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I

AMERICAN

FISH-CULTURE,

EMBRACING ALL THE DETAILS OF

AETIFIOIAL B3EEDING AND EEAEING OP TEOUTi
THE OULTUEE OF SALMON. SHAD AND OTHEB

FISHES.

BY THADDEUS NORRIS,

AUTHOR OF "THE AMERICAN ANGLER'S BOOK.'
ILLITSTBATED.

I

PHILADELPHIA:

PORTER &. COATES.

LONDON: SAMPSON LOW, SON & CO.

1868.

■y ■■>»■*» »-M

ani

Entered, acoprding to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by

W)RTKR & C0ATE8,

in the Clorlt's OlBce of the District Couit of the United States, in and for the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

HEARS * DD8ENBCBT, BTERI0TTPKB8.

RRIBMAIf * CO., PBUITEB8.

This Book

18 RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED

to
STEPHEN H. AINSWORTH, Esq.,

. IK APPRECIATION

or

HIS PRAISEWORTHY EFFORTS TO ESTABLISH
AS A BRANCH OF NATIONAL INDD8TRT.

:^;

PEEFACE.

The numerous essays and articles on Fish Culture which from
time to time, have appeared in periodicals and newspapers,
clearly demonstrate the increasing importance of this branch of
industry, and have promoted a spirit of curiosity and inquiry
amongst intelligent people. Some of the first minds amongst
our countrymen are giving serious thought as to the means of
arresting the gradual extinction of valuable fishes, and restor-
ing our failing and exhausted rivers to their former fruitful-
ness ; and are becoming convinced that the culture of water as
well as of land, can be made to contribute largely to the sup-
ply of food required for our rapidly increasing population.

Many of the short essays with their illustrations, which ap-
pear m periodicals, claim the admiration and excite the curiosity
of readers. But most of them, with their few and imperfect
directions as to the mode of procedure, are calculated to mislead
rather than direct the inquirer. With these facts before us, the
writer, as well as other practical fish culturists, have declined
many solicitations to contribute essays of limited space and
matter to agricultural and other periodicals ; being impressed
with the impossibility of doing the subject justice if thus
abridged. In the mean time, those who have engaged in it
and have a knowledge of the art, are applied to for information

(6)

VI

PREFACE.

if

80 frequently, that much time and some pains are required to
put the inquirer on the right road to success. The two little
essays which have appeared in the American Angler's Book,
and the fact of my having engaged in the business since its
publication, has made me the recipient of numerous letters
and caused a voluminoue correspondence. This has also been
the case with my friend Stephen H. Ainsworth, who informs
me that the aggregate time employed by him in answering
letters and writing essays since he commenced his experiments,
would amount almost to a year.

For want of directions as to the details of breeding and
rearing trout, inexperienced persons who have commenced it
have met with difficulties ; which has discouraged others who
were .anxious to engage in the business. With the pushing
disposition and impatience of many of our countrymen, they
frequently ignore the fact that in experiments we learn as
much from errors as success. In view of these facts bearing
adversely on this new branch of industry, and with a wish to
promote it, I have, at the solicitation of several friends who
sympathize in the desire to foster it, given all the necessary
details to insure success in the culture of our brook trout ;
being assisted, as the reader will find, by one who is as well
versed in the art as any of those whose names have become
prominent in this respect in France. I have also, as the
reader will find in the following pages, drawn largely on my
experience at the establishment I inaugurated in Warren
county, New Jersey.

The artificial propagation of migratory fishes which enter
our rivers, is destined to be the principal means by which we
are to restock our exhausted streams, and restore those that
are rapidly declining, to their former fecundity ; as well as in
naturalizing valuable species in waters where they have hith*

PREFACE.

VH

orto not been known. On this branch of the subject, I have
brought to bear many years of close observation, and study of
the instincts and habite of such fishes ; and have availed my-
self of all the knowledge of others that has come within my
reach. That my observations and directions may be intelli-
gable to general readers, in laying such information before
them, I have used as few technicalities as I consistently could.
It will be seen that I have quoted largely from the great
amount of useful knowledge elicited by the enterprising Com-
missioners of Fisheries for the New England States. One of
the reasons for laying such information before my readers is,
that many interested persons outside of those states may not
be able to avail themselves of the importt < '. facts which have
been brought to light, as the reports alluded to are published
only for their own citizens, or those who may apply for them
to the Commissioners. As I have duly credited the various
sources from which I have received information bearing on
fish culture, I will make no further mention of them here,
than acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Bertram's work,
" The Harvest of the Sea," and Mr. Francis's book on Fish
Culture.

Although some statistics respecting salmon, and the con-
sumption of Crustacea, will be found in this book, I have
deemed that any account of fish that inhabit the sea exclu-
sively, would be irrelevant to my subject.

The publisher of an agricultural paper has urged my com-
pliance with his request, to contribute a series of articles on
trout culture, '' if there Were no state secrets." I might here
suggest, that my startihg a trout-breeding establishment for
one of the subscribers to his paper (as I did for others, and
that without remuneration), before I entertained an idea of
writing this book, is an evidence that I have never had any

•• •
VIH

PBEFACB.

I

''state secrets" on the subject. I have a poor opinion of the
man whose narrow mind and heart would prompt him to with-
hold any knowledge that would benefit those who should \
engage in th«» business. The proprietors of a similar periodi-
cal, who oflfered to pay liberally for like contributions, and
who must be aware of the small remuneration I shall receive
for the labor bestowed on thi book, I hope, will allow that
such reward has been but a small inducement ; and that the
reason assigned, that I could not treat the subject properly
in the spaco allowed \n their columns, is a substantial one.
lu conclusion of this preface, I can truly say that I have un-
dertaken the task from a love of it, and a desire to diffuse a
knowledge of the art.

, That)deus Norris.

Philadelphia, July 1868

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.— Introductory Remarks on Fish Culture.
What it is.— Its advantages over natural propagation.— Time
occupies', in hatching— Number of ova of different species-
Consequences of all the ova producing fish that would come to
maturity.— Object of Fish Culture.— Its antiquity.— Practised by
the Chinese and Roman! .—Artificial propagation discovered by
Dom Pinchon.— Rediscovered by M. Jacobi.— Subsequent dis-
covery of Joseph Remy.— Alleged discoverers.- Experiments

of Shaw and Young.— Patronage of the French government

Its effects on Scotch and Irish rivers.— Its use as an adjunct in
restoring American rivers to their former fecundity.— Commis-
sioners of Fisheries appointed by tlie New England States, and
the States of New York and Pennsylvania.— Experiment in arti-
ficial propagation and hatching at Holyoke on the Connecticut.
—Experiments in trout breeding by Stephen H. Ainsworth.—
Progress in trout cuUure.—Fish culture in France . P. 13

CHAPTER II— Trout Breedino.

The Trout, Trout Pouds, etc.
The Trout. -Its adaptability to culture-Season of spawning-
Spawning grounds.- Appearance of the sexes at spawning time
habits and condition— Subsequent recuperation— Water-supply!
—Effect of the temperature of water on the time of hatching—!
Spring water necessary for in al)ation. Series of Pwirf,,— Their
shape— Method of shading them. 7?«mmy.,.-Their construc-
tion.-Protection of them from muskrats— Screons.-Depth and

X CONTENTS.

size of ponds. — Transfer of fish from one pond to another. —
Estimate of number of troat for a given supply of water. — Jere-
miah Comfort's ponds. — Stocking ponds. — Procuring and trans-
porting brood trout . . . . . P. 26

CHAPTER III —Trout Bbeedino.
Incubation and Treatment of Fry.

Hatching apparatus. — French and American plans. — Supply of
water for a given number of eggs. Hatching-house. — Illustration
with explanations. — Filterer. — Troughs. — Nursery. — Manage-
ment of filterer. — Washing gravel for troughs. — Implements.
Taking th. spawn. — ^^ction of the female when about to spawn.
— Method of catching the fish on the spawning-beds. — Indications
of the maturity of the eggs. — Manipulation. — Placing the ova in
the troughs. — Packing and transportation of eggs.— Manner of
taking a large number of eggs for transportation from a trough.
— How to examine them. — Illustration with explanations of the
appearance of ova at different stages during incubation. — Table
showing progress of incubation with water at different degrees
of temperature. — Hatching out and progress in growth and ac-
tivity of fry. Treatment of fry. — Their food, and manner of
feeding them. — Their disposition to escape. — Transferring them
to the nurseries. — Their admission into the first pond. — Trans-
portation of fry . . . . . 42

CHAPTER IV.- Tkodt Bbeedino.
General Remarks, Food for Adults, Profits and Statistics.
Food of adult Trout. — Curd, liver, maggots. — Maggot factory. —
Allowance of food for a given number. — Natural food. — Stall
feeding and its advantages. — Trout culture a branch of farming.
— Facilities possessed by farmers. — Will fish culture pay ? — In-
stances of its being profitable. — Estimate of cost of feeding on
curd. — Proposed trout breeding at Ingham Spring. — Growth of
trout. — Description of Huningiie, and M. de Galbert's estab-
lishment, in France. — Heidelberg. — Fish cultural enterprise
in Switzerland — Trout culture in the United States.— Notice
of Mr. Ainsworth's establishment. — Description of Seth
Green's ...... 78

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER v.— CuLTCBE op the Salmon.

xi

The Salmon. — Its instincts. — Difference in appearance and size of
those belonging to different rivers. — Their former abundance and

cause of decline in numbers. — Their growth and adolescence

Migrations. — Time of ova hatching in European and American
rivers— Growth of the fry, with illustrations.— Early fecundit;-
of the males. — Attempts at artificial propagation in the United
States. — Their naturalization. — Fishways, with illustrations.
Salmon breeding. — At Stormontfield. — On the Dee. — On the
Galway.— On the Doohulla.-— At Ballisodare.— In Australia.—
Salmon statistics . . . . . P. 102

CHAPTER VI.— Cdltuhe of the Shad.

The Shad. — Its instincts, and analogies to the salmon. — Migra-
tions.— Former abundance. — Incubation of its ova.— Its growth.
— Its introduction into rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mexico,
by Dr. Daniell.— Hatching its spawn at Holyoke.— Ascent by
fishways over dam of Susquehanna Canal Company.— Report
of Colonel James Worrall.— TAe Alewi/e . . Ui

CHAPTER VII. — Naturalization of Fishes.

General remarks. Salmonid^b.— 77/e Brook 7>om<.— Instances
of its naturalization. The Lake Trout.— Mr. Robinson's letter

on its propagation. The Schoodic and S<hago Salmon Extract

concerning its habits and propagation, from Maine Fish Commis-
sioners' Report. The Sea Trout of Canada.— Advantages of
naturalizing it. ITie Grayling.— mw species found in Michi-
gan. The White Fish.— Its excellence, habits, and manner of
propagating. The Otsego Bass.— Not a bass. The Smelt.—
General remarks. Percidve.— 77*e Rock Fish.— The Crappie.
—The Black Bass of the Lakes.— Its adaptability to naturaliza-
tion. The Black Bass of the West and South.— Its introduction
into the Potomac— Mr. Wright's score of fish taken with the
rod.— Their natiiralizntion in niill-i)onds. Sihjrid^:.— .SV«„//
Species.— Their excellence as food.— Manner cf cooking them.
—Their proposed introduction into England. CypiuNn);»;.—
General remarks on. Esocid^.— Injurious results from intro-
ducing them . . . . ^ ^ , yg

xii CONTENTS.

CHAx*TER VIII.— Culture of Eelc.

Probability of eels being of sufficient importance to be cultivated.
—General remarks on eels. — Eel culture at Comacchio P. 219

CHAPTER IX.— CuLTUBB of Otstebs.

The Oyster, — An hermaphrodite. Its fecundity. — Its spawn or
"spat," and its manner of incubation. — Emission of the spat,
and its destruction by marine animals. — Importance of its find-
ing something to fasten to. — Places favorable to its growth. —
Transportation of seed oysters to the north.— Growth of the
young oyster. — Chief object in the culture of oysters. Oyster
Culture at Fusaro. — Its antiquity. — Its progress in France at the
Bay of St. Brieuc and the Island of Rce.— English and French
oysters. — Decrease of oysters in Eastern States. — Governor
Wise's estimate of the area and value of oyster-beds in Vir-

gmia

225

M

APPENDIX.

I. — Natural food of Trout ... 23

II. — Messrs. Martin and Gillone's system of hatch-
ing AND SEARING YOUNG SaLMON . . 241

III. — Culture of Carp .... 244

IV. — Discovery op artificial fecundation by Jacobi 245
V. — Artificial Spawning-beds . . 248

VI. — The Gourami. — Its Habitat, or Native Coun

try . t • . . . 250

VII. — Cold Spring Trout-ponds . . . 264

VIII. — Clove Spring Trout-ponds . .' . 272

IX. — Cultivation of Fur-bearing Animals . 274

X. — American Fish for English Waters . 278

XI. — Dr. J. H. Slack's Trout-breeding Establish-
ment ...... 287

XII. — Stephen H. Ainsworth's new Hatching-race,

FOR Natural Propagation . . 288

XIII.— Crustacea . .... 290

XIV. — Salmon Hatching Establishment on the Mira-

>ncHi ...... 297

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ON FISH CULTURE.

What it is.— Its advantages over natural propagation.— Time occu-
pied in hatching.— Number of ova of different species.— Conse-
quences of all the ova producing fish that would come to maturity.
—Object of Fish Culture.— Its antiquity.— Practised by the Chinese
and Romans — Artificial propagation discovered by Dom Pinchon.
—Rediscovered by M. Jacobi.— Subsequent discovery of Joseph
Remy.— Alleged discoverers.— Experiments of Shaw and Young.—
Patronage of the French government.— Its effects on Scotch and
Irish rivers.— Its use as an adjunct in restoring American rivers to
their former fecundity.— Commissioners of fislieries appointed by
the New England States, and the States of New York and Pennsyl-
vania.— Experiment in artificial propagation and hatching at Hol-
yoke on the Connecticut— Experiments in trout breeding by Ste-
phen H. Ainsworth— Progress in trout culturo.-Fish culture in
France.

It may be asked, what is Fish Culture. The reply is,
tha. V is the propagation offish by artificial moans, and the
2 (13)

w

14

AMERICAN FISH CULTUEE.

protection of the young from the dangers to which they are
exposed in their natural haunts ; assisting and in a great
degree improving on nature. It may still be asked, can
you assist or improve on nature ? To this I respond, that
if the fish culturist has the impregnated spawn under his
own protection and supervision, it will be subjected to none
of the casualties to which it is exposed in the stream where
the parent fish deposits it. That no flood will sweep it
away or cover it with dirt, sawdust, or tanbark. That no
fish of its own or other species, sailing around like pirate
craft, will devour it as it is ejected. That no eel or lamprey
will burrow into the gravel-covered nest to make a dainty
meal of its contents. That no duck, wild or tame, or long-
legged wading-bird will gobble it up. That no water-rat,
muskrat, mink, or other predacious quadruped will feed
upon it. I would now in return ask my interrogator, if
ten out of a hundred eggs should escnpe all these adverse
contingencies and produce ten infant fish, if he supposes
their own father and mother or other fish would hesitate
for an instant to pouch them, or that aquatic birds which
would have gobbled them up in embryo would spare them
now? Does he think that three out of the ten infants
would arrive at mature fishhood ? Close observers think
not, especially if they were ten infant trout or salmon, each
weighed down with the umbilical sac of aliment which it
carries under its belly for forty or fifty days. But if the
fish culturist puts the eggs of salmon or trout into his hatch-
ing-trough, he will likely get eighty or ninety young fish
from a hundred. If trout, seventy or eighty of the fry

INTRODUCTORY RExMARKS.

15

ch they are
in a great
asked, can
spond, that
a under his
ted to none
ream where
11 sweep it
. That no
like pirate
or lamprey
ie a dainty
le, or long-
D water-rat,
i will feed
Togator, if
9se adverse
e supposes
Id hesitate
•irds which
spare them
ben infants
vers think
Imon, each
it which it
But if the
his hatch-
young fish
of the fry

may he growu to weigh a pound or more, in three years,
and are worth seventy-five cents or a dollar a pound in
market.

If my querist reads scientific journals, he will see that
Dr. Daaiell, of Savannah, transported the fecundated spawn
of shad across the country to a tributary of the Alabama,
ten years ago, and hatched them out and stocked that noble
river and its branches with this favorite fish. If he only
reads the newspapers, he must have found out that Seth
Green sends trout spawn by thousands to all parts of the
Northern and Middle States. That Dr. Fletcher has brought
salmon eggs from the British province of New Brunswick
to stock the salmonless rivers of New England, and" that
salmon spawn has even been sent from England to Australia
to introduce that noble fish there. That barren salmon
rivers of Ireland and Scotland have by means of fish culture
been restored to their former fecundity ; and rivers, and
even brooks,.that before had no salmon, have been made
fruitful of them.

There is scarcely a month in the calendar in which fish
of some genus or other do not spawn. Some deposit their
eggs on stones, brush, or aquatic plants, the ova adhering
by a glutinous substance which surrounds them. Others,
as the salmon family, excavate their nests on gravelly beds
in running water, cover their spawn and leave it to the
care of mother nature. Some, such as the stickleback, the
sunfish, the black-bass, and others of the perch family,
build nesta and stand guard over them. Othei-s, including
some species of Siluridae, known as catfish, have a parental

Tf

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16

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

iM

care for their young, and lead them about as a hen does her
chickens.

The time occupied in hatching the spawn also varies.
That of the salmon requires from forty to over two hun-
dred days, according to the temperature of the water ; while
the spawn of the shad in water at 75° hatches in fifty-two
to sixty hours.

The number of eggs produced by different species vary
as wide as the time of incubation. A salmon of ten pounds
only gives ten thousand eggs, or a thousand to each pound
of its weight; while a good-sized codflsh gives a million, a
herring forty or fifty thousand, and a five-pound shad a
hundred thousand. But a small percentage of ova produce
fish, as it is food for fishes and other aquatic animals. If
all the fish eggs produced were hatched and the fry arrived
at mature age, the seas would be so full that they could
not be navigated, and rivers and lakes would be plethoric.
The object of fish culture is to profit by knowledge of the
facts I have mentioned, and to turn a portion of the waste
of piscine life to human account.

As far back as our knowledge of the Chinese extends,
we find that fecundated fish spawn with them has been an
article of traffic. The manner of procuring it is by placing
fagots on frames permanently fixed in waters where fish
are accustomed to spawn. At the proper time the fagots
are collected with the spawn adhering, and the ova either
hatched out by those who collect it, or is sold and trans-
ported in water. The flooded rice-fields are frequently
used for raising the young fish. I would here remark that

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

17

this spawn must necessarily be mostly of species belonging
to the carp family, which abound in China. By this mode
of culture, fish are made so abundant and cheap there that
they are the chief food of the people.

The Romans, vying with each other in the splendor of
their feasts, left no means unemployed of spreading their
tables with the best fish their climate aflforded, and fish
culture was brought into requisition to a great extent to
supply this demand. M. Jourdier, a French writer on this
subject, says of Lucullus, " at his house at Tusculum, on the
shores of the Gulf of Naples, he dug canals from his fish-
ponds to the sea. Into these canals freshwater streams
were led, and pure running water thus kept up. Sea-fish
that breed in fresh water passed through the canals into
his ponds, and stocked them with their young. When they
attempted to return to sea, flood-gates barred their
egress at the mouths of the canals, and while their progeny
were growing the parent fish supplied the market." The
value of the fish kept in these ponds, it is stated, amounted
to a sum which in our money would be equal to two hun-
dred and fifty thousand dollars.

Fish culture appears to have fallen into disuse after the
fall of the Roman republic, as we find no mention of it
until the fourteenth century, when, according to M. Jourard,
Dom Pinchon, a monk of the Abbey of R6ome, discovered
the art of breeding fish in wooden boxes, the ends being
of wicker work and the bottoms covered with sand, in which
excavations were made and the ova deposited. The art
was rediscovered about the year 1763 by Jacobi a German.

9 *

B

ff

ii

18 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

Bertram, in his " Harvest of the Seas," says : " Jacobi, who
practised the art for thirty years, was not satisfied with the
mere discovery, but at once turned what he had discovered
to practical account ; and in the time of Jacobi great atten-
tion was devoted to pisciculture by various gentlemen of
scientific eminence. Count Goldstein, a savan of that
period, also wrote on the subject. The Journal of Hanover
had papers on this art, and an account of Jacobi's proceedings
was also enrolled in the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of

Berlin The results arrived at by Jacobi were of

vast importance, and obtained not only the recognition of
his government, but also the more solid reward of a
pension."

It is strange that so important a discovery should not
have produced more permanent results, and that it should
not have been followed up at that time with the same suc-
cess which has attended the after-discovery of Joseph Ilemy-
Jacobi's mode of hatching the ova of salmon and trout,
was the same as that of his predecessor, Dom Pinchon,
using gravel, however, instead of sand in his hatching-boxes.
Dom Pinchon is the first of whom it is recorded that he
expressed the ova and fecundateil it with the milt of the
male fish ; the Chinese and Romans had not arrived at this
point in their pisciculture.

In the early part of the present century there was con-
siderable controversy amongst naturalists and fishermen 7'n
Great Britain, concerning a little fish known as the parr;
whether it was a distinct species or the young of the sal-
mon. Also, whether the young salmon arrived at its smolt

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. jg

State and made its first migration to sea the second or third
summer of its existence. To decide these points of dispute,
Mr. Shaw, of Drumlanrig, and Mr. Andrew Young, of
Invershin, Scotland, about the year 1834 bred salmon Irti-
ficially in wooden boxes. It is likely they were aware of the
plan pursued by Jacobi and followed his example, as their
mode was not heralded as a discovery, and was not different
in any essential point from that of Jacobi. I will here say
that the result of their experiments proved the parr to be
the young of the salmon, and that the contestants were
both right as to the period of its first migration to sea, as
It has been clearly ascertained that a portion of them, even
of the same brood, will migrate the second summer, and
another portion defer their journey until the following year.
It IS stated also, that pisciculture was practised in x\orway
previous to the experiments made by Shaw and Young, and
that James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, was one of its dis-
coverers.

