in connection with this fish- 208 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. ery. The decrease in the average catch per trap and man, in the yearly earnings, and in the average size of lobsters has kept pace with the increase of the fishery; the inshore grounds in many places have been nearly depleted, and in some of the deeper areas the lobsters are so much scattered that it is no longer profit- able to set the traps in trawls. Ifacontinuous and rapid de- crease should be proved, what can be done to stop it and insure the future prosperity of the fishery? The task of remedying the evil will be much more difficult than the proof of its existence, and the question is one regarding which we have as yet no defin- ite ideas. Past legislation has certainly not been very effective, nor can any laws avail much until the true character and extent of the evil has been determined. Neither are laws beneficial unless they can be enforced—an exceedingly difficult task in the case of any fishery. The question of artificial propagation has been raised, and a few unsuccessful attempts have already been made to carry it on. But the failures have not been without cause, as we do not yet even know the rate of growth of lobsters, or whether they require six or a dozen years to attain the adult size, which is about ten or twelve inches.. Immediately after hatching they swim freely about at the surface of the water, and continue their erratic ways of life during most of the first season, after which they settle down upon the bottom and assume their future habits. The first task, therefore, which we suggest for the would-be benefactor of the lobster fishery, is a most thorough investiga- tion of all points bearing upon the natural history of the species, upon the changes which have occurred in the fishery grounds, and upon the relations of the total catch for each section to the number of fishermen and traps set, and the average size of the lobsters taken. With the census returns, soon to be published, as a starting point, a plan of the work can easily be sketched out, and the fig- ures there given may serve as a basis for future calculations. THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. . 209 THE PROPAGATION OF THE STRIPED BASS. BY S; G. “WORTH. The propagation of the striped bass, by artificial methods, ap- pears to be as easy of accomplishment as that of the shad, and there are greater opportunities probably of doing a large work with less money than is necessary in the propagation of shad. It is much to say that the striped bass can be as economically hatched as the white shad, for the expense of shad hatching is very small. From the observations upon the shipment of rock fry, it would seem that there is no difficulty whatever in suc- cessfully depositing the fry in rivers at points distant from the hatcheries. It is not known at what points ripe fish of this species can be found in greatest abundance, but in our present state of knowl- edge, Weldon, North Carolina, presents the greatest number. This town is at the head of navigation on Roanoke river near the North Carolina and Virginia line, and is more than one hundred miles above the head of the tide. The Roanoke river, at this point, is a large stream, which would be naviga- ble many miles further up except on account of the abrupt falls existing above a distance of a few miles. It isa muddy stream a great portion of the year, having its source about two hundred miles in the tributaries of the Dan and Staunton. However muddy its waters may be at times, a great portion of the volume is from pure mountain springs. Although large quantities of striped bass are taken during the several months by the large seines and pound nets seaward, there appears to be no one point where the eggs in a condition proper for fecundation can be found so abundantly. At the particular point named, the fall is so great that ordinarily, ow- ing to a lack of a great volume of water to smooth over the falls, the fish are unable to pass directly over, and in conse- quence are detained at the foot of the falls. Here more than a hundred canoes are used each spring in the capture of the striped bass. 2TO FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION: Bow nets are used in water ten or more feet deep, two men occupying the boat, one using the paddle, the other holding the. HCE, : At times great numbers of fish collect here, and within fif- teen years past as many as three hundred of these fish, weigh- ing upward of thirty pounds, some reaching seventy, have been taken on a slide or trap (another minor fishing contrivance used ° there), in a single day. The quantity, however, has greatly fallen off of late years, owing to the greatly increased fishing operations below. It is stated on good authority that on many occasions, when these fish were very numerous at this point, that in their spawn- ing movements they have been so abundant that great quanti- ties of blood were extracted, owing to the contact with each other, conveying the idea that the water was literally over- crowded with them, causing them to come into abnormal con- flict with their sharp spines, owing to the lack of space. The bloody appearance of the water has been popularly con- sidered the bleeding consequent upon an actual fight between those fishes, but was probably only the result of overcrowding where dorsal fins were frequent, Some few thousand of striped bass are still taken at this place. The place has appeared favorable for the work of collecting eggs for artificial propagation, and after investigation of itscap- abilities the following results may be enumerated: In the year 1882, in the month of May, I sent an expert among the fishermen by way of investigation, and had reported back from him the sale during his stay of something less than a dozen spawning fish. He was there but a few days, and made no attempt to fecun- date or hatch the ova. Previous experience in the propagation of the striped bass at Avoca, in 188-, led to the inference that the discovery of this many fish in a ripe condition at Weldon, would ordinarily