It is useless to dwell on facts that the most obtuse have
not failed to notice. I allude to the gradual extinction and
banishment from our rivers of the more valuable species,
and the consequent enhanced value of such fish in our
markets, rendering them almost unattainable by persons of
moderate means. The old countries of Europe, thouoh
more provident, have suffered, more or less, in the same
way, and fish as food has become a question of vast impor-
tance. The French government has fostered fish culture
chiefly for this reason, and to such purpose that in a few
years there will scarcely be an acre of barren water in tb«

^

\

i

i!

20 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

empire. Not only fish but oysters, crayfish, and other

Crustacea are being multiplied by this new science.

The discovery of Joseph Remy has produced practical
results which did not follow those of his predecessors. This
French peasant, who gained a livelihood from the Moselle, its
tributaries, and other streams of his native district, La
Bresse, lamenting the sure extinction of the finer lands of
fish; by long and anxious vigils became convinced of the
outer impregnation of the spawn and all the n-lverse vicissi-
tudes to which it and the young fry were exposed. His
experiments based on these observations were successful
beyond his anticipations, and in 1849, when his doings and
those of his, companion Gehin were brought to the know-
ledge of M. Coste, professor of Biology in the College of
France, improvements were made in the manner of hatch-
ing the ova, the patronage of the government was secured,
and the present establishment at Huningue, and subse-
quently its branches, were inaugurated. The efi"ects of
liberal and judicious government patronage bave not only
been spread over France, but its henefits have reached all
parts of enlightened Europe; and our own country is now
resorting to this new science to restock its exhausted
rivers, and adopting it as a branch of industry.

In a chapter devoted .u iiuT aalmon I shall endeavor to
give a summary of v h:>t 'o.^^ ^^en done iu Scotland and
Ireland in cultivating that valuable fish.

In this country, our utter disregard for the bounties of
nature so wonderfully lavished upon us, and our inordinate
rage for internal improvements, have caused our state gov-

id other

•

practical

•8. This
Dselle, its
trict, La
Vinds of
>d of the
36 vicissi-
ed. His
mccessful
oings and
he know-
lollege of
of hatch-
s secured,
,nd subse-
effects of
e not only
cached all
try is now
exhausted

nd^avor to
atland and

)ounties of

inordinate

r state gov-

I

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 21

ernments rather to legislate for the extinction than the
protection and continuance of the finer species of migratory
fishes. Individuals have been allowed, and companies have
been chartered, to construct impassable dams, driving back
salmon and shad from their spawning-beds; and not only
above, but below such barriers most of our rivers have
become as barren of such fish as if they had never resorted
to them. These are not the natural consequences of civil-
ization and progress, as some would urge, but rather of bar-
barism and reckless improvidence ; and at last, when a shad
or a pound of salmon is sold for twenty times the price it
brought when we ceased- to be colonies of Great Britain,
our legislators have set seriously to work to regain for nj
the liberal provisions of nature which they have tJirown
away.

Our separate interests as states, it is to te feared, will
defer or prevent the restoration of many rivers to their for-
mer fruitfulness, as many of them form the boundaries
between, or flow through, several states. The New England
States, notwithstanding, have at length set to work with a
will, and, from all we can gather from the reports of their
fish commissioners, there is much good feeling and concert
of action. The joint commission have defined the part to
be taken by each state. Those to whose territory the
spawning-beds of the long rivers arc confined, have a<.reed
to stock them with shad and salmon, and are usin^ the
fecundated spawn of these fish to do it the more speedily
The enormous number of forty millions of young shad were
hatched out by Seth Green at Holyoke on the Connecticut

II

52 AMERICAN FISH CDLTUEE.

W summer a„d turood into the river. The iatermediate
states are to constr-act efficient Sshways for the pa».age of
the fish to their spawning-grounds. Those owning the
„,onths of the rivers are to provide against destructive fish-
ing, and give a free pa«ge to the upper waters. All the
s«es referred to have enaeted laws, or revived those that
were obsolete, to promote the object in view. It is devouUy
to be hoped that a liberal spirit will prevail, and that the ■
energy v.hieh now characterizes the commissioners w.l
continue until the much-desired end is attained. I shall
have occasion to refer to the reports of the commissioners
of each state ; that of Maine is lengthy, and contains much
of interest U, the friends of the enterprise; the Vermont
report is also interesting, and that of Massachusetts inslruo-
tive, practical, and spirited.

Th" state of New York has also appointed fish commis-
sioners. It is to be regretted that Stephen H. Ainsworth
is not of the number. Still, from the reputed energy of Mr.
K B Eoosevelt and the known experience and skdl of Mr.
Seth Green,* we may expect favorable results. If the latter
should go to Canada or New Brunswick to manipulate the
salmon, and then have charge of the hatching, there ,s no
fear that the Hudson and the stt^ams flowing mto the St
Lawrence and the Lakes will be without salmon for n.any
years after the fry are produced. Of course fishways are
to be constructed, and^wsfM^theprotect^^

' V^nZ:^r'^^^^^'' I "»" "«" '"'""""' """ ''"'■°''."™'
Seymour, wl,„, i. i« -.1^, «k« ■»'■* '"'-«' "' "'° "'°"°'' "" '""'°
added to thi'- i!umiui^«ion.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

II

23

fry rigidly e'nforced, or no permanent good will come from
merely stocking the rivers.

Pennsylvania, on the 30th of March 1866, passed a law
making it incumbent on the owners of dams on the Susque-
hanna and its tributaries, whether companies or individuals,
to erect eflScient fishways over such dams by the first of
December of that year, and a competent engineer was
appointed to see the law enforced. The companies who
had bought the diflFercnt internal improvements from the
state, contended that they were purchased without encum-
brance, and resist the kw, as some other companies also do,
and it is now a matter of litigation. One, however, the
Susquehanna Canal Company, acquiesced and constructed
a fishway under the supervision of the engineer appointed.
The report of this gen.' mm to the legislature shows that
shad in numbers and or large sizt ascended the fishways
in the spring and summer of 1867, and were taken as high
up as New Port on the Juniata; the number being vari-
ously estimated from ten thousand to eighteen thousand.
Numerous fry were also seen in the river during the latter
part of the sumiut^i, as well as some bodies of Shad that
had died, as they frequently do, from the exhausting efi-ects
of spawning. This proves conclusively that shad will
ascend rivers to new spawning-beds if suitable fishways are
provided. To introduce them into tributaries which they
may not enter, or to repopulute the Susquehanna the more
speedily, artificial propagation must of course be resorted
to. If it should be decided that the Act of March 80th
18G6 is not constitutional, it remains for the stjite to defray

nm i

24 AMERICAN FISH CUT.TURB.

the cost of restoring to the people who dwell on the river ■
in question and its tributaries, the privileges of which it
unjustly deprived them in constructing internal improve-
ments, or granted away to corporate companies. This the
New England States have already done, and when appro-
priations have fallen short in effecting some desired object,
commissioners have footed the bill, trusting to the liberality
of their state to refund the difference.

Although our state governments have been tardy in avail-
ing themselves of the benefit to be obtained from this new
science, individual curiosity and enterprise have not been
idle. From a lack of knowledge of the requirements and
mode of procedure, however, success in most cases has been
small or unsatisfactory, and experiments have been almost
or entirely confined to breeding trout. Our most zealous
and able fish culturist, Stephen 11. Ainsworth, commenced
ten years ago with whatever light he could get on the sub-
ject from newspapers and periodicals, generally accounts of
what was doing in France. With a supply of water that
does not fill an inch auger hole, and of exceedingly varia-
ble temperature, it may be said, he has taught himself this
science, discovering many of its hidden truths not recorded
by French fish culturist?, and is now our chief authority on
all matters pertaining to it. He imparts the knowledge
he has gained by years of unwearied observation, to all
inquirers, and has done much by his letters and newspaper
contributions to create an interest in the art. He has been
my preceptor; all that I shall endeavor to teach in a chap-
ter on trout breeding are lessons which I have learned of

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

25

him, or from my own experience which grew out of his
teachings. I will give a brief description of his establish-
ment and that of his neighbor, Seth Green, in a subse-
quent chapter.

Breeding and raising trout for private use and to supply
our markets is destined to become a national branch of
industry, and many who possess the requisite natural advan-
tages are now turning their attention to it. I shall notice
the efforts of many of those who have commenced it, under
its appropriate head.

I have alluded on a former page to the fact that the
French government is making every effort to extend
this branch of industry, so that waste waters which were
entirely barren, are now beginning to be more productive
than the same area of cultivated land. The fish ponds of
Doombes extend over thirty thousand acres. Under the
advisement of proficient persons appointed by the govern-
ment, all kinds of waters are stocked with fish suitable to
them : carp, perch, eels and pike for sluggish streams,
lakes and ponds ; trout for the bounding cool brook, and
the salmon for the clear swift river. France being a Roman
Catholic country, with its many fast days, fish are more
requisite than where Protestantism prevails; therefore,
fish of the cheaper kinds are more in demand than with
us, and are used whore meats would l)o bought in our
markets. The cultivation of oysters, as well as Crustacea,
is fostered by the government; so, also, is that of sea-fish.
Experiments are even being .»aade on the sea coasts, in the
propagation and rearing of the finer kinds of turtles.
3

26

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

CHAPTER 11.

TROUT BREEDING.

THE TROUT, TROUT PONDS, ETC.

The TrouL-ItB adaptability to culture. -Season of spawning.-
Spawning grounds -Appearance of the sexes at spawning time,
habits and condition-Subsequent recuperation. -Water-supply-
Effect of the temperature of water on the time of hatching-
Spring water necessary for incubation. Series of Ponds.-Their
shape-Method of shading them. /Jac.«;a^5-Their construction.
^Protection of them from muskrats. -Screens -Depth and size
of ponds-Transfer of fish from one pond to another-Estimate of
number of trout for a given supply of water-Jeremiah Comfort's
ponds.-Stocking ponds -Procuring and transporting brood trout.

The artificial hatching and raising of fish, as I have
already intimated, has, with few exceptions, been confined
in this country to brook trout. These are not only fish of
the rarest beauty and most delicate flavor, but tbey also
command the highest pr:ce in market and afford the great,
est sport to the angler. Moreover, their spawn is more
easily procured and can be hatched in a manner more re-
sembling that of nature, than the ova of any other fresh-

water fish.

The season of spawning with trout extends from the
latter part of October to the middle of December; and m
Bome cases where the water does not freeze, as in Caledonia

■ spawning.' —
awning time,
iter-supply. —
)f hatching.—
fronds.— Their
r construction.
)epth and size
— Estimate of
liah Comfort's
12 brood trout.

h, as I have
leen confined
t only fish of
but tbey also
brd the great-
)awn is more
nner more re-
f other fresh-

nda from the
smber ; and in
18 in Caledonia

w

m

TROUT BREEDING.

27

creek, in New York, to the middle of March.* When they
have a choice of spawning-grounds, trout will seek shallow
water of gentle current, with pebbly bottom, or the lower
end of a ripple where the water is almost still. To occupy
such places, they will run out of deeper water either up or
down stream, leaping over an obstructing log, or wriggling
through water half the depth of their bodies, the males
preceding the females some days. At this season the

* About the Ist of May (of this year) I visited Mr. A. J. Beau-
mont, near New Hope, Pa., for the purpose of inaugurating a trout-
breeding establishment. He has a spring which supplies the power
for a paper and grist mill, the water flowing in a raceway about
five hundred yards to the mill site. This race is w611 stocked
with trout, and the water is of such unvarying temperature that the
fish know no summer or winter. On taking a few fish with the fly
I found that more than half of the females presented the slender
body and peculiar appearance of fish that had lately spawned. When
I mentioned the circumstance to Mr. Beaumont he informed me thf t
only three days before, while cutting water cresses at the spring, his
son removed a stone that lay at a sligh-:^ angle with the bottom,
and found beneath it a large number of trout spawn. On examining
the ova he could not detect, with the naked eye, any formation of
the young fish. The conclusion to be deduced from this and similar
facts wliich have come under my observation, is that the more equa-
ble the temperature of the water, the longer will the time of spawn-
ing extend into the spring of the year, and that trout taken from cold
forest streams, where they spawn only in the fall, and placed in
unvarying spring water ponds, will, in successive generations, breed
later and later, until they take on the habit, in this respect, that
prevails with the trout in Mr. Beaumont's raceway and in Caledonia
creek.

28

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

sexes are easily distinguished, the males putting on a de-
cidedly orange tint, their fins brilliantly red, with the first
two or three rays of the ventrals and anal vividly white;
while the females are of a sober silver gray. Their forms
also differ at spawning time — the males deep-bodied, slab-
sided, and long-headed ; the females with the usual small
head, and the looked-for rotundity and protuberance of
abdomen. The males show all the ardor of quadrupeds
on such occasions, and in their contests for the favors of
the shy spawners the result is sometimes fatal. I have
picked up males at the outlet of my pond whose scarred
and gashed sides left no doubt as to the cause of their
death. A greater part of the time of the male is occupied
in driving off rivals, and fish that wait at hand to devour
the eggs as they are dropped.

A male may have milt enough for several females of his
own size, consequently, his milting extends over a period
of a week or ten days ; during which time he may have
two, or three mates in succession. A female when she is
mated and her spawn matured, deposits it all in c« day or
two, or in three days at most; if her mate is H that

his milt is exhausted before she is done spi. . '^he

seeks another companion.

As the time for spawning approaches, the fish fall off in
flesh and flavor, which they do not generally regain until
late in the following spring. When they have access to
brackish and salt water, as on Long Island, where they
find shrimp and small fry, this may be in March. In fresh-
water ponds where there is much feed, as the larva of flies,

TROUT BREEDING. 29

worms on certain weeds, and minute Crustacea, or when
they are bountifully fed, they are edible in April. In the
streams of the forest however, they are seldom in season
before the 10th of May. The peculiar habits, appearance,
and condition of trout at spawning time can be observed in
clear ponds where they are kept for breeding, as well, or
perhaps better, than in their wild haunts.

Water >S>^/^.— Spring water, whether hard or soft, if
not impregnated to any great extent with mineral, is best,
not only for hatching but also for supplying ponds. The'
warmer the water the more rapid the incubation, though a
low temperature conduces to the healthy condition of the
ova during this process, as well as to that of the young fish
until the umbilical sac is absorbed, as it is not fovorable to
the growth of byssus and confervia. In proof of this I
would instance the small percentage of eggs lost in incuba-
t.o„ by Mr. Ainsworth; though much of his success in
hatching is to be attributed to his experience in expressing
the spawn and milt, as well as the care he bestows on the
ova after taking them. A spring with a deep source will
-urnish water of almost unvarying temperature, and will
indicate the mean of the atmosphere in its locality In the
neighborhood of Philadelphia, this is about 51° or 52°
For hatching, the water should never be above 51° • 46°
or 47° is perhaps the best temperature. Spring water is
almost indispensable in hatching, as few or no brooks are
uniformly clear, or have not more or less dirt or vegetable
hbre carried along by the current.

It is to be supposed that the beginner has a spring of
3 *

r

I

30

FISH CULTURE.

certain flow for hatching, and perhaps a cold brook which
he can also use in supplying his ponds. He will therefore
wish to know the size his ponds should be, and the best
form. Before I give any directions on incubation and its
appliances I will treat of ponds, remarking by the way,
that if one uses brook water to increase his supply, he
should not introduce it, if avoidable, into his first pond
where the small fry are kept, and should make some con-
trivance for shutting off the brook or confining it to its usual
volume in time of heavy rains. He should do this, not
only that he may keep the water in the ^rst pond at its
usual temperature, but also to prevent dirt from being
washed in, which will soon foul the bottom with mud.

The plan usually pursued with those who raise trout as a
" crop," is to have a series of ponds connected by race-
ways, the latter being used as spawning-grounds for the
fish. At least three ponds are required. The first for the
young fish from the time they are taken from the hatching-
trough or nursery, until they attain the age of eighteen or
twenty months. The second pond for the same brood for
the next twelve months, at the end of which time they will
be thirty or thirty-two months old. The third pond for the
same fish from the age last mentioned, until they are three
years and a half old. From the last pond it is supposed
they are to be taken for sale or the proprietor's table. It
will be observed, that when the last pond is vacated the
trout from the second pond will occupy it, that the second
will be occupied by the fish from the first, and the first pond
by the new brood from the nursery.

TROUT BREEDING. 31

It requires careful forethought, that the size of tho ponds
may be in accordance with the .v ,)ply and temperature of
the water. The cause of failure in most cases has been
where persons have attempted to supply large ponds with
a diminutive stream ; thus exwsing a large area to the heat
of a summer atmosphere and the rays of the sun. The
shape also of the ponds has much to do with the tempera-
ture of the water ; an oblong is preferable to a circle ; if
the width of the pond is one-tenth of its length, so much
the better, as the water passes through quicker, and retains
its coldness to a greater degree. Trees, though they may
shade and serve to beautify, cause much annoyance, as the
leaves falling or being blown into the water, sink and accu-
mulate on the bottom, or are carried by the current against
and clog the wire screens which are placed in the outlets
to keep the fish in the ponds allotted to them. A cheap
and efficient method of diminishing the surface exposed to
the sun is with floats or platforms made of rough boards,
moored in the ponds ; these also make an acceptable shade
and hiding-place for the fish.

The race-ways, which, as I have before remarked, are
the spawning grounds of the fish, should be five or six
inches deep, from two to three and a half feet wide, and
from twenty to sixty feet long, according to the size of the
ponds and the supply of water. The bottoms of the race-
ways should be covered to the depth of three inches or
more with fine gravel for the trout to make their nests in.
The sides should be of boards an inch thick and twelve
inches wide. If the slope of the ground is such that there

32

FISH CULTURE.

I

will be much fall between the ponds, the water should dis-
charge at each outlet into a box or pool, and flow through
the race below in a gentle current. The water is thus
aerated without creating a rapid, which is unfavorable to a
spawning-ground. When ^e supply is small, the water
in a pond may back half way up the race which feeds it.
At the end of each raceway strips should be nailed perpen-
dicularly against the board sides, one set on each side at
the entrance into the pond, and another set three or four
feet above, so that wire gratings can be slipped in to secure
the spawners when they are driven from the race above.

I would here impress on the beginner the necessity of
not allowing toe rapid a stream in the raceways, or having
the water shallow, or gravel in the ponds where they enter.
If he does, the trout may find a more acceptable spawning-
place in the upper part of the pond, even in broad sun-
shine, than in the covered race above ; and if he attempts
to secure his spawners at the head of the pond with a seine,
he will frighten back into deep water those that might,
perhaps, enter the raceway.

If the sides of the raceways are lined with boards, it
will not only secure them from the effects of frost and
prevent dirt from falling in, but will also be a protection
against muskrats. A hundred feet of hemlock or third
quality pine will cost but a trifle, and will line a raceway
fifty feet long. This is also the most eff"ectual way of pro-
tecting the sides of ponds from these pests. On perfectly
level ground, however, if the water comes within a few
inches or a foot of the top of the bank, there is no harbor

TROUT BREEDING. 33

for them, as they burrow under water only where the bank
is high enough above it to allow them room for their nests.
In severe weather, when the ground is covered with snow,
muskrats are driven by hunger to feed on grass, which may
even then be found on the margin of spring water, or they
may come into it for the warmth it aflFords. When they
nib the grass, much of it is set adrift and clogs the wire
screens, at least I have found it so in my experience. On
this account it would be well to have the margin of the
raceways and ponds gravelled. A great inconvenience is
experienced in keeping the screens at the outlets from be-
coming clogged with leaves and floating trash. There should
therefore be a coarser screen to act as a leaf catcher, placed
before each of those intended to keep the fish in their
respective ponds. Seth Green, at Caledonia creek, that he
may prevent the fish in his ponds from running up into the
mill-pond that supplies them, has a water-wheel turned by
the current at the head of the raceway, the edges of the
buckets or paddles coming so close to the concavity of the
frame in which it revolves, as to keep the fish from ascend-
ing, while those from above can descend between the
buckets. Floating grass and leaves also pass without
obstruction. This contrivance, however, although it will
keep the large fish in the last pond, will not prevent those
of pond No. 1 from tunning down into No. 2, and the fish
of both from getting into pond No. 3, where the yearlings
would be devoured.

Pond No. 1 being for the small fry, from the time they
leave the hatching-troughs or nursery, until they are some-

0

IHiit

:||ii

.

! t <l!

34

FISH OULTURE.

thing over eighteen months old, the water in it should not
be more than six inches deep at the upper, and two feet
deep at the lower end. Young trout delight in shallow
water, and will therefore be found mostly where the race-
way enters ; as they grow larger they will seek the deeper
water at che lower end of the pond. The bottom of this
pond should be covered to the depth of two or three inches

with coarse gravel.

Pond No. 2.— The fish, when they are old enough to
enter this pond, will require deeper water and more room.
It may therefore be a third or a half longer, two or three
feet wider, and have an average depth of three feet ; thus
containing four or five times as many cubic feet of water as
pond No. 1. The depth may be more uniform ; care being
taken to have a good depth and no gravel where the race
enters, so as to offer no inducement for the fish to spawn
in the pond. The trout, spawning for the first time a few
months after entering this pond, and being still small, and
giving not over three hundred eggs to each spawner, it is
not requisite that the raceway supplying it should be as
long or as wide as that leading into the next pond below.