afford material for a limited hatchery. Consequently, I established at Weldon, quite late in the season of 1883, an exceedingly crude establishment, containing sixty- five McDonald jars, equipped as if for very rude shad or white- fish hatching. THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 211 The station was provided with five experts, a force rather too small, though efficient. During a period of ten days from May 14th to 24th, nine rock-fish in spawning condition were secured. Four of these were sold on the market before the hatchery was ready, and the eggs were lost. They were observed, how- ever, to contain ripe eggs. Five others were captured and handled by my force subsequent to the establishment of the hatchery. One of these weighed thirty-four pounds twelve ounces, but being dead and stiff before it was found, the eggs were not available for impregnation, so I used it for the purpose of de- termining as near as possible the relative number of eggs con- tained in this species. A fraction of an ounce was carefully weighed out on apothecary’s scales by a young druggist who chanced to be in my corps, and a computation was made of the number of eggs, and 3,194,000 were found. The two ovaries were packed in ice and sent to Prof. Baird for more careful calcula- tion. They are in his possession and are preserved in alcohol. The total weight of these ovaries at the time the calculation was made was seven pounds nine ounces. However many the exact number may be, it is evident that the average rockfish produces upward of 1,000,000 of eggs. Four other fishes in spawning condition were taken, one on the 17th, weighing 12 pounds, two-thirds spent, yielded 250,000 eggs, another taken on the r8th, weighing 8 pounds, two-thirds spent, contained 280,000 eggs. The eggs from the last named fish, when impregnated, measured 14 U. S. standard liquid quarts, and in the ovaries which I dissected afterward, were re- maining 4 ounces unimpregnated eggs. These latter I considered about 100,000 in number, showing that this fish of 8 pounds weight, contained upward of 1,200,000 eggs. The result of the crude operations at Weldon, produced some- thing like 1,000,000 of eggs from the four fish stripped (these being mostly spent), from which a very moderate number of fish —50,ooo—were hatched and turned into Roanoke river; speci- mens being sent to Prof. Baird in glycerine, The only difficulties encountered were two, the one consisting 212 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. in the great delicacy of the egg shells in the latter stages, which caused the fish to hatch prematurely by concussion, and the other consisting of the difficulty of securing fine enough screens to hold the fish when hatched. Now since I found that the eggs would stand a great while in water without a change, even twelve hours, it is apparent that they may be hatched without motion, and thus prevent premature hatching, and as to the difficulty of confining the young fish by proper screens, all that seems necessary, is the substitution of clear water for that muddy water which | used. Not only do the rock spawn at Weldon, but incidentally at several points below, and with the system of impounding, there seems scarcely a doubt of securing a great supply of eggs, thus opening a means of propagating the choice, valuable striped bass. RESULT OF THE INTRODUCTION OF GILL-NETS INTO THE AMERICAN COD: FISHERIES: BYSCARTs JoiW:) COLLIN, The United States Fish Commission, though it has in so many ways done a useful and important work in the artificial propa- gation of food-fishes, has not confined itself solely to fish-cul- ture asa means for improving the American fisheries. It has accomplished quite as important objects by disseminating among our fishermen knowledge of methods of fishing, etc., to which they were previously strangers, and which has been of the ut- most advantage to them for the successful prosecution of their work. The introduction of the use of gill-nets in the cod fish- eries may be mentioned as an instance in point, and viewed in the light of results already attained (though we may yet consider this method of fishing only fairly begun), it seems not too much to claim that the bringing about of such an innovation in the THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 213 ocean fisheries, is entitled to rank among the most important works of the Commission. The change that has been made in the method of taking cod and other species of the Gadide, has proved of such immense advantage to the New England fishermen that an entire revolution has been created in the winter shore cod fishery, and it is difficult to predict to how great an extent the gill-net fishery for cod may be prosecuted in the future. It is not possible now to say with any degree of certainty whether or not gill-nets may be successfully employed in the cod fisheries of the outer banks, since a thorough and careful trial needs to be made to settle that question. A few unsatisfactory attempts have al- ready been made by the fishermen to use gill-nets on the outer banks, but in no case have these trials been so extensive and thorough as to fully demonstrate what might or might not be done. In consideration of the results which have already been attained, it seems desirable that a brief historical sketch should be given here of the introduction of gill-nets into the cod fish- eries of the United States, and also of the varying success which has attended their use since they were first adopted by American fishermen. Though gill-nets have been long used in Northern Europe, more especially in Norway, as an apparatus for the capture of cod, and are considered by the Norwegians as quite indispensa- ble, they have not, until recently, been employed by American fishermen. In 1878, Professor Spencer F. Baird, United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, knowing how profitably these nets were employed by the Norwegian fishermen, decided to make experiments with them at Cape Ann, with a view to their introduction among the fishermen of this country. He ac- cordingly secured