Pond No. 3 should contain double or three times the
number of cubic feet of water of the preceding, and have
an average depth of five feet. This, as well as the other
ponds, if it can be so arranged, should have a flume in the
bottom, so that it can be entirely drained if sufficient mud
should accumulate to make it desirable. The fish entering
this pond when somewhat over two and a half years old,
will give double or thrice as many ova as they did the pre-

TROUT BREEDING. 35

ceding autumn. On recovering condition the following
spring they will average about a pound, and are then fit for
the market or one's own use. If any are left they will
likely prey on the smaller of those from poad No. 2 when
, transferred to this. For it must be borne in mind that some
are of slow growth from the egg, and will not be half the
size of others of the same age when driven into this pond,
or one-fourth the size of some a year older that may remain
in it. It is therefore better to clear it of all its occupants
before those from No. 2 are admitted, as it is not safe to
calculate that trout of a pound, or it may be a pound and a
quarter, will not swallow those of four ounces; I have bad
ocular proof that they will. How many of the latter size
were devoured by the larger at night, or when I was not
observing them, it is hard to tell. If, therefore, one should
wish to keep trout beyond the age of three and a half years,
it would be better to have a fourth pond and transfer them'
to It. The water having answered the purpose of hatch-
ing and supplying the stock ponds, where the fish are, I
might say, stall fed, may now be used for a miniature lake'if
not too large, where the fish would find their own feed, and
where the owner might indulge his taste for the pic-
turesque and have a fly cast for himself and friends.

The proper time for transferring the fish from one pond
to another is the latter part of August. Pond No. 3 as I
have already remarked, by that tiu.e will have been vacated
and can be occupied by those from No. 2 ; pond No 2 by
those from No. 1 ; and No. 1 by the new brood from the
nursery. Allor the Ist of September trout should not be

36

FISH CULTURE.

eaten , as they are then getting out of season. If transferred
about this time or a little earlier they are not so heavy with
spawn as to be affected by change of habitat, and will be-
come accustomed to their new home by spawning time.

In the proportions I have given for ponds, the fish are
more under the control of the owner and can be fed with
greater certainty and regularity than in those which ap-
proach a square or circle in shape, and the ponds can be
easily dragged with a seine so as to secure every fish if
necessary to clear it.

As the fish in pond No. 1 do not spawn at the age they
inhabit it, a raceway with the requisites for breeding is
not necessary. The water should be led in through two
or more shallow rills from a foot to two or three feet wide,
according to the supply. If bulkheads made by setting
narrow boards edgewise, put out from each side alternately,
nearly to the middle of the rills, they will create a zigzag
current and form eddies for the fry. These bulkheads may
be set from four to eight feet apart, the distance apart being
proportioned to the length of the races. The bottom of the
race, though, should also be covered with gravel.

This question of course will present itself to the reader :
How many trout will a supply of given volume and tempera-
ture keep in healthy condition ? In reply, T will cite a case
on which I have in a great degree based my estimate; I
have already referred to it in " The American Anglers'
IJook."— Owen Desh, at Ilollortown, Penna., has a spring in
his garden, the temperature of which we will suppose to be
51°, and the volume one and a half inches square; it flows

TROUT BREEDING. 37

through a trough about twenty-four feet long and two feet
wide, at a depth of eighteen inches, which gives seventy-
two cubic feet of water. His usual supply of trout in it
is, or was, eight hundred, although at times he has kept
twelve hundred, varying in size from nine to thirteen inches.
If we take seven hundred and twenty fish as the minimum,
it gives ten trout to each cubic foot. These trout were
kept in thriving condition on one or two quarts of curd fed
to them on alternate days, and not over a dozen died during
the summer. If the reader takes this as a basis he can
make his own calculations, remembering that it is not the
quantity of water a fish haa to live in, so much as its life-
giving qualities. If Mr. Desh's supply had been spread
out over an acre at a depth of three feet and exposed to
the rays of the sun and a summer atmosphere, it is doubtful
whether the water would have been sufficiently oxygenated
to sustain trout at all. Therefore, if trout are to be grown
as a crop, the fish culturist should be careful how he in-
dulges his fancy for the ornate in making his ponds. It
would be practicable for any farmer having a spring of low
summer temperature, flowing a full square inch, to\ave a
series of three small ponds, to keep fifteen hundred year-
bngs in the first, a thousand two year old in the second,
and six or seven hundred three year old in the third.

My friend Jeremiah Comfort, near Spring Mills, on the
Nornstown Railroad, has a supply of sixteen square inches
(not sixteen inches square). In laying oflf his ponds last
fall I gave the sizes as follows : Pond No. 1 ; sixty feet long
eight feet wide, four inches of water at the upper, and

3g FISH CULTURE,

twenty inches at the lower end, contents, four hundred and
eighty cubic feet, to sustain nine thousand six hundred
young fry, or twenty to each cubic foot of water, from the
time they leave the nursury until they are eighteen or
twenty months old. Pond No 2; thinking that the water
would increase from one to one and a half degrees in tern-
perature in passing through pond No. 1, we estimated that
a cubic foot in this would sustain three trout from the time
they were twenty until they were thirty-two months old,
and allowing for loss or sales, reduced the estimated number
for this to eight thousand one hundred. We accordingly
laid it off ninety feet long, ton feet wide, and intond filling
it to the average depth of three feet, which gives twenty-
seven hundred cubic feet as its contents, and three fish to
each cubic foot. Pond No. 3 ; assuming that the summer
temperature of the water in this would seldom rise above
66° or 58°, we thought that a cubic foot would sustain one
trout, and again making allowance for losses or sales, reduced
the estimated number to six thousand four hundred and
eighty, and so staked off the pond one hundred and twenty
feet long, twelve feet wide, and allowed for an average depth
of four and a half feet. I would here remark that Mr.
Comfort has a spring branch rising three hundred yards
away, flowing at right angles and joining that already des-
cribed, the supply being double of that just given. This
he intends using as accessory in filling his third pond. The
united streams flow also through an ice pond below, which
he will stock with trout.

If one is desirous of having ponds of the largest capacit;^

39

TROUT BREEDING,
a diminutive stream will supply, he should deepen them
rather than increase the area. The deeper the water the
cooler it will be at the bottom in summer and the warmer
in winter.

Stocking.Ponds.~ThQ best time to procure brood trout,
of course, is when the streams are low, and the nearer'
the time of spawning the more easily they are captured.
If on the spawn-beds, this is easily done in the small streams
they generally seek for that purpose. Last November I
was present when P. H. Christie, at the head of Fishkill
creek, in Dutchess county, New York, with only one assist-
ant, took one hundred and twenty in an hour and a half-
we manipulated those that were ready to spawn the same
afternoon, and got five thousand eggs from them. Two
weeks before, Mr. Christie, in .roing over the same length
of the stream, had taken four hundred before noon. The
best kind of net for the purpose, is what is termed a set or
stir-net. It has a straight strip about four feet long which
reste on the bottom, and a bow of ash or white oak the
ends being inserted in the strip. The bag of the net should
be of coarse gunny cloth, to avoid injuring the gills of the
fish, as they are apt to stick their heads through the meshes
of the ordinary net, and so injure themselves in that vital
part. If taken with artificial flies of moderate size, they
are seldom hooked so as to injure them.

Transporting Adult Trout.-A barrel is a good im
promptu vessel for this purpose; a piece four or five inches
square beu.g sawed out of the head, and a strip nailed
across the piece, so that it can be replaced without a chance

40 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE,

of its falling in; large gimlet holes are also to be bored in
it, so as to afford air to the fish when it is in its place.
The water should be renewed as opportunity offers, and the
state of the weather demands, and may be oxygenated by
dipping som. ont and pouring it back, elevating the vessel
from vv-v ' '* is poured as much as possible for that pur-
pose. \ .aal place for a barrel when sc used in carry-
ing trout by railroad, is the baggage car, and as the barrel
is necessarily wet outside from jolting (and the more joltmg
it gets the better), it should be set near the side door of
the car, where there is a draft of air, which tends largely
to keep the water inside cool. In moderate weather m
June, I have thus taken a hundred and fifty trout in a forty
gallon barrel two-thirds full of water, sixty miles without re-
plenishing it. When ice can be had, a piece may be dropped
in occasionally to keep the water cool. Too great a degree
of cold, however, is injurious. I have had trout to die in
my ponds some days after transporting them as I thought
safely, from the effects of what I considered too lavish a
supply of ice. Pump water should never be used in
replenishing j I have seen fifty trout turn on their sides as
soon as it was poured into a barrel. A bellows may be used
for aerating the water, by inserting the nozzle the whole
depth and blowing. A zinc vessel on this principle is used
in England, the air being pumped through a tube opening
into the bottom of the vessel. The same principle was
applied, though differently arranged, by Barnum,at his old
Museum, for aerating the water in the aquaria in which
he kept trout. When taking them in a wagon, the barrel

bored in
its place.
J, and the
enated by
the v£S8el

that pur-

I in carry-
the barrel
)re jolting
le door of
ds largely
Feather in
i in a forty
without re-
be dropped
it a degree
it to die in

I I thought
)o lavish a
e used in
eir sides as
aay be used
! the whole
iiple is used
ibe opening
inciple was
n, at his old
ia in which
1, the barrel

TROUT BREEDING, 41

or vessel should be rocked to and fro, while stopping,
so as to oxygenate the water. For a small number of
fish a bucket or pail can be used. Mr. Christie uses ordi-
nary milk cans holding about twenty gallons in transporting
trout in a wagon, carrying from fifty to a hundred in a can.
When trout cannot be procured for stocking ponds, and
one is willing to wait a few years, much trouble and expense
can be saved by hatching the spawn. This can be procured
at about ten dollars per thousand of Seth Green, Mumford,
Monroe County, New York; or of Stephen H. Ainsworth,
West Bloomfield, New Yorkj or P. H. Christie, Clove,'
Dutchess County, New York; or Dr. J. H. Slack, whose'
post-office is Bethlehem, Hunterdon County, New Jersey.

I I

t

42

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

CHAPTER III.

TROUT BREEDING.
IN'CUBATIOX. AND TREATMENT OF FRY.

Hatching apparatus.— French and American plans.— Supply of
water for a given number of eggs. ^aic/an^r-Aousc— Illustration
with explanations.— Filterer.— Troughs.— Nursery.— Management
of filterer.— Washing gravel for troughs.— Implements. Taking
the spawn.— Action of the female when about to spawn. — Method
of catching the fish on the spawning-beds.— Indications of the ma-
turity of the eggs.— Manipulation.— Placing the ova in the troughs.
— Packing and transportation of eggs. — Manner of taking a large
number of eggs for transportation from a trough. — How to examine
them.— Illustration with explanations of the appearance of ova at
different stages during incubation. — Table showing progress of incu-
bation with water at different degrees of temperature.— Hatching
out and progress in growth and activity of fry. Treatment of fry.
— Their food, and manner of feeding them. — Their disposition to
escape. — Transferring them to the nurseries. — Their admission into
the first pond. — Transportafion of fry.

HatcMng Apparatus. — Since the early experiments of
Remy, a great many improvements have been made in
hatching fish spawn. At Huningue, trays or troughs of
earthenware about twenty-five inches long, five inches wide,
and four inches deep, are used. The eggs are placed on
a grille., made by arranging small parallel crostt-bars in a
wooden frame, which rests on projections on each side of
the tray, u little below the surface of the water. The bars

43

TROUT BREEDING,
of the grille are near enough together to hold the eggs-
i.h,le anj floating dirt falls between to the bottom of the
tray and ean be removed by drawing the water off through
a hole whieh ia kept eorked at one end iu the bottom.
The young &h, ,. they are hatched out, abo drop between
the ba,^, and are removed through the same aperture and
placed .n other troughs or apartments. These trays ean
even be ,b,d and replaeed, by moving the grille (whieh
my safely be done after the young fish are developed in
the ova) to a spare tray kept for the purpose. The trays
are placed .„ shallow vessels or cisterns, elevated to the
height of a man's waist; each cistern, which is thirty or
forty feet long, containing a proportionate numberof tray.,.
It .s not deemed advisable, however, that a jet of waL
from the supply pipes should flow through more than si.

Another mode in Fmnce, is to have a series of troughs

arranged ke steps, one slightly above the other, as shown

n .ll^trafon at end of next chapter. The w ter pour-

-8 through a hole in a little jet at one end of the
upper trough, and running the length of that below
<l.achargea .n the same way, and runs the length of he
--rough. This plan has the advantage of aLi
watery .t enters each, and ean be placed in any fparo
room of proper temperature in one's dwelling

In th,s country a much more simple, though not as effec-
tual, mode of getting rid of sed;m„n. J ""enec-
erowth „f 1. • '''''"''«'" and suppressing the
growth of byssus ,s pursued. A wooden trough, twelve or
fifteen .uehes wide, and four inches deep, is diiided into

44

AMERICAN FISH CULTUKB.

nests or apartments from sixteen to eighteen inches long,
by placing strips across; over these strips the water
flows in a slight ripple, and the force of the current is
thereby broken. The bottom of the trough is covered
with clean gravel, to the depth of an inch or so, to receive
the eggs, over which the water, an inch deep, flows in a
gentle current. This plan has generally been discarded in
France, but here, by using pure spring water after passing
it through three or four flannel screens and a small h(?ap
of fine gravel, it is perhaps as efficacious as the French
mode. Our largest fish culturist, Seth Green, has by these
simple means hatched out ninety per cent., and Stephen
H. Ainsworth as high as ninety-eight per cent, of the ova.
In my first experiment, which was with filtered Schuylkill
water, a thousand eggs produced nearly seven hundred fish.
A floating box for hatching is also us d. It is made of
boards generally a half inch thick j the bottom is covered
with fine wire gauze, which should be painted ; on this the
eggs are distributed. If the box does not set deep enough
to allow the water to cover the eggs an inch or an inch and
a half, sufficic. * weight should be placed on the cover to
sink it to that depth. If the bottom of the box is made of
boards and gravel strewed over it, two or three rows of
largd gimlet holes should be bored in each end below the
water line. These boxes are usually two feet long, eighteen
inches wide, and about six inches deep, and are tied to a
strip extending across the raceway and allowed to float in
the current. A box of this kind can also be placed in a
spring, its size corresponding with the area. I3y this mode

TROUT BREEDING. 45

Of hatching, the advantage of filtration must be dispensed
with. The first essay of P. H. Christie in hatching, was
by depositing the eggs on gravel in the bottom of a corn-
popper, and placing it on a stone in his spring. I mention
this to show how simple a thing the hatching of trout spawn
can be made.

Many persons in France and England, for amusement, or
the novelty of the thing, have miniature hatching appara.
tus in their house.. Any spare room where the thermome-
ter does not mark over 55° will answer, and the smallest
dribble from a tenk of twenty to a hundred gallons can be
used. No class of our countrymen are more favorably
situated for hatching trout spawn thau farmers. Many of
them bring the water into their houses from springs of
greater elevation ; and, without occupying much space, and
by incurring but slight expense, might hatch thousands of
ova to stock streams and ponds on their own premises, or
to supply waters in their neighborhood.

I have already remarked, that success in hatchin ■ de-
pends much on the purity of the water, and even the
purest must be filtered. As to the quantity for a given
number of egg.; a square inch divided into four jets and
flowing through the same number of troughs, will suffice
for three or four hundred thousand; but double or even
four times the supply will be required to sustain the same
number of young fish for any great length of time in the
nursery. An additional supply must therefore be provided
for the fry after they have absorbed the umbilical sac, say
a square inch to each hundred thousand.

46

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

It is better for many reasons, that the supply should
flow through earthen pipes or glazed tile ; there is some
risk in conducting it through leaden pipe, as the action of
certain limestone waters on lead is injurious, unless the
pipe is coated with zinc.

Although a trough for hatching a few thousand eggs
may be placed in the open air if kept covered, it is neces-
sary that a number of them should be under the cover of a
building of some kind, that the ova may be protected from
the weather and the depredations of rats and other animals
that would eat them, as well as for the comfort of those
who attend to them. A house of rough boards will answer
the purpose. A stove is not necessary in the hatching-
house unless the water is very cold. Where the water is
as high as 48° or 50° the temperature of the air inside of
a close board house will be almost the same, and comfort-
ably warm. The windows, or the greater number of them,
should be on the north side, if it can be so arranged, so
as to admit the light with as little sunshine as possible. In
a length of forty-eight feet, three windows are enough, the
^panes may be eight by ten iiches, and the sash two panes
high and four panes wide, and may slide horizontally in
opening them. Each window should have a curtain or
sliding shutter to exclude the light when it is deemed
expedient to do so.

On the opposite page is a ground plan for a hatching
house. Scale, one-sixteenth of an inch to the foot.

A is the filterer, four feet long, two feet wide, and
eighteen inches deep. The three transverse lines repre-

TROUT BREEDING.

47

48

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

fl!

I

i

sent the flannel screens ; if there were four it would be
better. The water entering the first apartment on the
right, passes through the screens and flows into the dis-
tributing trough B, which by four jets supplies the troughs
c c c c.

The troughs are thirty-two feet long, fourteen inches
wide, and four inches deep, inside measurement. Each
trough is divided into twenty nests eighteen inches long,
besides having an apartment two feet long at the upper
end, which is filled with fine gravel, through which the
water is again filtered as it passes into each trough. F is a
gravelled walk two feet wide. .There should also be a grav-
elled space of the same width between the troughs and the
sides of the building.

D D are the nurseries, three feet wide, and half the
length of the hatching-troughs. The lines which extend
alternately from each side beyond to the middle, represent
small bulkheads or strips, so placed for the purpose of
breaking the force of the current when an additional supply
of water is let in for the young fish, and to form eddies
where they find shelter from its force if they require it.
The latter is an improvement of the Rev. Livingston Stone,
of Charleston, New Hampshire, and was suggested for this
book by Theodore Lyman, Esq., one of the Massachusetts
Commissioners of Fisheries. The bottoms of the nurseries
should be of boards, and should be gravelled. The depth
should not be much, if any, over an inch at the upper end,
and four inches at the lower end. E is a channel loading
from the nurseries into the first pond.

TROUT BREEDING. ^

° e„gs. By increasing the supply of water and
eogthening the distributing trough, t J"v,„ ^^J^t
honal hatehing-tronghs can be used.

The sereons of the filterer are made by stretehing and
^*ng Ban e, U. frames, which are shp^d into gfooTe
-ade by naihng strips on the insides of the filterer either
jerpendicuMy or at an angie inciiuing towards tb 'J J
The Sannel on the screen nearest the entrance of t e
«pp.y, shoul be of stout but open fabric- the second o

irid rT'"^'"'™'' ""'■''■» ^"-•■-'-?

w ^r, to all appearances, in which one cannot detect the
-ost minute particle, wii,. i„ the c„u.e of four or five day
or . week, so ciog the screens as almost U. stop the flow
At .nervals of a few days the screens should cherefo,e To

hpped out and a dean set put in. The flannel is c^ nsej
b. aliowing it to dry, and then brushing the dust o; ^ h

stiff r r:' z '""^^' '^ """»« '-^ — -•* »

t '"'"••''■■'"''' "'■'I' -"^t- The filterer and supply trouirh
should both be kept covered. ^ *>

There should not be more than two inches fall from the
upper U. the lower end of a trough of tbirty-two fee Tf tto
aperture though which the water enters'is a hjf in b
«q..ar. If the supply be doubled, the fall should not be
more than an nch. This irill „;„» • , .
e uth of an i„„h deep over the strips dividing the trough
."to nes^. The bottom of the trough should be per ety
true, and the strips fit neatly, so that the water may no^

liii'i

60 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

flow beneath but over the top of the strips. The strips
should also be exactly the same width, so that the ripples
over them may be uniform. They should be made of half-
inch pine, and should slip out or in ao that they can be
removed at one's option. The gravel should be about the
sire of peas, and if possible of some uniformly dark tint,
that the eggs lying on it may be the more easily examined
It should be thoroughly washed, by shaking and turning it
in a basket in clear running water, and again, by stirring
it after placing it in the hatching-trough, commencing at
the upper end of the trough and stirring it in each suc-
cessive nest until the water runs clear. Mr. Ainsworth is
so careful as to boil the gravel, that he may destroy the
eggs or larvae of insects that may possibly remain after the
gravel is merely washed. When there is sufl&cient fall
i"»;om the spring to admit of it, it is better to have the
hatching-troughs elevated about three feet, so as to allow
of an easier examination of the eggs, as it is no small labor
to attend to them on the ground if one has four troughs to
go over daily during the incubation.

A few simple instruments are required by the flsh cul-
turist. For examining the eggs i small vial, two or three
inches long and a half-inch in diameter, is used. The eggs
are taken up with a small pair of pliers and dropped into
the vial nearly filled with water, which, after replacing the
cork, is held horizontally before the light and turned so as
to present different views of the eggs. The pliers can be
made either of single or double wire; if of the latter, a small
bowl can be formed at the end of each prong by bending

TKOHT BBEEDINS. 5,

the wire into the required 'shape tor olaaping the egg. My

fnend Chnst.e, of Dutche. eount,, New Yort, "with a

ttle m,tru„.ent made by bending a thin bras, wire into

T0I7I r'""'""' '"""" ""<' '-•"-^ " '— "
wooden handle, removes the addled ova from his troughs

he says, three times as fast as he can with pliers. For dip!

p.og up young fish in the troughs, a small net is made by

bend,„ 3t„ut pieee of wire into the shape of the letter D
for the f,,,, ,^ ^„,^ „^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^_^^^ ^^_^^^

on the onve. s.de for the handle. The material u^d is

„ etr : r r """"' '""^ ^'^--^-"^ "^^ ^-^ -^t

need no be larger than an ordinary tea cup, and is used by
mov,ng the straight side along the bottom of the trough.

Tak.n,tke Sj,a.n.-In autumn when the fish work up
towards the heads of the ponds, and some of them ente
«^ raceways, ,t,s time that the Utter should be covered
w.th loose boards, and that persons should show themselves
a httleas poss,b^3 to the fish in that vicinity; they can be
ob.ervei through the cracks between the boards. It will
be seen that the females only prepare the nests. This is
done by laymg their sides against the bottom and rapidly
«»pp.ng their tails to displace the gravel, the males in the

and fish hat are ready at hand to devour the spawn.
The pccnhar motion „f the female when she is about to
-pawn or ha, con.mcncec-, is a I„„g, ,,„„, ,;i

■onofte body from head to tail, resembling the mov 1
o a snake along the ground, although she doc, not pro!
nr«, her ven. being down in the excavation she Z

S2

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

I

11

made, and her abdomen pressed on the gravel to help the
emission of the ova. When this is observed it is certain
that the trout have commenced spawning. The lower grating
or wire screen should then be slipped into its place at the
end of the raceway, and the box or trap which I have
already described should be covered with a platform made
for that purpose. The boards covering the raceway nearest
the trap should then be removed, when the fish will run
down and find cover under the platform; the upper screen
is then quietly slipped into its place and the fish enclosed.
On removing the platform the fish are dipped out with a
net made of gunny cloth or sea grass skirting, attached
to a square frame, which should be as wide as the trap ; it
should also be tied at the bottom so that the string can be
removed and the fish dropped into a tub of water. As the
fish are manipulated they are returned to the pond or placed
in another tub, which is to be emptied into the pond after
the spawn and milt are expressed. A milk pan of the
ordinary shape, holding about six quarts, and filled a fourth
or a third full of clear water, is also provided for the spawn
and milt.

It is better that the water should be fecundated first,
80 that the eggs may be brought into contact with the atoms
of milt as soon as they are expressed. The manipulation
should be quickly and carefully performed. Putting the
hand into the tub and approaching a mule, close on him
g n<tly and lift him out ; then grasping him with as little
violence as possible, with the right hand by the head and
shoulders, his head towards the wrist and the left hand

53

TROUT BREEDING,
holding the ta.l, ^ represented in the figure in the frol

of th« „„t; hoM the vent of the fi.h henoath the
rfaee of the „a..r in the pan, hending the head and tai
shgh ly upward,. If the ..It is well matured, and he d..,
not struggle or hold it baok, a small portion will be emitted •

hen wuh the forefinger of the right hand, the other thLe'

gently ^wards the vent, extracting all the milt he will
g.ve, and st.r the water with his tail. If the fish are pas-
-ve aa they generally are during the operation, the hold
on the head and shoulders n.ay be relaxed, and the right
hand passed along the body below the head, pressrng
he n.,t 0. the ova towards the vent. The female i!
handled .n the same manner, the eggs Sowing in a pale
yellow stream from the vent, if she is fully Hpe all the
eggs s ould he taken from her; if she is large Indltrnggles
and the same remark appli«, of course to the males a„
—t should hold the tail. The mere bending of 't
head and ta.l, as illustrated, will frequently cau.e the eggs
•o flow .f the fish is fully ripe. The indications of ripenes!
when taken in the hand are, firstly, a pale siekly y'dlw
t.nge; secondly, she is very soft and flabby; thirdly Z

vent„exceedi„g,ypr„t„beranta„dofadarku.ple::i :
fourthly, the eggs are loose in the ovary, and fall toward:

h head f held by the tail, .„d „„, fl„„, „, j ,^^^
J ^t remarked, w.thout pressure, by bonding the vent well

they w.n be lelt like shot or small peas in the be.iy. The

■

54

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

water should be stirred gently, now and then, as each fish
is operated upon, and the fish (males or females) may be
handled as they come to hand. When enough eggs have
been taken to cover the bottom of the pan, and enough
milt to give the water a milky appearance,* the pan may be
covered and set aside ; the water of the pond surrounding
it, if the weather is cold, or it may be placed in an unoc-
cupied nest of one of the hatching-troughs. The eggs, in
a few minutes after receiving the milt, will adhere to the
bottom of the pan, and should not be disturbed until they
are loose, which will be in the course of fifteen or thirty
minutes. During this time impregnation takes place, and

* About the middle of May, this year, I met Mr. Ainsworth by
appointment in Elk county. Pa., to enjoy a few days fly-fishin{r.
In our conversation on the impregnation of ova, he narrated the
following occurrence. Last fall, near the end of the spawning sea-
son, when the males had mostly cast their milt, ho one day had
taken enough eggs to cover the bottom of the pan, and could only
procure a single male. From this he expressed not more than a
good sized drop of milt, not enough to tinge the water. He, never-
theless, set the pan away, gii ing the ova and this slightly sperra-
atized water the usual time, and then placed the eggs in a separate
nest in hi^ hatching-trough, and was agreeably surprised in a few
days to find them all impi*egnated. In due time they hatched, but
few eggs being lost in incubation. Will any biologist give us the
result of his speculations as to the number of spermatozoa in this
drop of milt ? Although we cannot but admire this wonderful pro-
vision of nature, I cannot advise my readers to be as trjistful of a
single drop of milt imparting its fecundating quality to two or three
quarts of water, unless it be for mere experiment.

TROUT BREEDING. gg

Whon all the fish in the trap have been handled, it n,av
be set aga.n, and the boards towards the upper par of ThT

H:ott:iXT„ri;i:vr"^'"'"^"-''^

bottom of .1, ' '"" °°' *" '^'^""•'' tke

bottom of the race; as it is possible that very rough usa™

::i '"'" '-- '">- -t^™. again, and indnoeleri
::' " 7-»-«-P>-ee in the pond, where the eggs or th!
young fry at all events would be devoured. The disposi
""" "'" ""» "-^-S «"> to enter the race aj i h T
ever, ,s ve^ strong. I have seen scores of thcnf th t hal
been handled and not ,„ite ripe, on being returned 1 1
pond, wa,t.ng for the grating .„ be removed, and would rl
up as soon as it was lifted.

If there arc many ripe fish running up the race, they
my be taken and manipulated once or twice a day. VI. I

ere arc fewer spawners. it may be as well to L t cm
only on alternate days.

After the eggs have remained in the fecundated water
for twenty minutes or a half hour or until fh. T

from f],o U .. « ' " *"®^ ^^^ loose

from the bottom of the pan, they should be washed- a
board extending across the race, or the platform of th t;ap
be.ng a convenient place for doing so. The ed. f '
pan »h„„ d be lowered gently, beneath the surfaerthat th
f^sh water „,»y enter. It is then poured off, allowing
enough to ren.ain .. keep the eggs well covered. Aftc:
-pe.tn.g this several times, until the water is clear, the

I

56

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

eggs are ready to be placed in the hatching-trough. Al-
though they will be whirled about by the influx of the
water in washing, they are so much heavier, that they will
remain at the bottom of the pan. The washing should be
done with an effort to give them no more motion than is
required in the operation.

There are sometimes four or five times as many males as
there are spawners taken in the trap, particularly at the
first of the season. An additional tub should therefore be
provided, and the excess of males placed in it for the time,
so that their milt may be used or not, as may be required.

The plan pursued in France of holding the fish pendent
by the head, as is illustrated in the lower figure in the frontis-
piece, and allowing the spawn to fall into the pan of water
below, is not practised in this country by experienced fish
culturists. By the improved method of holding the vent
beneath the water, the unnatural falling of the eggs from a
height, and bringing them in contact with the air before
they are impregnated, is avoided. It is obvious also that
the new mode is more in accordance with the natural way
of the parent fish.

Before depositing the eggs in the trough, an extra strip
an inch and a half, or two inches wide, if a notch is cut out
of the upper side, is placed above the strip at the lower end
of the nest, to dam the water and increase the depth. The
edge of the pan is then gently lowered beneath the surface
that some of the water of the trough may enter, and the
eggs poured slowly out, distributing them as evenly as possi-
ble over the nest. A more equal distribution should after-

TROUT BREEDING.

ward, be „ade by uaing .he soft .ide of a .^„t feather

A n.«t fourteen inche. wide aad eighteen inehes long, wili

uffioe for fonr thousand egg, without their lying oiZ

of each other. When the strip used for the temper '

ally tha the e^ u..^ „„, he ai^turbed, as they would be

should be m the lower nest »nA ^u • , ^

luwer nest, and then in each suopps«)iV«

r; ~ *^ '-''. - «■- the fry beiow, hat^

before those above, can have aceess to the nursery when

0. enough, without passing over and disturbing In

A trout, the second autumn, when twentyone or twentv
^months ..d wiU give fro. two hundred' to three hul

Ihe fourth, frem a thousand to twelve hundred. The fifth
from two to three thousand, aeoording to its size. '

The fUh euIturistwiU not be able to procure all the eg^
that h,s spawners have, for his hatehing-treughs. A g'o'd

tbe fmes of dr.ving them into the trap. Mueh of it will
be devoured as soon as it is emitted, or will be thrown out
by repeated nest-making on the same bed of gravel and
e„ eaten hy the fish. Notwithstanding all this, hj Cl
find through the winter a goodly number of young fish in
h. raceway and at the heads of his ponds, that have come
from eggs wb.eh have escaped these dangers. It we H
therefore, be as well to exclude the fish from the raceways'

"uppppp

58

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

at the close of the spawning serson, and prevent the fry
thai may be hatclied out from "oming down into the ponds.
This can be done by putting in a fine wire screen at iha
lower end of the trap, and a coarse one to catch the leaves
and drift at the upper end. The race will thus be turned
into an out-door nursery, and the young fish can be taken
at the trap and turned into the first pond, when those from
the nursery under roof are transferred.

Paching and transporting ova. — As soon as the first for-
ir'»tion of the young fish can be seen, eggs may be sent off,
although some persons think that the eyes should be plainly
visible before transportation. The plan now pursued at
Iluningue, is to pack them in short wide-mouthed glass
jars. In this country shallow tin boxes are generally used.
Both here and in France they are packed in damp moss,
the top and bottom of the jar or box being perforated so
as to admit some air. The bottom of the box is covered
with moss, well washed and water pressed out, but still quite
moist ; on this the eggs are spread so as not to overlie each
other. A layer of moss an inch thick is then placed on the
eggs. Then comes anothev layer of eggs, and so ">n until
three or four alternate layers fill the box. The tin boxes are
Sv3curely closed and packed with saw-dust between, in a
wooden box, a layer of saw-dust two or three inches thick
protecting the top, bottom, and sides, from exposure to
extremes of heat or cold. A tin box six inches in diameter
and three inches deep will, with the moss, contain easily
three thousand eggs. At a temperature from five to
fifteen degrees above freezing point, a box of ova, if care-

TROUT BREEDING. ^

»o^, m h,8 hatohing-housc, for more than six ^oeks and
en placed then, in h..„n,hs,wWo>a„econ. „;;::'

Now York, .ent n,a last fa!l i„ an old tin tobacco b« L
large as n,y three finger,, one hundred and twentyeglbT
mail ; which fmm a^i i. "^"vy eggs Dy

week on the way. On opening them they were 111 i„
good cond,tion but one, which had been n.afhed A few

that I i "" P™'^"'™ "'^^ P-king them in moss

than I have recommended above If ,h. „ ,,

<^^r, the eggs will nndonbtodly ;rish - " '""""^

In manipulating fish by the side of the stream if at a

d .tanco from the troughs, the ova is necessarily cald „

water. Care should, therefore, be had that th. ,

.- ... .. .w ir :;i:; :r •"«"""--

bucket and Mr n i,- ^ ^ "" '" " "" '=«<i'"'

• Hamn b . /' °"' °^ *'''^'''* Village, New

o™l:^::;lt:;:r:::■r"-""'^'"-
o«t and set in the water of the hi \ . ' "'"' "^■'

cellar where they will I: W "tTht " "' '" ' 7"

«o,„vi„g the cover and taking „ff TtoZ. '7 ^^

should be immersed in a vessel of le . ^" ■"""''

vessel oi clear water and turned

60

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

bottom up. The moss should then be gently shaken and
picked out that the eggs may fall to the bottom ; whatever
moss cannot be conveniently picked out with the fingers
can be floated and poured off by two or three washings, as
is done after taking the eggs from a trout, and before
depositing them in the trough.

Mr. Ainsworth says : " The best contrivance for taking
the eggs from the trough in numbers, is a piece of fine
wire cloth six or seven inches square, turned up at the sides
and at one end liice a dust-pan. In using it, place it on the
bottom of the nest and gently brush the eggs into the open
end with a feather or wing, then put the wire pan into a
dish of water and- allow them to slide off. In this manner
they can be removed with ease and rapidity. The best
thing to examine a iarge number of eggs on, and see at
once all the imperfect and unimpregnated spawn, is a pane
of window glass with a tight wooden frame around it. Set
this with a half inch of water on it, in the light of a win-
dow, shading the side towards the window, so as to allow
the light to come up through the bottom of the pane, and
you can see every imperfect egg and pick them out.

In counting them, a four-sided tin dish with sloping sides,
holding forty in a line lengthwise and twenty-five across,
can be used. Six eggs laid in a line measure a littlb over
or under an inch. If, therefore, the bottom of the vessel
used for counting is six and two-third inches long, by four
and one-sixth inches wide, it will take about a thousand
eggs to cover it.

TKOUT BREEDINa.

61

O 0 d) d

3

9

20

I

21 13

® ®

-ation takes place. WhetheH t ^""' ''"' """"«•
b-nes of the ova,* „r ;„/' , "" ""= '"> "■-

■""0 to sa,, but it e" L : """I ™"''""''' ^ ^ -»'
-embrane to the top TM T " "■""" '^^ ™*^'

•'ero-He„,bti:Tjrjto:t7'"r^^'^'"^'^

of the head of a sm»n „• ■ ' ''" ''"•™' '^e size
_^»f^™allpmd™gated upwards, as showa in "

"hen *e «* ,-, ,,„^,„, 0.,'yl /"^ ' ""'' " ' » "">'•"-. .ao

'ke young «3„ emerges from .he ^X L Tv ' "™' ""'
g «gg With the yolk attached.

II

62

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

figure 1. Looking down on the egg, the speck is seen in
the centre, apparently on top, as in figure 2,

" Seven days after the ova is taken, (the water at 47°), a
small circle is seen around the speck, whether the egg be
impregnated or not, and the two are so much alike at this
stage, that it is difficult to know which are the fecundated,
and which are not, and yet a very close examination will
show a difference. The fecundated egg has a clearer speck
in the centre, and the ring around the speck is larger, as
will be een by referring to figure 3. The unimpregnated
is illustrated by figure 4.

" When nine days old, the circle in the impregnated egg
has enlarged, a slight brownish or bluish gray tinge per-
vading the interior ; the germ having spread over a sixth
part of the egg, presenting the appearance of figure 5 ;
while the unimpregnated still remains as pictured in figure
4. The latter never change after the ninth day, unless to
become opaque, which they continue to do during the in-
cubation of the fecundated ova, and are as easily distin-
guished from them in the hatching-troughs as a few white
beads would be if scattered amongst those of transparent
glass.

" On the eleventh day, the first formation of the fish can
be seen ; a brown line extending from the circumference
towards the centre of the circle, which now covers one-
third of the egg. The appearance of the egg at this time
is exhibited, up by figure G, and sideways by figure 7.

*' When twelve days old the circle will be seen to cover
one-half of the egg. Front view shown by figure 8, side
view by figure 9.

TKOtTT BREEDINa.
"On the thirteenth day the eircle ha, passed three
f^^s round the o,„a.de..w hem, rented ;;

"0" the fourteenth day the eircle has parsed entirely
«e egg and the yonng trout i3 Wd, as sho.nt

"On the twenty-fifth day, the eyes, heart, arteries, red
blood, e.rcuiatl„n of blood and motion „iU be observed

1^- About the fiftieth day the young trout will begin to

::rei:f '""^ '■■'"■ ^'•-"''™-^»---C

T: that i b ""'"/ " " '"''' •"'' y' - -'P-hen-
«^ , tha I have preferred giving it. I„ referring to the

t "1 1 r\"'- ^'■■™""'' =- » -- '-t

».ys . It would have been a great advantage to me in the
1-g.on.ng of my e.perin.en^ and I hope it wm ^of
-oh benefit to those who at.».pt the artifieial pr a^n
of trout, as they will see at . glanee what hJtalTl"
nine years to learn." °

Mr, Ainsworth ha, also arranged the following table
|(.v.ng the ten-perature of the water fro. 37o to sI' sh 1
■ng the progress of development, the tin.e of ^J^^

1I..S table „ ,„ade fron. n.cn.oranda he has kept of all tlfe
'"7" '■•;.''"' '""■- f- f"-- years; he says, 'x h vo e

of >«tch,ng, as n.y water did not hold at those degrees 1 '
enough to hatch the ova." *

I

64

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

Average tempera-
ture of water.

No. of days to
flrgt forma-
tion of trout.

No. of days to
formation of
eyes and red
blood.

No. of days to
hatching.

No. of days af-
ter hatching
to feeding.

37°

43

81

165

38i»
39*

29

64

135

77

28

62

121

41^

27

54

109

60

21

49

103

42f

19

42

96

43}«

17

37

89

46

440

16

34

81

45 i°

15

31

73

46P

13

29

65

48=

11

26

56

50'

10

23

47

30

52"

8

18

38

54<»

7

15

32

Appearance of

Bpawu U8 tig. 3.

as figure 7.

as figure 12.

By comparing the top with the bottom line of this table,
MO reader will observe the large diflference in the develop-
ment of the embryo and fetus, and the term of incubation
of water at 37° and at 54°, as well as the difference in the
time occupied by the young fish in absorbing the umbilical
sac and beginning to take food. The time of incubation
is five times as long at 37° as it is at 54°.

During the time of hatching the fish culturist should
examine his troughs daily, removing the addled eggs, which
can be easily detected from their being perfectly white and
opa(i[ue. A record of the estimated number of eggs
deposited should be kept, and the number of bad eggs taken
out also noted, so that the percentage of loss in incubation
can be arrived at after that process is completed. Pijery

(
c
t

V

TROUT BREEDING.

65
precaution should be tatpn *« i j

and deatroj, the vitality of the e^l Z"tT "'"''
tliP rlnnj ^^^ ^"®" ^°® IS destroved

eM:f """"•''' "^ ^'"'^^ ^-'"e ^-'ruotio/of
"taers, until a score may be ch^r^aA u u .
T),« , ^ Clasped by its Ions? fino-ers

be rem :: hv „" r""""!'™ "' "'""'"' '" "^ •- -

f^::;.n:i:t::i:i:-~T

.goj.0. .t™gg,. f„. iihoHy. At ,aat tho^sh,, ilir
".e head appears, then the pectoral B.s, then the aTl ^
oon.es onh and its honse float, away. Although heils
It IS not needv an nmKn: i , o" "cipioss,

i'» body is pLided ^ '"' "! ''''" '™- "•« bulk of
i provided. Apparently exhausted by its lat»
effort a„j „,.^,h,, j„„ ^.^,_ ,^ of provisions t

-t, or rests on its side, or stands on^i/hl: :;;lr
"'"■ '••"""'^ """-'^''^-f «n ineh Ion,, .„7J

II

66 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE,

larger than a "wiggle tail" in a barrel of stale rain-water.
Poor helpless pigmy ! will it ever rise to the angler's fly, a
monster of four pounds, and give him a half-hour's hard
fight, or smash his tackle ? Not one chance in a hundred
if born in some pebbly brush-covered rill. How many such
would its. own father or mother, a foot long, devour at a
single meal ? five hundred ? yes a thousand ! If such was
not the law of nature, trout would be as tlAck in our streams
as mosquitoes or midges sometimes are in the air above
them. They would be dirt cheap in our markets — they
would be a nuisance. Therefore, He who made nature's laws
is all wise. Shall we thwart these laws or violate them ?
Did we do so when we made a Newton pippin of the
crab apple of the forest? or produced the cabbage, that
grows tons to the acre, from a trifling plant found on the
sea-shore ?

In a week or two, the troutlings begin to move about,
then to flit through the mi'uic brook in tho hatching-trough
as you cast your shadow over it, and, true to instinct stick
their heads under pebbles, or hide under the fall made
below the strip at the head of the nest. They become
more vgile as the sac is absorbed, and at last, when the
whole stock of pabulum is exhausted, they begin to seek
their own living, darting through the water after micro-
scopic insecfs, groping in the gravel for larvae ; or rising
at some minute gnat, or at atoms of blood or curdled milk
or yolk of egg, that are fed to them.

As soon as the first brood appears in a trough, a fine wire
cloth screen should bo placed acrosr the lower end. When

F

o

8

TROUT BREEDING

one part of the trouirh Th« . J '"^ ^°^

those where the screpn. ' ^"^ *°P ^^

Where there are nnt «. . removed into another

when two „,o„I . "^°™"' "* ""• ^'■« '""e^

'---:!:: ret: ::■,::;:;-- ^°

-" «eae.a,„ «„eceod i„ doing V,! "'"".l '""' »""
or two should elaw i i """«>■■'>>■? a month

ft wicn eggs, It IS necessary to nrotpof yh. } ^ v
early comers. When th. f u ""^^ ^"''"^ <^^«

-.o.h he:ot:\r:::h;rr^^^^^^^
«-a. and .:::ir;c;:th"'" ""''""'"

clear. ^ '' "' ^^^ ^^ater becomes

Treatment of the Fn/.^Whor, f),«
Peared, a little food should ! o^^^^^^^^^^^ ^.^^ '''-^^
of two or three days; when they b^i , : ^ "'""'^
should be supplied U> ther ^.^'^'^ '° '^^^^ '^ -«dily it
IP ta tothei twice every day. They will

I Ml
I

68 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

rise with avidity for the particles that float, and seize those
that are carried along beneath the surface.