a number of the Norwegian nets, which were forwarded to Gloucester, and there tested by the employees of the Commission. Experiments were made when the winter school of cod were onthe shore grounds in Massachusetts bay, but the results ob- tained were not satisfactory, owing chiefly to the fact that the nets were found far too frail for the large cod which frequent our coast in winter. This was apparent from the numerous holes in the nets, which indicated plainly that large fish had torn their 214 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. way through, none. being retained excepting those that had be- come completely rolled up in the twine. The current also swept the nets afoul of the rocky bottom, which injured them still more, so that they were soon rendered nearly unfit for use. They were invariably in bad order when hauled from the water, but even under such unfavorable circumstances nearly a thousand pounds of fish were caught on one occasion. This seemed to indicate that nets of sufficient strength might be used to good advantage, at least on some of the smoother fishing grounds along the coast. These preliminary trials, therefore, having demonstrated that nets could be employed advantageously in the American cod fisheries, Professor Baird availed himself of the first chance that offered, for obtaining definite knowledge of the methods of net- ting cod in Norway, with the intention of disseminating this in- formation among the American cod fishermen. The opening of the International Fishery Exhibition at Ber- lin, Germany, in the spring of 1880, presented a favorable oppor- tunity for accomplishing this purpose. Professor Baird having appointed me as one of the commission to attend the exhibition on the staff of Professor G. Brown Goode, desired that I should make a careful study of the foreign methods of deep-sea fishery as represented at the exhibition. The method of capturing cod with gill-nets, as practiced by the Norwegian fishermen, was mentioned as a subject which should receive especial considera- tion. | In the meantime, Professor Baird‘oftered to lend ‘the “wets*oe any responsible fisherman who would give them a fair and thorough test. But the fishermen were conservative and hesi- tated to adopt any “new-fangled notions” for catching fish. This disinclination to try the new method was due chiefly to the fact that fishermen cannot usually afford sto spend any time in making experiments, especially when they feel fairly confident of good returns by continuiug in their old ways of fishing. Mention has been made of the introduction and trial of cod gill-nets by the United States Fish Commission in 1878, but no attempt was made by the fishermen to use them until the fall of THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 215 1880, when Captain George H: Martin, of Gloucester, Mass., master of the schooner “ Northern Eagle,” fitted out with them for the winter cod fisheries off Cape Ann and in Ipswich bay. The immediate cause which led to this trial was the difficulty of getting a supply of bait, the procuring of which is a source of considerable trouble to our shore-fishermen, and its cost, even when obtainable, is such a heavy tax on this branch of the fish- ing industry, that often the fishermen hesitate to engage in it, fearing that the result may be a loss rather than a gain. It was to obviate this difficulty about bait, and to render our cod fish- eries more valuable in consequence, that led Professor Baird to bring the cod gill-nets to the notice of the American fishermen, The bait principally depended upon by the shore fishermen in the vicinity of Cape Ann, during the fall and early winter, is young herring (C/upea harengus), known as the “spirling.” The appearance of these fish about the cape is somewhat uncertain; sometimes large schools remain for several weeks, and at other times but a few can be taken. There was so little prospect of getting a supply of bait in the season of 1880, that Captain Mar- tin hesitated about fitting out for trawling, fearing that the cost and difficulty of securing a supply of this article, which is indis- pensable to the trawl-line fishery, would render the undertaking unprofitable. While the matter of fitting out in the old way was under ‘consideration, gill-nets were suggested by the father of Captain Martin, an employee of the Fish Commission, as a means of solving the perplexities of the bait question. He thought the idea a good one, and, together with several of his crew, visited the station of the Commission at Gloucester, looked at the Norwegian nets that were there, and consulted with the agent in charge as to the probabilities of success. The result of this interview was that Captain Martin decided to fit out and give the new,method a thorough trial, and nets were therefore obtained for this purpose, part of them being supplied by the Fish Commission. Before the trial trip was made Captain Martin had an inter- view with me at Gloucester, to get some additional information as to the management of the nets. I briefly explained to him the methods adopted by the Norwegians. He thought, however 216 FISH-CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. that the nets might be ‘‘underrun,” as trawls sometimes are, which would enable one man to handle a gang of nets for which an entire boat’s crew, six to eight men, is required in Norway, I could see no reason, myself, why the nets could not be under- run, providing the current was not too strong and the water not to deep. It may be explained here that the Norwegians set their nets late in the day and take them up on the following morning, the apparatus being carried to the land, the fish re- moved from the meshes, and the gear prepared for setting again. This involves a large amount of labor and much loss of time, as compared with the method of underrunning, which may be con- sidered ‘‘ another yankee invention.”’ When the nets are set for underrunning, the anchor is first thrown over, and 25 fathoms of line paid out, when the buoy- line is bent to it. 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