This is a critical time with the fVy, and some, perhaps
many, will die from no ascertainable cause. Great care
should be taken that they are not washed by the current in
numbers against the screens, as many are too weak to disen-
gage themselves, the stream pressing them against the wire
cloth until they die. It would be well, therefore, to place
something in each nest to make an eddy for those that re-
quire still water, or have two short bulkheads, as pictured
in plan of the nursery. Four or five difierent kinds of food
have been recommended. Liver or lean meat boiled hard
and grated ; the yolks of eggs boiled hard and reduced
almost to a powder ; raw liver chopped fine with a long
sharp knife; fresh or coagulated blood; fresh shad or
herring roe, raw or boiled : thick milk or bonny-clabber,
and curds. The best way of feeding bonny-clabber, is to
dip out two or three spoonfuls from the pan in which it
has thickened, into the small net used for transferring the
fry from one apartment to another. The net is held in the
water, and the clabber, by breaking and stirring with a
spoon, is reduced to fine particles, while the whey is carried
off" by the current. By shaking the net and canting it, the
atoms float out and are borne along mostly on top, when
the fry will rise eagerly at them, and also take those beneath
the surface, as well as the particles that after awhile sink
to the bottom. This is the lightest, and, I think, the most
suitable thing for fry when they first begin to feed. Curd,
which may be fed to them a few vvcvks or a month later.

TBOUT BREEDING

feeding, „„e e.oeeding a h ," hj ' ^^^-d at each
»»».ber two or three alrt I T . ® ™ ''"'S^ "

" i"".p of curd J l;:?::' ?t '^ ''°'''''' '-"

each, half-full „f „,.,: '^°'- forefinger dropped into
triturated sueee.irrand the" ,:" "'' ''°"' '= *™

-'t^e parties .rji^rr-::;-

turations rediiM if »„ » ' ™'o* tn-

"s reduce it to atoms sufficiently small T„ r j-

" '0 the try, the rim of the bowl l/ !' . '"^

surface; the influz of ,^ '"'""' ''"^''^»"' ""«

'fe-t P^ticle a :nd ^nr; hT"'^ """ ""'* '"«

- distributed in dirt;r::ir":"r"'-

of curd each as large as one's forefinger ftdt th "'

floes for forty thousand frv when thev "'' "'•

- the, grow, the quantit/sllTd he' Tdrr- ''''""'■
.■>«' double this ,„.ntit, i enough as W a l'"""''
in the hatching-troughs Wl, 1 ^ "^ "'""'""

-ser, the ,ua„t t;"!, h! ^ ' "^ '" '"'° '"^
enough to foul'the botC An h! T"""' '"'■ ■""
if '"e gravel i, stirred Ti.htt th "V? """'^ '^''"°="'
have settled to the bottom tLr't^ "1 '"" """
^"''eit again. If ,„„ much „ t^f 7 ! ^^^ -"

A stnp four or five inches wide should now he placed

70

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

fi

above the wire screen at the end of each trough, as the fry
will leap over the top if it is only an inch or so above the
surface, and thus make their escape. When, from their
numbers and size, the hatching-troughs become too small to
accommodate them all comfortably, they may be lifted out
with the small net and placed below. It is well, also, to
keep the bed of gravel at the top of each trough an inch or
two above the surface, as they ha\e a disposition to wriggle
oyer, if it is even the eighth of an inch in depth, and run
up the little jet from the supply-trough, then into the
filterer, and even into the supply-pipe. Concerning their
disposition to escape from the nursery, Mr. Ainsworth in-
formed me he once missed many of his fry, and found them
in a pond where he kept his large fish. After many days*
search for the place of exit, he found that one of the planks
had a hole the size of a quill in it, eaten by a wood-worm
before it was placed there ; through this, an earth-worm
which had found it, made its way, and then through a
bank of clay five or six feet to the large pond ; the fry had
escaped along this narrow channel. I had a like experi-
ence at the establishment which I Sviiied in Warren
county, New Jersey ; many thousand of the fry escaping
through a crack in the mason-work, not more than wide
enough to thrust fh" blade of a stout breakfast-knife in.
These little matters of experience I jot down to show the
necessity of having the sides and ends of. the nursery of
sound plank, and of providing against every chance of
escape.

A month or six weeks after the fry commence feeding,

71

TROUT BREEDING
»«>•?, or, as some call it tho " ' "•" '-"'"' ""o "■'^ »"-

«^-eab, the pu ;::;:::;«-;«''•" /'^

earcely e«eeds that of the two trolTV ^'^^

"»s is that the fry mav h. ,^ ''""°° *"

'%are.o.„„aroi/i:::;v-v^''''"'''^'''

whole width of tho hat.1,- T '"■«'' ""'•''■■y *<>

»'--.h3. ih!:et:tz:rr^^--'

■"""l. of the food thrown il ^^ ''''" "'^''" '

«mai„s only to fo„, the h V . " ""' ''"*°' ""^ i'
J "J loui tiie bottom ; besidpi it i.„

"nd little eddies, which the tr, ' "" """""^

i-« iu tho „„rse ies i t^. ' "" '" """"' '"■ ^ "" ''-''-
After al, the: Jir^T'^r ''-™»S'''-

'<■« %H and the windows rd2r.:;;\" ''''"'''
weather is fine. Part rf ,t ''''' "'""' "•«

-"-or, should be p„t on i °" "* ^'"^ »™' 'ke

^ootwidef„r.i„;:::;:-;-;.;>"-p.an.s„fa

"^^ o-ough. Each slab n,av h ™ '=""'' '''^'

hi"ges to admit the sun V ""'°™'' " ""^^ '"™ "»
- "-ki-g in the sunshine orfhlr^l''"'^™"^"'"-
does not cover the grave 1 ""' '"' ""' "■"*'

gravel to more than the depth of an

72

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

inch, and su'dli contrivance (which I adopted at my place
in Warren county, New Jersey) will meet the case.

fraurponation of Fry. — A large number of young fish
may be transported in a few cub' ' feet of water. A sh©rt
time after they commence feeding, I have no doubt that a
thousand or fifteen hundred might be sent off in twenty
gallons, if care i? taki^a to renew the water, as I have re-
marked on transporting adult fish. A hundred might be
taken in a jar holding a gallon, if the water is kept cool and
aerated. On one of the plates of the Massachusetts Fish
Commissioners' Report for 1867, is figured a tank a-fourth
wider at the bottom than at the top, with a pump inside
for oxygenating , the wate;r. It is an excellent contrivance
for conveying either young or old fish. Care should be
taken that the vessel in which the fry are carried is free
from any strong taint. A new red-cedar bucket for in-
stance might prove fatal to them.*

According to the system of rotation in occupying the
ponds as already given, pond No. 1 will be vacated by the
latter part of summer. The fry should then be admitted
from the nursery, care being taken that none remain behind.
If any should linger tht^y will become attenuated and ill-
favored from lack of food, and may, if they survive, bo
hungry devourers of the fry next season.

*I this day (May 2gi]i 1868) noted a gre;u disparity in the size
of the fry in Mr. Comfort's troughs and nursery, the largest being
at least four times the size of the smallest. Mr. C. assured me ho
has seen within a few days,, tlie larger endeavor to swallow their
smaller brethren of the same brood, and supposes they have suc-
ceeded in their efforts in some instances.

TKOUT BREEDING.

78

CHAPTER ly.

TROUT BEEEDING

Allowance of f„„j ;„^ "l '""•> °"'eS<«..-M«ggoW.„,„^._

^«ili.ies p„.e.ed b, ft™™.™;"' "" '^-'' "^ ''""in,.-
of i" "eln, profiuMe-Es.,-™,.:''"'""^ '-'-»"'■'«-
Proposed .,.„u. b,eedl„, „ "^ ° ^ °' '"^"^ '"' •=««-

rraoce.-HeUelberg.lF Lh"!,!' T '""'' «"'«*«„., i,

...MUb.e„.._.e„ip«orof ::;^:,: " "^- ""-°-

-nd can hardly be driv.n > *-^™»' "^ oarmvorous
i-»- thou, i^ „;j r,"" '"* '*S-'^'"« food. I have

.Ho.hr.eh.he™::::::;;*----"

attracted no doubt bv ih. V ^ ' ""^"^ «^^''Ped;

-•.'■.eve^eeai^lXrh'^rr

P""-*- When the weath rh 111!""' """"" """ '"e
*« Orin, .ie. on the „ater and Zlt I """'' '"'"'''■
Ae month of the branch „ r"""'™ '■""»«»■>.
P-'..opnre,an;:;;;:,~ ^^ — P"

74

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

at moderate rates, it is the cheapest strictly animal food for
a large number of fish.

When trout are raised in ponds of the dimensions I
have given, it is evident that little or no dependence is to
be placed on natural feed, such as flies and their larvae.
Hence, the necessity of providing curds, or liver and lungs
of animals at prices that will not cause too great an expendi-
ture for the value of the crop. I have found that the curd
from the milk of one cow which gave fourteen quarts,
would feed bountifully % thousand or twelve hundred trout,
averaging five-eighths or three-quarters of a pound; the
smallest being seven inches long, and the largest from two
to three pounds in weight. The food should be chopped
or crumbled to the size of peas.

In feeding, a good plan is to have a piece of timber
extending over the pond ; the person giving the food stand-
ing on it, thus familiarizes the fish with their presence.
They soon become acquainted with sounds or objects on
the bank which indicate an approaching meal. The sight
of a person with a basin or crock, or the sound of the chop-
ping hatchet, causes a great commotion in the finny com-
munity; when a handful is thrown in, heads, tails, and
bodies immerge in an upward shower. When they are fed
from the cross-timber, they soon become so tame as to take
the food from one's fingers — with risk to the feeder, how-
ever, of receiving some severe scratches or bites from their
sharp teeth.

The larvae of the common green fly, known as maggots,
are hatched in putrid flesh or animal off^al from May to

TROUT BREEDING.
December, and are more rutritious as well as mor^ n«* i

, M .od dehcous » fish .s a trouv, fed „„ maggot,. Does
Trrri *" "' "•"' " ""^ '=^''' "''^° - "-o --ages

I have often f„„„d, would exhibit rather a heterogeneou
assort.ent,-„„t o.ittiog . few green ea,»rpi,>a^, and

d pos.t then: for ineubation in waters that are natural
homos for trout. If these diminutive larv. give grorh
and flavor ^ trout in wild streams, what would the Zp
offspr.ng of green flies do, if fed to then, in stock 'Z
I have found then, ta he taken with as n.„eh gusto as " „
turtle was taken by London aldermen in olden tin.es L
they no doubt produee the same aldermanio proportion"
Fron, my own e.perienee, I would say that ten pountof
beef s hver produces more than that weight of maggots If
boxes are provided, with bottoms of woven wire s!Lien%
open to allow the larva, to drop through when shaken ad

out, these boxes may be kept as worm-produee. i„ some
out-of-the-way place, and taken to the pond and shaken
after removing ehe sliding bot.m. Seth Green find:;:
head of a beef productive in this way, dipping it i„ t},e
water and shaking the larv« off to his fish and setting i
away ,„ a box to produee more. An old friend, who tak
- .nterest ,„ all that pertains to tront-hreeding diseou.^

7^

76

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

on this wisey on maggots as trout food : " The City of Lon-
don contains about three and a half millions of people ; its
citizens are great ogg-eaters, consuming more than a million
daily. To supply this demand in part, egg-producing com-
munities have grown up on the opposite side of the British
Channel, in France and Belgium. A man, or a family, may
own a thousand or more hens ; little or no vegetable food is
given to them, but they are fed on maggots, which stimu-
late the laying of eggs. This food is obtained in great
quantity by digging trenches or pits three or four feet wide
and as many deep. The bottom of the pit is strewed with
fresh horse manure, and into it is thrown all manner of
animal offal j a dead Cat or dog, or any animal that has died
naturally, is eagerly sought after. The maggots, which are
produced in great numbers, are raked out and fed to the
hens." As the matter of food is one of importance to those
who intend breeding trout in large numbers, an experiment
of this kind is well worth the trial.

In ponds of large area, much natural food is found on
aquatic weeds and ether plants. The long green silk-like
growth, as fine as human hair, which we observe in some
waters, and generally in the spring of the year, we find filled
with little red coiled up worms; yo"ng periwinkles and
snails abound on certain weeds. The larvae of flies are also
found on weeds, as well as on decaying brush and logs. Min-
nows, and the small fry of harmless and worthless species,
wan also bo grown as trout food. It follows, then, that when
fish have more range, less food is required to be given
them. But in such ponds they I're less under control, and

TROUT BREEDING. y^

; '°. ""';« "■^"- »-"-. if -h pond, are ove.teckod

i?r " "A . "' '°°''- '" '""■■ ■« I >-« rec„„,„,eaded
.t . provided for them. I„ the former they arc at „

.» the >at,.r, stall fed, under eontrol, and Liy for Cto
when wanted. .yrormaiket

farmer, have for hatehing trout spawn. Taking the. a,
a class hey are far more favorably situated and eirl
st^need for the whole routine of breeding and growing
an persons of a.y other oeeupation. As re^rds the

r «.s.temostofthemhavespringsof„.oreorle..vo,„J
ad of the proper temperature on their premises, and goner
ally near their dwellings. Labor with them i, eheap
..- can be done at different season, of the year w iho .t
...rfe™,witb their ordinary farm work, „r hiring e:::

Jh,eh hey keep of necessity, would, therefore, cause „„
expend, ure, and fill up their leisure time. The 1-ttl

-aliet, b.sel, saw, hammer, and j.ek-plane. The only out

%-uh, be for lumber, and trout 0. spawn to eon,, eet
w.th. Jour men, with „ span of horses, a pl„„gh r„a,l

ponJ" f l.« »..e I have ,le,eribed. if the ground i, „„t over

stony, in less than ten davs Ifth,.f„r„ u
oal skill . , ""'" 'armor has no mechani-

»k.ll,^. country earpenter, with' the assistance of two

78 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

farm hands, would put up a large hatching-house in a week.
The time between corn planting and the first ploughing,
might be put in to advantage. After hay and oat harvest,
another turn at the ponds might be taken, and the lull after
the crops are in would sufl&ce to finish them. Winter, in
which the farmer has but little to do, would be pleasantly
and profitably employed in attending to the hatching. He
would have a certain supply of fish food from curds, and an
occasional one from the animals he would kill. Using
milk does not rob the butter jar or the pig pen, as it can
be turned into curd after skimming, and the whey can go
to the slop barrel. A friend in an adjoining county keeps
forty cows to supply milk dealers in town. He has embarked
in trout breeding, and says if his hopes are realized, and the
matter of food should require it, he will make butter instead
of selling milk, and turn all the latter, after skimming, into

curds.

Farmers, taking them as a body, are slow in receiving a
new idea or adopting new theories. Wheat and corn, which
they know all about, are pretty certain, although they
require much labor, and some outlay in their production.
But here is a branch of industry which can be grafted on,
aqufficulture an adjunct to agriculture. It can be made as
much of an accessary as keeping bees or poultry, and with
no more labor. Trout are much less mischievous than the
latter, they do not invade the garden or a newly sown or
planted field, and can always be found within their circum-
scribed bounds. " But," says the farmer, "folks w^Jl steal
toy trout," a town or manufacturing village withia a short

TKOUT BREEDINO

aistance suggesting the fear Ti,;. • »

also steal vour JlJ ™ ' """ ""^ ""y

the neillt '^''^^^^ '"'^« " """derful effect through
the ne,ghb„rh„«l, and even through the eounty.

The question asked by „any i,, wi„ j.^ „„,.„^^
1' wll eertaanly pay i„ ,,,,^- ^ J y'

y~r ''T ':"""""- "^-^--"^ -

I will .iv^ K . ^ ^ " answering this question,
I will g.ve a bnef summary of what kas been done and
then endeavor to show what can be done.

A few years since, Seth Green nfta. . •
r>hpn W A • , ' ^"^ ^^®'"g what Ste.

phen H. Ainsworth was doinc^ nn^ i« • ,

ij /. . ""'"g) and learning whatevnr ho

:;"■ '"'",,"'« ""'» «"■ -tura, estah,ish,„ent, h an

la"'" : r'""'" "''"^' '- '"» ">-

d. S.OUS and barr.ers to their escape in the old fi.rebay and

-way, he soon had an abundant .,pp,y „f ,,,,,J;^

f;"""''"-""^"— ed artificial propagation wl.e a

fr """'"'"-'; "■« P'aoe, which was bought for "
housand. be,„g valued at twelve thousand. LJ^^Ti

-n learn, his pr„fi.i„,«86 were about. thousanL:!

80

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

iQ 1867 five thousand. This year he sells three hundred
thousand spawn at from eight to ten dollars per thousand ;
and two hundred thousand young fry at from thirty to
forty dollars per thousand j the sales amounting perhaps
to ten thousand dollars from spawn and small fry, to say
nothing of the larger trout which he sells from his ponds.

Mr. Aiijsworth experimented in fish culture for recrea-
tion, with a desire to difl^u§e a knowledge of the art, and to
introduce it as a new industry, and does not follow it for
any profit it affords. Still, with his small supply of an inch
of variable water, he assures me he could have sold five
hundred dollars worth of spawn and small fry every year,
if he had applied himself with that object. He has
generally refused to sell spawn, unless the object of promo-
ting fish culture induced him So his sales have varied
from a hundred to five hu ii ^<^ collars per annum. In
the mean time, in a quiet way, he has stocked streams
and ponds without remuneration. From his largest pond,
which contains about fifteen hundred trout of various sizes,
he has this spring taken two or three messes every week —
eno^h for his family, and a dozen men who are employed
in his Dttrsmies. He t tkes them all (^from three-quarters
t« a pound avd a half), with the artificial fly. When food-
mg them, they ame so tame that they will allow r lady, who
is his neighbor, to ift them from the water, and appear to
like to Iw fondled. I have just returned (May 20th) from
a fishing excursion, wiijre I met him by appointment, and
he gave nm these items ve? bally.

In the town of Spring Water (I think, in Ontario

TROUT BREEDING.

county), New Y„,i, , few yea„ ,i„„e, a farmer „w„i„. eh,

«trea„ at ^aU e.pe„«e, and ,„,<, the property, whoh
oo,t h.n. two or three thousand doliars, for ten thol^ d
o wonderfu,,, had the trout increased b, natura. p^
t.on .„ a few years, that the place, otherwise of littl vake
commanded this price for ite fi,h. '

On Long Island, near the city „f New York, a person
culfvates trout and allows anglers to fish his ;„„dT
P-o per day. His income from this source ahl

--.-«veh„„dredd„,larspera„„um,soIamior: '
T .e amount of h,s sales from young feh for stocUug the
^™ds of gentlemen, who leer «.ese preserves for flyVs .

York Tnbnne, reads.- " J 0.000 Live Tr„ut.-Po„ds o„
Lng Island, or no. New York City, stocked with li
Book Trout of one year's growth. Address Wm. Nic o
W.P, New York... I „ould say that trout of one vea

ro!;r„r""-"""^''^-^-^™«--po--n'

Mr. Ainsworth, in a letter to the Vermont Fish Commis
"T; ''™ °" "'™"'» "'■ "■« P^fi*" -".ieh may be de

As h.s figures have connection with the description of the
o^s and hoth would ocoupy s. eral pages, [...ust ol

tI: t , "'": '"■ ""' '"''° ^'"'"^ -■" «~-e from it.
The following „ „ esti™te of my „w„, hased on my

"per.onoe ■„ feeding curds. The „,.n,bcr of trout is t!!o

F

82

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

same as those intended to be raised in the ponds of my
friend Comfort, described on a preceding page, using round
numbers.

Food — Curd for one Year.

Pond No. 1 — 10,000 yearling, 3 quarts per day.

Pond No "Z— 8,000 two year old, 6 " » "
Pond No. 3— 7,000 three year old, 12 " " «'

21 X 4c. per quart = 84c. X 365 =
Attendant's wages

Annual Sales after the Third Year.

= $.306.60
400.00

$700.00

7000 trout from pond No. 3, 1 lb. each, 7000 lbs. 76c. per lb., $5260.00

Sales of small fry, 3,000 yearlings lOc,

3,000 three or four months old 5c.,
60,000 eggs, $8 per 1000,

Deduct food and attendance as above,

300.00
150.00
400 00

6100.00
706.60

$5393.40

An intelligent lad of fourteen, under the direction of an
experienced person, can manage hatching-house and ponds,
and not occupy more than half of his time. Such a lad
can generally be found amongst the sons or lads employed
by c farmer. In addition to the curd, the offal of the kit-
chen, and livers and lungs of animals killed on the farm, as
I have before said, can be used to hasten the growth.

The foreman of a tannery near Lehigh Gap, on the
Lehigh Valley Railroad, last summer sold to a fish dealer a
number of large trout, which he had kept in a rapitlly
growing condition by feeding them on the fleshings of
hides.

I give these few instances of fish culture paying, as they
have come under my observation, or as they have been

TBODT BHEEDINO. g,

Wd to n,e by others, a„d this is all I can do, as it is jet
a branch of industry, which I n,ight say, is " i„ emb,yo;"
but r a™ so well convinced of the profltobleness of a lar^
and well-organized system, that I am about engaging iolt
aga,„ with Mr, A. J. Beaumont, near New Hope, Bucks
county, Penna. Mr. Beaumont has a spring on his property
known as the Ingham Spring, which flows about, or over^
three thousand gallons per minute. I have alluded to it
m a note at the bottom of a preceding page. He has ample
room and favorable ground for the ponds, and I d„ „„t
thu,k .t at all unlikely with such advantages, that twenty-
five or th,rty thousand trout, averaging a pound, can be
taken from the third, or it may he a fourth pond, after the
enterprise has been in operation three or four years Of
eourse, the question of food is the most important. In
th>s connection, I would remark, that Mr. Ainsworth told
me a few days ago, that he kept an account of the expense
of feeding h>, fifteen hundred fish on beefs liver for one
year, and that the amount so expended was only seven
do lars and a half But in his neighborhood, he can buy
. beefs l,«r fo, .en cents. He fed his trout two liver"
per week as a gen.ra, rule, chopping up a quart or so for
aoh meal, hut in extremely wa™ weather L in winte
he gave It to them but sparingly .

that rout kep. ,n ponds will aver^^e a pound, when a few
month., over three years old, if well fed, I am confident
from my own experience, that the allowance of curd just
g.von, for the different ages, will produce that weight

84

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

Still, they are like pigs in more respects than in greediness
in their disposition to eat offal, for their increase in flesh will
be in proportion to the amount of food given. A respect-
able old gentleman, who, I think, would not " fib," tells
me he has had them of four pounds, when as many years
old ; but they had the run of the spring-house, receiving
many a spoonful of cream thrown to them in removing
moats, much curd, many worms which his boys fed to them,
and the whole population of many a big catterpillar's nest
cut from a limb in his orchard ; as well as young wasps and
hornets. Per contra to this, a trout will live in the bottom
of a well, or in a spring, without being fed, for years, and
show no growth. In stocking my ponds in New Jersey,
several of my trout received unmistakable marks, which
they never got rid of; two of these, which were not over
eight or nine inches long, and not over five or six ounces
in weight, grew, on the amount of curd already mentioned,
to thirteen inches in length before they had been in their
adopted home a year. They were very stout, and doubt-
less weighed a pound. Here the weight was more than
doubled in a year. Mr. Ainsworth stocked a pond near
West Bloomfield, New York, with fry as soon as the um-
bilical sac was absorbed, and three years after caught them,
weighing two pounds. In stocking a pond for angling, on
Long Island, a fn'end of the writer bought yearling trout
not over five inches long; the following spring, say in
twelve months, they were about eleven inches long, weigh-
ing a full half-pound ; in twelve months more, they had
grown to average fourteen ounces, some of them weighed

TROUT BREEDINa. ««

»or» than . p„„„d. As a fi.h i„„r.aaos in «zo, it, p„.
P^.s.ty for further growth also increases. A young salin
.tar. or sou.etiu,es even at two .ears old, L no^
«,gh three ounces, u goes to sea and frequently returns'
m su weeks, or at least the following summer, a fish from
hree to e.ght pounds. The abundant and nutritious food
burned at sea causes this wonderful growth ; if i, ;. p,e.
vented from go.ng to sea, it does not grow,, „,<„, ,L„
twelve mches, or three^quarte. of a pound, in a year from
he t.u.e ,t we,ghs three ounces. Thus .n abundance oT
food causes a rapid growth.

The enemies of larger trout in stock ponds, are fish-
hawks and ,ight.herons. Water-frogs, snakes, and du^ ,
may also be iestruotive to the fry when «rst turned out of

m "^'^' "" '""' ""^ "' "<"-• A duck also

'!■ r^'-^- ^ f'°e, in solemn silence, waits for

he.r approach to shallow wa,.r amongst grass or weeds,
and pounces upon them. The little king-fisher may also
eapture some. But the foe which it is the most difficult
^protect the fish from, is the species of heron alluded to.
Though not numerous, these wading birds, when they have
ound a feedmg place so well stocked, may come for maJy
.uccess.ve evenin,., and prey upon the trout. Other ene
mies are more easily provided against

estabhshment, where fish culture, it might be said, was
■naugurated, is from Bertram's -■ Harvest of the Seas."
The senes of buildings erected at Huningue, a.e

86

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

admirably adapted to the purpose for which they were de-
signed. The group forms a square, the entrance portion of
which — two lodges — is devoted to the corps de garde, and
the centre has been laid out as a kind of shrubbery, and is
relieved with two little ponds containing fish. The whole
establishment, ponds and buildings, occupies a spaco of
eighty acres. The suite of buildings comprise at the side,
two great hatching-gallerieu, 60 metres in length, and 9
metres broad, containing a plentiful supply of tanks and
egg-boxes ; and in the back of the square are the library,
laboratory, and the residence of the ofiScers. Having
minutely inspected the whole apparatus, I particularly
admired the aptitude by which the means to a certain end
had been carried out. The egg-boxes are raised in pyra-
mids, the water flowing from the one on the top, into those
immediately below. The grand agent in the hatching of
fish-eggs being water, I was naturally enough rather par-
ticular in making inquiry into the water-supplies of Hun-
ingue, and these I found are very ample ; they are derived
from three sources — the springs on the private grounds oi
the establishment, the Rhine, and the Augraben stream.
The water, of the higher springs is directed towards the
building through an underground conduit, while those
rising at a lower level are used only in small basins and
trenches, for the experiments in rearing fish outside.
Being uncovered, however, they are easily frozen, and
besides, are frequently muddy and troubled. As a general
rule, fish are not bred at Huningue, the chief business ac-
complished there, being the collection and distribution of

TROUT BREEDING. gy

their eggs; but Uhere is a large supply of tanks or troughs,
for the purpose of experimenting with such fish as may be'
kept in the place. The waters of the Rhine being at a
higher level than the springs, can be employed in the
appareih and basins. The waters of the Augraben stream
which cross the ground, are of little use. Nearly dry in
summer, rapid and muddy after rain, they have only hith-
erto served to supply some small exterior basins. Of
course, different qualities of water are quite necessary for
the success of experiments in acclimatization carried on so
zealously at this establishment. Some fish delight in a
clear running stream, while others prefer to pass their life
in sluggish and fat waters. The engineering of the differ-
ent water-supplies, all of them at different levels, has been
effectually accomplished by M. Coomes, the engineer of this
department of the Rhine, who, in conjunction with Pro-
fessor Coste, planned the buildings at Huningue ; indeed
the machinery of all kinds is as nearly as possible, perfect.
'' The course of business at Huningue is as follows : The
eggs are brought chiefly from Switzerland and Germany,
and embrace those of the various kinds of trout, the Danubl
and Rhine salmon, and the tender ombre chevalier.* Peo-
ple are appointed to capture gravid fish of these various
kinds, and having done so, to^ communicate with the
authorities at Huningue, who at' once send an expert to
deprive the fishes of their spawn and bring it to the breed-
ing or store boxes, when it is carefully tended and daily

*An exceedingly fine species of largo laio charr, one of the
genus sahno.

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AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

watched till it is ready to be despatched to some district in
want of it."

After describing the manipulation of fish to procure the
ova, and discussing the probabilities of exhausting the
streams of Germany and Switzerland by receiving such large
supplies of fish-eggs from them, this writer continues : —

" It would scarcely pay to breed tha commoner fishes of
^he rivers, as carp, pike, and perch. The commonest fish
bred at Huningue is the /em,* whilst the most expensive is
the beautiful ombre chevalier, the eggs of which coat about
a penny each before they are in the water as fish. The
general calculation, however, appertaining to the operations
carried on at Huningue, gives twelve living fish for a penny.
The fera is very prolific, yielding its eggs in thousands ; it
is called the herring of the lakes, and the young, when
first born, are so small as scarcely to be perceptible ....
I inquired particularly as to the Danube salmon, but found
that it was very difficult to hatch, especially at first, great
numbers of the eggs, as many sometimes as 60 or 70 per
cent., being destroyed; but now the manipulators are
getting better acquainted with the modus opsrandi, and it
is expected, by and by, that the assistants at Huningue
will be as successful with this fish as they are with all
others. . . ."

" Up to the season of 1863-64, the total number of fresh-
water fish-eggs distributed from Huningue, was far above
1 10,000,000, and nearly half of these were of the finer
kinds of fishj there being no le.ss than 41,000,000 of the

r— ■ I. J I I I. ■■ I

* A species of Coregonus, similar to our small Whitefiwh.

TROUT BREEDING. gQ

eggs Of salmon and trout. Subjoined is a tabular state-
ment of the fish-eggs collected and distributed at Huningue
for the season of 1861-2.

Speoiei.

Connnou Trout
'Ireat Lake Trout
Khine tjnlinon
Ombre Chevalier

Time of
operatioaa.

Kura

'i'oto!

r Oct. 2i •)
< to March 7 V
I 135 days. I

f Nov. 16 )
i to Dec. 25, I
( 39 days. J

Ov» pro-
vided.

Lou.

Qnantity
despatched
from thees-
tablisbment

Retained for
experinic'ii
at Uuntnguc

6;a82,900 2,602,400

11,995,000

18,377,900

12,000

2,614,400

3,360,000

9,619,000
12,879,000

430,600
2,464,000

2,884,500 I

The establishment of M. de Galbert on the Isere at
Buisse, in the Canton Voiron, is one of importance. He
has a hatchingvhouse and a series of ponds; selling ova and
young fry, a^ well as adult £sh. Five years ago, he could
sell 50,000 young fry every spring or summer, without
interfering with his crop of mature fish.

Many of our countrymen on their return from Europe,
speak of the trout-ponds at Heidelberg. The following
is by Ptof A. D. Hager, one of the Vermont Fish Com!
missioners.

" Ih Europe the experiment of raising fish in artificial
ponds has been successfully made in tnany ihstances. One
of the great attractions at Heidelberg, in Baden, is the fish
pond where the fish are trained to take their food from a
person's hand.

" Near Neufchatel, in Switzerland, Prof Vouga has been
employed by his government for the past sii years in pro-

90 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

pagating trout artificially. When hatched and of suitable
size they are turned into Lake Neufchatel and the streams
emptying into it. At the time of our visit to his establish-
ment, he was greatly enlarging and improving his ponds,
hatching-boxes, &c. The result of his experiments had
satisfied the people of his canton, that the project of stock-
ing the lake (a body of water twenty-eight miles long and
seven miles wide), was a feasible one, and would richly pay
for the expense incurred in rearing the young fry and
turning them into the waters, notwithstanding the people
of the cantons of Freyburg and Vaud, that joined upon
the lake, would also get a considerable share of the mature
fish.

" V/hen we witnessed the outlay of money to fit up the
hatching establishment at Prof Vouga's, and realized that
it was done by a people numbering Ics^ than 80,000 per-
sons, and in a territory of less than three hundred square
miles, we could but contrast that people with those of New
England."

The first experiment in fish culture in this country, from
all I can learn, was made by Dr. Garlick and a friend, at
Cleveland, Ohio. Owing to the death of one of them, the
enterprise was abandoned after a season or two. Mr. Kel-
logg of Hartford, Conn., Mr. Pell of PJsopus, and Mr. Ains-
worth of West Bloomfield, New York, commenced a few
years later. Following these, came Seth Green of Mum-
ford, New York j Mr. Vnil, of Long Island; the writer, near
Asbury, New Jersey ; Rev. Livingston So.)ne, Charleetown,
N. H.; Benjajnin Kilburno, Littleton, N. H. ; D. G.

TROUT BREEDING. gj

Bridgman Bellows Fall, Vt.; J. S. Eobin.on, Meredith,
N. H.; J^ge Tildeo, Loekport, N. Y.; P. H. Christie,
Clove, Dutchess ceuMy, N. Y.; J„e„iah Comfort, nea^
Sprmg Mills, Montgomery eounty, Pa., and others

Mr. Amsworth eommeaced nine years ago, with a
d.m>nut,ve supply of water eoUeot^d from a dozen or so of
small springs in his nursery of fruit trees. Leading these
through glazed tiles underground to a reservoir, he obtained
..areely water enough to fill a hole an ineh in diameter, and
that, of exeeedingly variable temperature, in winter, only
» few degrees above freezing point, and in summer, qui,;
warm. Mr. A.'s mind is partieularly constituted ^rex-
pernnent and analysis ; with this imperfeet supply of water,
he has unwear,edly pursued L. objeet of making fi,h eul-
u e a b.auoh of national industry, and may be considered
the father of t^ seience in this country. The following
nofce, taken fr.m the Rochester Democrat of May, 1862
shows what progress he had made at that time, and gives 1
tolerably accurate account of his little establishment,
^n Mtraclion in the Country-Vi^u to a Trout Pond

"T; "": ""''"'""• -"" ^ «=" ^^y^ -»-. that within
twe ty rndes of this city there is a trout-pond in which
sport hundreds of the speckled beauties, fed every day by
the generous and enterprising proprietor with as much
«8»lanty and care, as he feeds his horses and cattle
Having been posted upon the subject, and, moreover'
hav,ng been summoned by a polite but pressing invitation,'

Chap"; rr y "''-'• '" ''°'"''»»^«'"' !-»-

Chapm, is,,., to the v.Uage of West Bloomfield, and with-

92

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

out delay reportecl ourselves to the Hon. Stephen H. Ains-
worth, whom we found at his hospitable mansion, in the
quiet and pleasant village aforesaid. Mr. Ainsworth is by
no means a novice in anything pertaining to the tastes or
the wants of the disciples of Isaac Walton. Hence, while
aporeciating the anxiety of his visitors to hasten to his
trout-pond, he was thoughtful enough to feed his guests
before he did his fishes, and we can testify that he does
both with a liberality which always characterizes the large-
hearted man. And while waiting a few moments for the
coming demonstration of hospitality, there was just time to
look at a small part of Mr. Ainsworth's horticultural depart-
ment." He has over one hundred varieties of grapes —
among them, the choicest to be procured anywhere — pears,
peaches, and all other fruits grown in this region, in the
greatest variety and profusion. And we are pleased to
know, that within a few y^ats, his industry atad enterprise
have been generously rewarded, by returns which consti-
tute a fortune, which we hope he and his amiable family
may long enjoy.

" The inner man refreshed, it Was quick work to prepare
for a visit to the trout-pond, situated a short distance from
Mr. Ainsworth's residence. Besides the usual food for the
trout, Mr. Ainsworth produced a fly and a bait rod, reels
and lines, with permission to do what he had scarcely be-
fore done for himself— take enough trout for a generous
mess. The pond covers something oVer sixty rods of
ground, and is filled by conducting the water from thirteen
different springs in tile laid under ground, and brought into

TROUT BREEDINO. gg

poob a short distance above the p„„d. IVo„. thenee it
Sows over a prepared bed of gravel to the pond. Perhaps
one »an m a million „igfc, h„, ,^„^^^^ ^^^^ ^ J

and above all, a place for speckled trout, could have been
made .„ the spot where this is located. The water is four-
teen feet deep i„ the n,ain pond, and this depth has been
secured by e„avatio„-the original depression being ve,^
shght, although the spot was swampy and of little valne
As a means of saving every drop of the small supply of
water, two parallel walls have been built around the pond
sunk .nto the blue clay, and the space between them'
g^uted, so that not a drop is wasted e.cept by solar evapo-

te afford h,d.„g.p,aoes for the trout whenever they choose
te^ret re from the hot sun. In this respect, Mr. Absworth
has studied the habits of his finny stock, and as far as he
oould, compensated them for removing them from their
nat,ve streams in Victor, Springwater, and other places,
where they were captured. The walls around the pond
are carr.ed te the height it is intended the water shall
reach, and then a sufficient quantity of earth placed over
them te snstam shade trees, a large number of which e
« a thnfty condition. The water omes inte and p.
..m te d through fine sieves, through which notMng
out the water can pass. °

"Inside of the paraJlel walls there is a slope wall, and
:: *^ '°- "■" ^"""^ -odes in an direetfons, so th"
osurfteew^teris washed into the pond. In plac^ wber
" " '''"'^ *" '"^"^ *»» '""S it is carried off by tiling.

i

94 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

Altogether, it is a perfect gem. Nothing has been ne-
glected, and those who have the facilities, the good taste,
and the enterprise to follow Mr. Ainsworth's example,
would be greatly aided by paying him a visit. Re will, we
run no risk in assuming, take great pleasure in giving them
the benefit of his experience.

" It is, so far as we are advised, an unsettled matter how
many fish can live in a given quantity of water. Mr. Ains-
worth has placed nearly eleven hundred trout in his pond,
and some additions have been made by the process of arti-
ficial fecundation; and this process he will continue to
follow until his pond is sufficiently stocked. If it were
possible to protect all the spawn deposited by the small
number of trout now left in our streams, we should quickly
see them restocked to their full capacity. But it is known
that even under the most favorable circumstances, only a
few of the eggs hatch, and of those which do, much of the
product is devoured by snakes, water-fowl, and the larger
fish. It would be a very easy matter to resort to artificial
fecundation, by which an immense quantity of the most
beautiful and delicate fish known in American waters could
be raised.

" But to the sport. Both bait and fly were taken the
instant they touched the water, and had a hundred hooks
been upon each line, each one would have had its victim.
They were of various sizes when put into the pond two
years ago. Those of three years, are now plump pounders.
A majority are of three-fourths and half a pound. Mr.
Ainsworth knows their ages as well as he does those of his

1

95

TROUT BREEDING.

oolts and oattle. In swift running water, however, the,
do not grow as rapidly-thoy are longer and leas pl«n,p
There are a few two and three pounders, but here as in
other waters, these seldom honor the angler's hook with .
mbble. Of course we could not think of following up the
sport for only a few minutes-just long enough to try the
game „f the ten noble fellows which were seen in the show
wndow of the Arcade House yesterday. And they were
game Every one of them made the rod bend and tremble.
The females were invariably returned to the water But
more editing sport remained. The food for their evening
repast was now dealt out by spoonfuls at a time, and the
moment it struck the water, dozens of great fellows darted
tor It They knocked against one another under the water
and above the water, and a person standing close to the
edge would, in five minutes, be well ' spattered' from head
to feet. The 'whipping, had made them a little more
shy than usual, but they will feed from the hand of their
owner, and leap from the water when shown their food
upon a spoon !

" Mr. Ainsworth is a public benefactor in what he has
done. While constructing and filling a pond, at a large
e.pend,t„re, for his own amusement and gratification, he
has demonstrated the fact tha^ under ciroumstances more
favorable as regards water and places fbr making ponds
.mnjense quantities of the most delicious food can be raised
at almost a nominal cost. When this country becomes as
populous as France, such advantages as we possess for the
Propagation of fish will be appreciated and improve.).

96

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

Until then, we can only hope to see here and there a
liberal and public-spirited citizen like Mr. Ainsworth set
the example.

*' We will only add, that an evening pleasantly spent in
the family of our friend, a refreshing sleep, an early break-
fast, and a ride of twenty miles, ended this delightful ex-
cursion to the country."

The following extract from an article on fish culture,
which appeared in the New York Tribune, in January
1866, is from the pen of Mr. Ainsworth, and will give the
reader a general idea of Seth Green's establishment and
Caledonia creek.

" The most prolific stream for trout that I have ever seen,
or of which I have ever heard or read, are the Caledonia
Springs, and brook from them. This celebrated trout
brook rises from the rocks in the village of Caledonia,
Livingston county. New York. Its whole length is but one
mile, when it unites with Allen's creek, one of the tribu-
taries of the Genesee, in the village of Mumford. The
stream falls about 50 feet from the springs to its junction
with Allen's creek. The country is all thickly settled, and
one of the richest and best farming towns in the state.
The surface of the land is quite level, with banks but little
above the surface of the water.

" The stream in places is very rapid, and in others has
quite a gentle current, of a mile or more per hour. The
springs, as now situated, cover about six acres, being
dammed slightly for milling purposes. They afford about
80 barrels of water per second, and make a creek from

TBOHT BKEBDINQ.

three to fo„ ^da wide, and from 18 ioohes to 6 feet deep'

the „1. . ten.perat«re at the spring, i, 48»

i: if" '"""?"' """» *' -'-^. three^ua^el

by night, but It IS down in the morning to 52' T„ „• .
it settles at times t„ doo i, . '"8 «» »^ • In winter

ve y even the year round, but very cold in summer, and

Z isa, Vr" ''"'''' ^'"''' "''^■''■"' Wade of
and Jarva> of fl.es, summer and winter, so that the trout
hwever numerous they are, easily obtain all the f J te '
want all times of the year. ^

"There is but veiy little surface water that males into
the ereet hence the volume of the water is very even and
-Idem roily. The first settlers of the countr/f „d 1
oreek hterally filled with trout of great size 7.
ami ;+ I, • . ^ ®^^® ^^^ beauty,

and It has remained so to this day, notwithstanding it ll
hee„ almost constantly fished, night as well as day fr I

Dart niV rtf. I '''" °"''"'^' '"''» " *^-^ »"'"■
often hoed with fishermen, when they reel in the

«* G

98 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

speckled beauties, hand over hand, and often carry them

oflF by back loads. In this way they sometimes take them

that weigh four pounds each. The most ordinary pupil of

Isaac Walton can take them in the evening, when in the

mood of rising, with the right miller, and with a small piece

of angle worm on the point of the hook, to induce thorn to

hold on to the hook till the novice can make his twitch to

hook them. But in the day-time none can succeed but the

expert. The water is so dear, and they are so shy and so

well educated, that it requires a 50 or 60 foot line, a fine

10 foot leader, and very small flies, or hackles, and those

must be cast upon the water so gently and life-like, to

induce them to rise and take the fly, and when they do

take it they discover the deception, and spit it out so quick

that but very few are ever able to so cast the fly and to

jerk quick enough to hook them. The fishermen among

the oldest inhabitants tell me that at the least calculation

there are 4000 pounds of trout taken from the creek yearly,

and yet they compute the number of trout to-day at 1000 to

each rod of the stream, or 320,000 in the creek, of all sizes,

from four or five pounds down to five inches in length.

On the 18th of this month I took 110 fine trout in about

three hours, with the fly, from the creek, and put them

into one of Mr. Green's ponds. The day was clear, and

the water so clear and transparent that I had to fish with

a 60-foot line, which took the most of the time to get the

line out to this length and to reel in the trout against the

strong current after being hooked.

"The next day I took 85 splendid fellows from one

I

TROUT BREEDING. 99

place, hardly moving from my tracks. These facts show
how plenty they were, and how ready they are to take the
fly in winter. These trout were as fat, active, and gamey
as ever I saw them in any other stream in May or June.

" Seth Green, Esq., the celebrated marksman and fly-
thrower of Rochester, bought this creek a year ago last
fall, for the purpose of growing trout artificially as well as
naturally on an extensive scale. Pie has since prepared
ponds, races, hatching-house and hatching-boxes, and
troughs for 3,000,000 of spawn, which he expects to fill
during the spawning season, which is, with him, from the
1st of November to the 1st of April. Last winter his tv. g
best months for spawn were January and February, and
he expects they will be this year.

" He has one pond, only 75 feet long, 12 feet wide and
5 feet deep, that has 9000 trout in it from 9 inches to 20
inches long, that will weigh from a quarter of a pound to
three pounds each, all as fat as seals and as beautiful as
trout can possibly be, all caught with the fly, by his own
hand, since he bought the creek, and all can be seen now,
any day, at one view, by any person who will take thi
trouble to call on him. Only think what a sight— 9000
such trout all in the eye at once ! What a gigantic and
magnificent aquarium !

^' I am certain that this is the largest and finest exhibi-
tion of trout in America, and, probably, in the whole
world. This alone would well pay a journey of any lover
of Walton from any part of the country to see. But this
is not all. He has another pond, right by the side of this,

100

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

80 by 60 het, which contains 20,000 beautiful trout,
mostly one ai>d two years old, from six to nine inches long,
all taken by his uwn skill, as above. He has still another
pond, filled with last spring's fry, ^om three to five inches
long.

" It seems incredible at first thought that such a vast
number of large trout could live in so small a space, but
it is all accounted for and made plain, whch one learns
that the water in the ponds is changed every minute
through the day by the large current constantly pouring iu
upon them of this cold, pure spring water.

" Some of the trout produced 6000 spawn each, and
from that down to 200, according to siz-^. Last year Mr.
Green hatched ae high as 98 per cent, iu some instaaGes —
in others, about 80 per cent. This year he expects to
hatch nearly all, as he has become master of the business,
and knows the right time to take the spawn to insure per-
fect imprc;,nation. I could see the young trout in almost
every egg that had been taken fifteen days, with the naked
eye, so ihut I know his success is pe.fect so far. With
this continued success he will very soon be able to stock
all (he private streams and ponda in the country with spawn
ar.J young trout, as well as to furn'«h tons yearly for the
table of this, the most delicious and costly of all the finny
tribe."

The culture of trout I have conceived to be of so mu'ih
importance, that I have gone muuh into detail in every
thing bearing upoii the subject. It may perhaps be tire-
dome to a portion of my readers, but my excuse is, that it

TROUT BrvEEDING.

101

is in these details, which are so necessary to succes's that
most of the essays on trout culture are deficient. As I
have already remarked, it is an industry which is yet in its
infancy, and although I have given all the directions which
have arisen from Mr. Ainsworth's and my own experience,
and much that I have learned of Seth Green, there will
still be additional discoveries in the minutise of the art, as
progress is made in it.

I deem it a branch of industry that should claim the
attention of our national government. If the agricultural
bureau has no discretionary power to foster it, special legis-
lation should be directe-; to it, and appropriations made for
the purpose of experiments, and its promotion.

102

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

CHAPTER V.

CULTURE OF THE SALMON.

The Salmon.— Its instincts.—Difference in appearance and size
of those belonging to different rivers.— Their former abundance
and cause of decline in numbers.— Their growth and adolescence. —
Migrations.- Time of ova hatching in European and American
rivers.— Growth of the fry, with illustrations.— Early fecundity of
the males.— Attempts at artificial propagation in the United States.
—Their naturaliiation.— Fishways, with illustrations. Salmon
breeding.— At Storniontfield— On the Dee.— On the Galway.— On
the Doohulla.— At Ballisodare.— In Australia Salmon statistics.

An intimate knowledge of the instinctive habits of this
fish is required in repopulating rivers from which it has
been expelled, or naturalizing it in others. The most im-
portant instinct in this connection is, tiiat it is anadromous,*
acquiring its wonderful growth and excellent flavor at sea
and visiting its native rivers for the purpose of reproducing
its species. This it will unerringly do if no insurmountable
barrier opposes it, nor stop short of the pebbly shallow
where it emerged from the egg. Many of them will go
beyond, as was shown by their ascending the fishway at
Lowell on the Merrimack last summer, and as I have wit-
nessed b" observing their attempts to ascend impassable

* This term is applicable to the shad, salmon, alewifo, and other
fishes that enter fresh waters to spawn. I use it to distinguish
these from the migratory genera that live entirely in salt water.

'^-<:\.

■IWli'lu.

/

CPLTDRE OP THE SALMON. j^j

«alway ,„ Ireland, to »,„re than the feounditv „f it.
Hone, da,,; that M. Cooper has estahHshed ^.I ,:

""r: rt^r^r ™^ '^ '"-> *«'

una, a httle stream ten or twelve feet in width
has een made a highway for sateen which now spawn in'

there ,s a large .ncrease in the nnmbers of sain,on in Seot-

d rr; '■" "" *"' '"'""»'' -* '■"= ""^ of fi">.wt

" fifh -It"-, the New England states now depend T
Kstoekmg their salnionless stream. If» • '^°f^'"

prevent sataon from g„i„l asTi; " ",""P''^»'"» <'™

^ ^ *" "'S'' as their native snawn

"g-ground and no favorable place be found below or il .

tributary entering below, the, „i,| desert the rive I

some other. Thus a few stray salmon driven off ^^^

«b tr„ct,on or by some natural enemy may cn,.r some Iw

ban the,, nat.ve stream, as they have been known to e te

Lowell Of there are no spawni„g.gr„u„ds below on the
'^^^;^;;^^)^^^^h^Uen natives of some other river

'*"... .•„„„ .he, .ere »„ .a™ ,C 1 Z^ "^ "' ""

veiy nsri had come back acain nil fl.» , i

circuit of fotty miln, «. . . , ' '^ "^"^ '"""«' «

'uny miles at least, t iron eh f|,o „..fi.i

^"^.^at Atlamic, passing ^ -....„I • • ''"''"^•^'' ^«^«'-'' «f 'he

t»-ymi,..th„;e " , , / ""' '" »'-- Jo-ney, up which
/ '<»,iii nave gone had thev not ovefen,-,} t^-

104

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

In seeking the mouths of their native streams, the
salmon of two or more rivers may pass a point in bay or
estuary where a net extends from the shore, and the catch
may embrace a portion of each. When this occurs, as it
frequently docs on the Bay of Chaleurs, one of the habitans,
who may be standing by, can easily point out the fish of
each river : this, he will say, belongs to the Ristigouche,
and that to the Nipissiguit. The difference is as clear
to him, as the dissimilarity between a Durham and an
Alderney cow would be to one of our farmers. There is a
peculiarity in the formation and general appearance of the
salmon of a river which is transmitted to their progeny j
therefore, if we are successful, as we will no doubt be, in
introducing the sulmon in our waters, the fish of the Con-
necticut, in the course of some generations, will differ from
those of the Delaware. Those of one river may be short
and thick-set, while those of the other may be long of body
and twice the average size of the former.

Salmon at one time, north of the Hudson, were not ex-
clusively for the opulent, they were as much or more the
food of the poor, because they were cheap. Even now,
when in season, on the coast and in the rivers of the
British Provinces they can be bought for four or five cents
a pound; and the angler from the States, as he takes his
hook from the mouth of a pretty ten-pounder, on a stream
of the Bay of Chaleurs or the north shore of the St. Law-
rence, turns the fish over with the toe of his boot and men-
tally says : " Well, it is only worth fifty cents, now that I
have landed it." He would give five, or even ten dollars,

CULTURE OF ^HE SALMON. 105

if he could lay it, bright and silvery as it is, on the table of
some friend at home.

Hendrick Hudson, when he sailed up the river that
bears his name, wrote in his journal: "Many salmon,
mullets,* and rays very great." When he got beyond the
Highlands he wrote again, « Great stores of salmon in the
river." Alas ! where are they now, or those that swarmed
in the lakes and streams of New York which connect with
the St. Lawrence ? But it is useless now to rail at internal
improvements, chartered companies, and enterprising indi-
viduals who have been instrumental in banishing them;
our object, at present, is to induce them to return.

Salmon commence to make in towards the rivers from
which they migrated at rather a later period than shad.
Of course those of a more southern latitude are earlier
comers. On the Bay of Fundy, for instance, at St. John,
N. B., some are taken in May, in June they are abundant.'
If they are introduced in the Hudson and Connecticut
they might, doubtless, be taken in Long Island Sound and
iu the lower bay in April. They continue to come in
schools and ascend the rivers all summer, the earlier comers
being the earlier spawners, while the late spawners fre-
quently remain in the river all winter, and go to sea in the
spring. The latter, as has been ascertained in Scotland
may not spawn the ensuing fall, a period of two years ex-
piring before they reproduce. From the information gained
in the British Provinces, I am of opinion that there is only
one, and that an annual, migration of the same fish to and

* Most likely shad.

106

AMERICAN PISH CULTURE.

from sea on this side of the Atlantic. This is necessarily
the case, as most of the rivers are rigidly closed with ice
for some months, and many of them for half of the year.
On the coast of Great Britain, where the rivers are always
open, their migrations occur nearly every month ; still there
is a throng time v.hen the greater number enter fresh
waters. Smolts and grilse have frequently been marked
and have gone to sea and returned in six or eight weeks.
In Ireland there are fresh run foh in January and fair fly-
fishing in February.

In the rivers of the British Provinces north of us there
is also what may be termed a throng time. This, is gene-
rally when the first schools come in. In some rivers they
are found at the lower rapids within a week (earlier or
later) of the middle of June, and in others, even of the
same latitude or district of country, somewhat later. There
are different "runs" up to the middle of September; the
schools being influenced by easterly storms to enter the bay,
and by a rise in the river to ascend. Unlike the shad,
which are deterred or driven back by a freshet, salmon
seem to delight in a heavy rise, after which, there is always
good fishing as the water clears.

When a school of salmon, coming from sea, reaches a
bay or the mouth of a river entering the sea, some weeks
are occupied in working up towards the head of tide,* the
fish in the mean while undergoing a change of system
which fits them fot their habitation in fresh water. Dur-

* As the season advances the time so occupied grows shorter,
until only a few days are spent in tide-water.

"""^""""'^''n'^'mfmifimmmr

CULTURE OP THE SALMON. jqj'

ing thi. time they feed on smete, sparlings, and otl,er small
fish as well as Crustacea. After entering fresh water no
food .s to be found in their stomachs; notwithstanding;
they win rise occasionally at a natural or artiBcial fly and
W.11 sometimes take a worm bait. I„ their journey upwards
they generally linger on the way, at the foot of many a
rap.d or just aboTC, nntil they reach their native spawning,
grounds or go beyond. They lose the silvery brightners
wh.ch they bnng from sea, and continue to grow darker and
fall off as the summer advances. A fish that was a twenty,
pounder, when fresh run, in three weeks will be one of
seventeen pounds, and so on to the time of spawning, when
they have lost half of their weight and are scarcely fit for
tood If their native water is some inconsiderable brook
which is frequently the case, they will wait for a rise or
wnggle over shallows scarcely the depth of their bodies
The canoemen who have attended me on my fishing excur.
s.ons have told me that at spawning time they can be cap.
tured with almost any kind of a net; no donbt persons
whose object it is to hatch the ova in the States could then
procure it in any quantity.

The spawn of the salmon, as all experiments have shown

can be hatched by artificial appliances as easily as the ova

of our brook trout, the term of incubation being somewhat

o»ger m water of the same temperature. I have no doubt

that m spring water, uniformly at 60°, the time would

uot eicceed fifty or sizty days. I„ Scotland it has extended

to 130 days, and in the almost Arctic winters of the

British Provinces it is likely that six months or more is

1

^

m

108

AMERICAN PISH CULTURE.

required. The short time which, under favorable circum-
stances, would be requisite in artificial incubation in New
England and in the Middle States, where the salmon could
be naturalized, would produce the fry in winter, and give
them such a start that nearly all would probably reach the
smolt state and go to sea the second summer.

In my remarks in the " American Anglers' Book," on
the time required to hatch out salmon ova in Canadian
rivers, I have alluded to the fact that many of them, where
the water is shallow enough, and where it affords the
requisites for a spawning-bed, freezes to the bottom ; and
have inferred from this that the eggs do not (at least not
all of them) lose their vitality. In proof of this theory, it
is stated in the London " Fisherman's Magazine" that sal-
mon ova had been kept in ice ninety days, and that half
of these frozen eggs were afterwards hatched out.

When the young salmon frees itself from the shell, it is
about three-fourths of an inch long, and has the same um-
bilical sac which we observe in the fry of brook trout.
This it carries for about six weeks; during this time it
refuses all food. As soon, however, as this sac is absorbed,
its predacious instinct is observed, rising eagei-ly at the
smallest insect or atom, and seizing animalculae beneath the
surface. In pisciculture the food of the fry is much the
same as those of the trout ; I therefore refer the reader
to the directions for feeding the young of that fish.

Although the incubation of salmon ova is similar to that
of he trout in breeding them artificially, the manipulation
of the fish is different on account of the large size and vigor

f

CULTULE OP THE SALMON. iQg

of the salmon, requiring two and sometimes three persons
to perform the operation. If the fish is held pendent by
the head, the ova, if mature, will distend the lower portion
of the abdomen, and some of it flow without pressure; and
this, from all we can learn, is the position in which the sal-
mon is generally held when it is being operated on. Mr.
Francis, however, gives an illustration of holding one some-
what horizontally, with the vent beneath the water of the
basin, and raising the head and tail slightly, as is done with
the trout in this country in extruding its eggs. In manip-
ulation, Messrs. Martin and Gillone, on the river Dee, use a
box about three feet and a half long, seven inches in
breadth, and of corresponding depth. It is filled with
water, and the eggs are pressed out of the fish in the posi-
tion in which it swims.

The young of the salmon, as long as it retains what are
known as the finger-marks on its sides, is called a parr.
When these marks are no longer visible, and it assumes a
silvery coat, it is a smoU, and is sufficiently advanced for its
first migration to sea. On its return, which may be after
six or eight weeks, or not until the following summer, it is
a grilse, its average weight being about four pounds. After
its second visit to its marine feeding-grounds, it is a salmon,
weighing from eight to fifteen pounds. Immediately afte^
spawning it is called a kelt, or a black Jisk; the latter
appellation is given to a fish that has spawned and remains
in the river for any length of time, which generally occurs
in the winter months.
10

no

AMERICAN PISH CULTURE.

H

The figures on this and the opposite page exhibit the
growth of the young salmon ab ovo. No. 1 is the egg;
No. 2, the fish when it casts off the shell ; No. 3, after the
umbilical sac is absorbed; No. 4, the size when three
months old ; No. 5, when five months ; No. 6, when ten or
eleven months old; and No. 7, when it puts on the silvery
vesture of the smolt and is ready for its first migration to
sea. Figures 5, 6 and 7 represent the growth under favor-
able circumstances, and of such as go to sea the second
summer, when somewhat over a year old. Experiments in
Scotland and Ireland have shown that only a portion of ♦he
fry become smolts the second summer, the remaining por-
tion, which is about half, not arriving at that state until
another year has elapsed. It was supposed at one time, by
those who conducted the salmon-breeding establishment at

i«

' '*■

be

Be

or

to

n

r

CULTURE OP THE SALMON.

Ill

Stormontfield, that the latter might be the produce of parr
with grilse, or either of these with the salmon, v^hile the
early immigrants were entirely the offspring of mature sal-
mon. It was found, however, on impregnating the ova of
the one with the milt of the other, that the produce of each
of these minglings at the age of a year were about the same
size, the largest of them, which was but five inches long,
being from the ova of a salmon impregnated with the milt
of a large smolt taken from the pond. Owing to the limited
extent of the single pond at that time, however, the rearing
of the young fish was done in such confined space (as in
small ponds or boxes) as evidently stunted their growth,
and the riddle, why a part of the fry become smolts when
a little over a year old and the remaining part not until the
following summer, is still unsolvec

Those who are not conversant wi«h the nat- ral history
of this fish will no doubt be astonished to learn that the
male parr in Scottish rivers has milt sufficiently mature,
at the spawning season, to impregnate the ova of a grilse
or full-grown salmon. Whether this be the case on this
side of the Atlantic it is difficult to say ; I am inclined to
believe it is not. In European rivers the female grilse has
also mature spawn at the proper season, while the female
grilse in the waters of New Brunswick has not, although
the male grilse may be found with well-developed milt. In
examining; a dozen or more through the summer, and as
late as the Ist of September, I did not find one in which
the ova was in more than a rudimeubary state. Whatever
may be the difference between the growth or adulesence

■P!

112 AMERICAN FISH COLTDEB.

Of the salmon here, compared with Europe, the same rule
holds, that the males precede the opposite sex a year i,
their power of reproducing.

In the supplement to the second edition of the American
Anglers Book, I have alluded to a discovery made by Mr.
If- F. Whitcher, that the salmon in Canada frequently
express their spawn and milt simntoneously, by bodily
contact, the male aud female lying partially on their sides.
I am also strongly impressed with the belief, from
the long term of incubation required in the rivers of our
eastern coast, that the fry do not come from the ova until
the summer has set in or advanced somewhat, and that this
retards their growth so much that none of them come to
the smolt state the second year. In fishing from June
until September I have taken many of the fry on my sal-
mon flies. I have had them, in some pools, continually
jumping at the knots on my casting-line; and at the en-
trance of small spring brooks, when there was a good cur-
rent m the river, have taken them when fishing for trout-
but all had the usual finger-marks of the parr, none the'
Bilvery garb of the smolt. Nor had any of the canoo-men
I have employed at different times ever seen a young sal.
men with the bright vesture that is significant of its inten-
tion to make its first trip to sea. The migration of smolts
therefore, must be before the rod-fishing commences, which
.s in Juno or after the middle of September, when it is
over. If they migrate in May some of them may return
as gnlse in August or September, but the large schools
which come into the rivers in July are doubtless those that

CULTURE OF THE SALMON. 113,

have remained at sea all winter. At Ballisodare, in Ire-
land, marked grilse have not returned until the expiration
of sixteen or seventeen months ; and the question has even
been mooted whether some smolts, when they go to sea, do
not remain long enough to pass through the grilse state and
become salmon before they return.

After all the experiments, and the close observation of
the habits of salmon, there is still much uncertainty as to
its growth and its migrations. What modifications may be
made in series of generations by artificial hatching and
raising the young fish in ponds, remains to be seen. With
water for incubation at 50°, and chopped liver, «&c., fed to
the fry, it may make a whole year's difference in producing
mature salmon. Inartificial culture in Scotland, the fry,
as a general rule, are not turned into the river until they
become smolts, being kept in ponds until that time, and
thus protected from their natural enemies, which would
prey upon them if turned out to shift for themselves as soon
as the umbilical sac is absorbed. In the short account
of the salmon-breeding establishment of Stormontfield,
given on a succeeding page, it will be seen that a pond
covering an acre, and having the average depth of four
feet, is deemed suflicient for the feeding and rearing of
three hundred thousand young salmon.

The salmon of the Danube,* which migrate to and from
the Black Sea, are said to grow to double the size of those

* This is doubtless the *' Salmo hticho,** described by Sir Hum-
phrey Davy in his " Salmonia."

10*

Hi

."< *MS!R10AN FISH ODLTOKE.

%atta.„ the weight of a p„™d-their subsequent iu-
crease.,, s.ze .s slower. I«rge satoou of the Danube must
therefore be fish of advanced age.
The first attempt at breeding salmon artificially i„ the

by James B. Johnston, Esq., of New York eity. F„ur
years s.„ee he i,„p„rted the ova of salmon, salmon of the
Danube t.ut, and eharr. A part of these were hatched
out a the studio buildings ou Tenth street, New York n
troughs similar to those at the College of France, but 'the
Croton water was fatal to most of them. The fry which
M.Joh„s,.„. moved U> Long Island were p Jsing ^
conliuement, he s.ivs '< hi,f a- ^ r ^

when liberated "'' "' '""° "''=""'',''''' -"-

the'f!ro"'f:;;:'"f'' ":" '""'^' ■'" '-^ ^-'Sewassetin
the fall of 1866, .t .s thought did well, as Dr. Fletcher of
Cone d „.^ ^„ ^^^ ^^^ ,^^ ^^^^_____ ^^^^ e 0. ^

who had the matter in charge, also brought home from th

wtTi r r"''"--^ «^^- Half of thl!
were placed under charge of Mr J .9 R„i,-
dith ivr R J .u '"■■'■''•Robinson.of Mere-

d.th N. H., and the remaining half were put into the
hatchmg-troughs of Rev. Livingston Stone, of Charles
"own, N. H. The first fry hatched in siny.t:„ days from
■».pregn.t,o„. I„ a letter to Mr. Ainsworth, dated Feb
..ary 6th ,67, Mr. R„bin,o„ says . . The hatching of the
»lm„n ova has concluded and the result is very gratifyin/
»- «9 ,». cent, have hatched and seem to e'^ fy'

CULTURE OF THE SALMON.

115,1

healthy. I do not mean of all the eggs, but 99 per cent,
of all the impregnated ones, which was 12 per cent, of the
whole. One-half of the eggs were sent to Charlestown,
N. H., and are designed for the Connecticut."

There cannot be a doubt but that with experience in the
manipulation of salmon, and in the transportation of ova,
we shall be able to introduce them into our rivers as readily
as we can trout into brooks which they have not before
inhabited.

The naturalization of this fish in rivers u few parallels
south of those it once visited, would be an exceedingly
interesting experiment. The expenditure of a few thou-
sand dollars in this way, and strict enforcement of laws,
provided for their protection, would add largely to the value
of our fish product, and make salmon cheaper than beef in
our markets. Let any one ride in the cars from Easton to
Belvidere on the Delaware, and see its fine pools and rapids,
and then explore its bounding upper waters and tributa-
ries, and speculate as to the vast area of spawning-ground
this river affords, and say if the states bordering on it, or
owning the tributaries, are not closing these natural salmon
nurseries against a wealth of delicate food we might enjoy.
The experiment of introducing salmon even into the Sus-
quehanna is well worth the trial. When the question of
fishways is settled in favor of the citizens of the state, as
it must ultimately be, the many noble creeks that feed it
(they would be dignified by being called rivers in Europe)
would afford extensive spawning-beds The summer tem-
perature of the water of these is but little above that of

^^^ AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

some of the fine salmon rivers of New Brunswick or of
California.

If part of the expenditure of the agricultural bureau,
which produces no immediate benefit to the country, was
appropriated to building an efficient fishway around Niagara
Falls, and salmon were introduced by artificial culture into
the many fine rivers entering the chain of great lakes
above, it is difficult to estimate the numbers that would
make the Niagara river a highway. At throng time it
would be like the waters below the falls ol' some of the
Oregon rivers, where a spear thrown at random does not
fail to impale a salmon. In France such a national enter-
prise would not be thought chimerical.

Within a period often years, the salmon fisheries of the
British Provinces had declined so much as to create fears
of the gradual, but sure extinction of this fish in many
rivers. By legislation, strict enforcement of laws provided
for their protection, and the erection of a few fishways this
decline has not only been arrested, but the numbers of
salmon so much increased, as to bring back the prices at
Quebec and Montreal to the point at which they stood
twenty years ago. To Mr. W. F. Whitcher, the able and
vigilant head of the Fisheries Branch of the Crown Land
Department, much credit is due, for his efficient agency in
arresting the destruction, and re-instating most of the rivers
to their former fruitfulness. The St. Lawrence at this
time has eighty-seven tributaries well stocked with salmon
The summer of 1865 was favorable for the salmon fisheries
of Canada and New Brunswick. The rod fishing on most

CULTURE OF THE SALMON.

117

of the rivers, surpassed that of any former year. The sub-
joined is from a Montreal paper :

" Salmon Fishing at Goodhout — Season of 1865. — The
following record of 22 days' salmon-fishing on the Good-
bout, has been transmitted us for publication. We have to
direct the attention of the editor of the Field, and the
sporting community generally, to Mr. Gilmour's magnificent
day's sport of 46 fish, and to ask if it has been beaten else-
where ? We believe it is the largest on record :

?

^f

^?

h

?»

June.

s.

er
4

n

0

1

Sio
B 93

pa

0

3

20

21

7

0

1

0

6

22

10

1

2

0

7

23

7

1

0

4

2

24

8

0

1

3

4

Sunday-

-no Fishing.

26

11

2

3

3

3

27

20

0

5

9

6

28

28

a

8

6

9

•29

26

5

6

6

9

30

22

0

fi

10

6

July 1

17

0

2

6

9

Sunday-

-no Fishing.

3

30

7

2

9

12

4

31

2

16

6

7

5

44

5

1

30

8

6

23

1

7

6

9

7

18

10

3

1

4

8

26

9

12

4

10

Sunday-

-no Fishing.

10

54

1

4

46

3

11

28

1

4

7

16

12

20

8

2

4

5

13

21

0

21

0

0

14

23

0

2

5

16

478

49

109

165

155

^

118

}

AMBKICAN FISH CULTURE.
Total, 478. Pish weight
Noble, . ,
Cross

u» '»"

• • • . 1551
. 1567

'■ng gross 4665 lbs., riz. :
• 588

Gilmour .

Total . .

^"'••Ki°««'»>"«9}ir«.e,cha,h."' ' ■

r^'. and , eft off during . ^ ,„„ „, ^, "; *; »-
oo« I w„„M Wo „.de an e.tn.„.di„ar, .ore
J of m7°-' °' "^ «-»-»-. of Pi^terie, for the
oo^vo pages, and contains so „nch valuable info^In
Pa«.c«.ariya, ,Wing the feasibiliey of ..took gte J

Van ::: trT "'°'°" ''"'^' «""' ^^ "•»•■" '« -
ani: e'a^-riAtrr'"'- ^■■^- ^--^ ".

izea tie J • ^'P""* *'"'"' »»" "ka'acter-

'n ■'°"""'«^"»«'« ""-ti-uea, we may, ,„ the course
of Ave or s« years, have abundant sport in the fin.
of Maine. "" "''™

1 have obtained from Theodore Lyman E,„ «. •

:r:z:is:::::;r.r-"r"^'^'"""

M20,area,sofro:rs;::,'''''^'''-''«™-''

^

CULTURE OP THE SALMON.

I fg. i.

119

~l ' ''

120

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

Fig. 4.— Diagram of the double Fish-steir «* t „

the arrangement of the tanks and 7 ' '^"^'"^

far,i, *"" *he course of the watPr ti,

tanks are somewhat over twelvp f„o. ^'^^

- .. .o™ .. ... ::r irrrr/r-

da. („; "'"'""' "■'"•""»««" W Placed „„ .h!

below the dam. "ver bed. e, the water-line,

Fig. r.-Pian of Foster's fishway, showing th. .

of the cross-bulkheads (/) and the '°^*^' '"'"''''^^ «!««*

"" '^y > ana the course of the wntA^ *i.
dam. g, the flood-gate. ^"^^ ^' *^«

Fig. 8. — Flood-gate of VnitPt-'^ ft„u
.he dam (o) • „ „ ^il . '' "''° ''■■'"" "«' '''«' °f

7 "r —> ">-« '■ -e dou.. -v,e.:r , j: : : r "'

through so narrow an onenino. a.,u- , ^'^ P*®^

-.".on Win. The c oTblr "'" *°'" = '"' "'^"^ "■"'

of the pa„ ,„ .hi T °" °'°*' " "'"• •" "" •"'-

pass, so .hat ihe water rans deep. Fiirs 6 7 . ., .

drawn „„ . .eale of 20 feet u> .„ i.eh. ' ' "'

CULTURE OP TUB SALMON. 121

Salmon hreoding at Stormontfield.* — This establishment,
which has been in operation about fifteen years, situated
on the Tay, about five miles above Perth. The ponds
occupy a piece of ground which slopes gently down to the
river. The ground is bounded at the top by the Stormont-
field mill-lade, which is led from the Tay at a point a uiile
higher up ; the space between the lade and the river being
about five hundred feet. Within these limits the whole
of the operations are carried on. A pipe from the lade
discharges at a short distance the water into a bed of
gravel, from which it rises through two openings into a
channel supplying the hatching-boxes. These boxes are
three hundred in number, and lie in twenty-five parallel
rows of twelve each, at right angles to the lade, and have
a considerable slope. Between each row is a narrow ^oot-
path for the convenience of examining the boxes, which
are six feet long, eighteen inches wide, and twelve inches
deep ; the division between the boxes of each row being
cut down half way, so as to allow a free flow of water.
The boxes are filled to within two inches of the surface of
the water, first with fine, then with coarser gravel, and on
the top is a layer of stones about the size of road-metal
Amongst these stones the impregnated ova are placed, about
a thousand in each box. Running along the foot of the
rows of boxes, is a small channel which joins a lade leading
to the two feeding-ponds, one occupying about a quarter
and the other a full acre, the latter having been added

* A condensation of a description found in the Fisherman's Maga-
zine, London, with some additions from '* Harvest Qf the Sea."
U

!l,

! I

^22 AMERICAN PISH CULTUJIE.

Within a few years. A channel connects the ponds with
the river, for the passage of the smolts to sea, a perforated
sluice being opened at the proper time for their egress
The smolts can be detained by a sluice near the river when
any of them are to be marked.

The time of incubation here, is from a hundred to a
hundred and thirty days. The fry remain in the hatchin<.-
boxes five or six wee:cs, and then find their way to the first
pond, where they remain for a year, and are then turned
into the second pond, that the succeeding brood of fry may
occupy the first. From the second pond, when they become
smolts, they are turned into the river through the channel
referred to above. Marking thc:n is done generally by
clipping or notching the adipose dorsal fin. The fry are
fed regularly on boiled liver grated fine, rising to the sur-
face in thousands when it is thrown in.

The spawning fish are taken at Almond Mouth, about
three miles distant, with the common draught net, and
manipulated there. When a rise in the river sufficient to
interfere with taking the fish is apprehended, they can be
taken some days before they are fully mature, and kept in
the mill-lade mentioned at the beginning of this article;
being kept within bounds by two rows of iron bars set
across the lade, one row about a hundred yards from the
other. Mr. Peter Marshall, the superintendent of the works,
> the operator. Holding the female firmly or having her
held, he brings his hand with a gentle pressure down the
belly, when the ova are ejected into a pail of river water;
manipulating the male in the same way, he extrudes the milt

II fc

CULTURE OF THE SALMON.

123

and sets the pail aside for awhile, when the water is pou. ..
oflF and fresh water substituted ; after renewing it a second,
and it may be a third time, the eggs are ready to be placed
in the hatching-boxes. It is estimated that the female
salmon has about a thousand eggs to each pound of her
weight, therefore the ova from fifteen fish of twenty pounds,
or twenty of fifteen pounds, or thirty of ten pounds, will
give three hundred thousand eggs.

When this fish factory was first established, the single
pond could only be stocked alternate years, from the fact
that part of the fry became smolts the second, and the
remaining portion the third year. The latter of course
would destroy the brood of young fish if turned into the
pond from the hatching-boxes. This led to the construc-
tion of the second pond for the accommodation of the parr
that remained until the third summer, so that the produc-
tion of fry can be increased from three hundred thousand
every alternate year, to three hundred and fifty thousand
every year.

From the information I can gain as to the loss of sal-
mon-eggs in incubation, it is about ten per cent, in Scot-
land and Ireland, and more than double of that at Hun-

mgue.

One of the consequences of the operations at Stor-
montfield, up to 1865, was an increase of ten per cent,
in the number of salmon taken in the Tay, and, of
course, a corresponding increase in the rental of its
fisheries. It has also opened the eyes of owners and
lessees of fisheries on this and other rivers, to the availa-

t

1 I t

ir

'24 AMERICAN FISH CULTnEB.

Mity of fish culture, i„ rertoring them to thoir f„™er
fecu„d.ty. Amongst those who have adopted this mean,
are Messrs. Martin & Gillono, lessees of the river Dee sal^
«o„.fisheries. Their establiahmeut is at Tonguelaud, on
he Dee. In 1865 thoj produced frou. ova laid down
the previous autumn, over 100,000 joung fish. They do
not expose the ova to the weather as at Stormontfield, but
occupy a room seventy feet long in a lumber store-house
connected with a J«„^ w«y. j^ ;, ;„ contemplation'
by some spirited gentlemen, to endeavor to increase the
produce of the Severn, and to stock some of the other
nvers of England with salmon. Even the polluted Thames
« mcluded in the number, side drains for the filth dis-
oharged into it by London, having been talked of The
Thame, M.jling Pre^rvatlon Soc{e>,j have a hatching
establ-shment, and have introduced the grayling I„ the
season of 1863-1 they turned out about 40,000 yon„«
^«V 12,000 of which were salmon, the remainder comml
trout, sea trout, Rhine salmon, ombre chevalier &c

The following account of Mr. Ashworth's undertaking on
the Galway, is from Mr. Francis's book on Fish Culture.

Several successful undertakings in pisciculture have
been carried out in Ireland. The first of any note, perhaps
w;;»_^ten^omM}alway, i„ 1852. The Oalway
•Mr. Franci.,, writer on a'^^iii^ii^^^TTT^^^"

.0. through .„„ ,„,„„e „.,er „,■ .,, ,,.„„,, „^^„,,„ ^ ^^^^

g.vcB a„ unfavorable rcpor, g„„e,„„y, „f „,o re.„I.. „f m. cater,
prise thus far.

' i

CULTURE OF THE SALMON.

125

river is the channel through which Loughs Mask and
Corrib, two enormous lakes containing a vkst area of water,
discharge themselves into the sea. The fishery of this
river belongs to Mr. Ashworth. In 1852, finding the
stock had been terribly reduced from a variety of causes,
he established a breeding-place at Outerard, in a small
tributary stream. Here twenty boxes were laid down, after
the same fashion as the plan, already explained, adopted at
Stormontfield. This plan, carried out by Mr. Ramsbottom,
was the model whence Stormontfield was taken. These
boxes were stocked with about 40,000 ova, which in due
time came to perfection. Subsequently, owing partly to
the opening of a wide Queen's-gap in the weir, Mr. Ash-
worth's fishery multiplied itself in value manifold, and
he cast about, adding a still larger area to the field of his
operations.

"Lough Mask, which discharges into Lough Corrib, is
separated from it by a very rugged channel, and a lofty,
impassable fall; consequently, although Lough Corrib
abounded in salmon, none had ever been seen in Lough
Mask. Moreover, the .many gravelly tributaries which
salmon love to spawn in, rather discharged themselves into
the upper part of Lough Mask, which again receives the
waters of one or two smaller lakes, than into Lough Corrib;
and as the capabilities of production of a fishery are
bounded by the area of its spawning-beds, this proved a
serious check to the further increase of productiveness in
the fishery. Undaunted by difficulties, however, Mr. Ash-
TTuitii Bcii TO Tvuia., aiiiciiuiuiuu iiiv su'caui, put saioion-

11*

^26 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

Stairs to the impassable fall, and stocked the head waters of
Lough Mask with half a million of salmon ova. These
operations have been so lately completed, that we hardly
know as yet what measure of success will attend them ; but
1 see no reason for doubting their success, and, if so, a
capable area of about thirty square miles will be added to
Mr. Ashworth's already valuable fishery, and in a few
years' time the fishery will realize a handsome fortune.
This shows what can be done by pisciculture, in its broad
sense, and a little practical common sense combined."

To the foregoing I would add, that from information
obtained from another source, Mr. Ashworth laid down
in the season of 1861-2, no less then a million and a half
of ova.

I would also state that Mr. Frank Buckland, a naturalist
who takes much interest in fish culture in England, has,
since the publication of Mr. Francis's book, examined the'
ground between lakes Corrib and Mask. His report is
adverse to the efficiency of the fishway there used. Ho
says that the natural outlet from the upper to the lower
lake, is underground, through broken and cavernous rocks,
and that the channel for the fishway is in the bed of an
aban<loned canal, three and a half miles long, through
rocky ground full of fissures and sirik.hol.es. That the
passage, even with the improvement made by laying down
a thousand feet of iron pipe, three feet in diameter, is
impracticable to salmon in the spring of the year, from the
force of the current; and in summer, from. the scarcity of
water. And further, that the young fish leaving Lough

CULTURE OF THE SALMON.

127 m

Mask, would most likely do so by some of the many sub-
terranean passages, and be lost in the bowels of the earth.
The foregoing, in substance, is from " The Field," of Nov.
19th, 1864. Mr. Ashworth, in his prize essay on the culti-
vation of salmon fisheries, says, " I have lately expended
£1700 in the construction of a salmon-passage and ladder,
between Loughs Corrib and Mask, and through which
salmon have passed in the winter of 1865, into an exten-
sive district of new bfeeding-giound from which they had
been previously excluded." This is the last we have of
the passage alluded to. Whether the fish have passed it,
in numbers, and if so, whether Mr. Buckland's prediction
of the fry getting lost in the bowels of the earth has been
realized, I am unable to state.

I am indebted also to Mr. Francis's book, for an account
of Mr. Edward J. Cooper's experiments at Ballisodare,
Ireland,

, " This undertaking, which was really an experiment,
shows how great difficulties can be overcome by persever-
ance, and how a fishery can be created where none has
previously existed. Mr. Cooper owns two rivers, the
Owenmore and the Arrow, which unite some two and a
half miles from the sea and form the Ballisodare river.
On these rivers are three falls ; the lowest, which is a suc-
cession of falls over high ledges of rock, is within a short
distance of the sea ; the next, which is a short distance
above it, is called the Upper Ballisodare Fall. This fall is
impracticable to fish, though fish had been known to sur-
mount the lower one occasionally, but not often. Tho

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128 AMERICAN FISH CUtTKKE.

entire height of the two fall, i. abont seventy feet. The

S"' " "': - '"' «"-— ' - «■' village ;;

CoUooney, has but one fall; but this one is higher than

Upper Ba,.odare Fall, and is entirely i„prae.-.ble.

at fir!t\ r '"""' *" ""^ ''PP" «»"-"-<' Fall was
■t first brought out into the lower water ,»o far down the

rea^Whefan, so that the fish in running up u.i J

' •. ' r . "" ''"'"' "^"^''-"^ -- '"" 't. - as to
n„g the e.b„uehure of the ladder Cose to the flot „f th

elrin.M" '"" "'""' "'' "'^^^ '"''■' '» «>» l"""' of
enter ng the nver and running up to the lower falls, and

he plan adopted to stock the river was that of oat hLg

hat they unght spawn in the river. After sundry 4i,„ es

e ladders e.ng completed, and several fi,h being put !

above the falls, and son.e feeundated ova deposited in the

nver, a large quantity of saln,o„.fry was observed to be in

the r.ver. These, at the usual tiu,e, became sn,olts and

«ppeared^ This was about April,, 857. On June 26th
*o first grUse was observed at the fall; by J„lv they were
plont,ful, and so continued till the end of the s'eason Th
nver was not fished in 1857.

" I had much more and interesting particular, from Mr

for n here. The account was fully given in " The Field" in
Uecomber, 1858 and from ♦i...* t

»ng table, showing how r^nmr^i * i xi_

vv n„ now compl,,fcolj the experiment sue-

CULTURE OF THE SALMON. 129

ceeded. The table was kept by an agent whom Mr. Cooper
appointed : —

" ' 1857. August 24. Saw several salmon in the hole
under the fall of CoUooney.

" ' September 24. The river between Ballisodare and
Collooney is now well stocked, salmon being visible in
almost every deep hole, and a number being congregated
between Collooney Bridge and the hole under the fall.

" ' October 3. A flood being in the Owenmore, I shut
the water oflF the Collooney ladder to see if there were any
fish passing up, and found seven salmon and one white
trout in the pond Of these seven, five were males.

" ' October 13. Examined Collooney ladder, and re-
ported to Mr. Leech that thei*e were salmon in it. Twenty -
seven salmon were found in it, the great majority of them
being females.

" ' October 15. Lowered the sluice of Collooney ladder
again, but got no fish.

" ' October 28. Again examined the ladder, and got
three male fish.

" ' October 30. Four male and two female fish taken
out of ladder and put up.

" ' November 3. Sixteen male and eight female.

" ' November 4. There were ten fish in the ladder,
which were not removed, as Mr. Leech was not present.

" ' November 5. Nine fish, not removed.

" ' November 6. Seven ditto, ditto.

" ' November 7. Eleven ditto, ditto. I went to Balliso-

I

^ 'll

i

I

ff

I ;!i

I

1 I

I f

i

130

AMERICAIT FISH CULTURE.

dare on this day, and saw several large fish leaping at the
upper ladder.

" 'November 9. We put up from the ladder twenty,
four male and fifteen female fish.

" ^November 23. Lowered the sluice again; twenty,
five male and twenty female fish found in the pond. A
few of these were large fish s..,, U 1b«. or 15 lbs. weight.
^ "' November 30. Th. . ' 9 now beginning to spawn
m great numbers in the O^.uoeg river.

" ' December 3. Thirty-six male and forty-five female
fish found in the ladder.

1858. January 5. Saw a few spawning-beds in
Owenmore.

" 'January 9. In river Arrow and tributaries found
twenty-nine salmon redds.

" ' February 14. Walked the Kilmorgan river (a tribu-
tary to the Arrow), and counted twenty-one redds.'

" In the early part of this year, 1858, we seldom fished.
In the month of February we took five fish ; in March
three; in April two; iu May ten; in Juno thirty-nine.
^ We did not, in fact, begin to fish regularly till the 1st
July. During this month we took 868 salmon, and up to
the 20th August (the close of our season) 530 more— the
year's take averaging very little more than 4 lbs. each.
Mr. Culbertsou's notes on this year are: 'Spring-fish
showing in February. One of 9 lbs. taken in the net*^ was
a fry marked by Srown in 1856. In March got another
about the same weight. Only a few fish through this
mouth. Fry coming down in April, and more plentifully

I

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CULTURE OF THE SALMON.

131

in May : but I do not think so many in the river as last
year. On 13th May saw nearly one hundred jumps from
six to eight o'clock in the evening; they were from 8 lbs.
to 121b3. weight. On 9th June was first grilse at lower
fall ; about the end of the month they were very plentiful.
Among the fish taken by the nets on 6th July, seven were
fry marked by me last year, and they weighed 5} lbs. to
6 lbs each.'

" Since the end of the close-season, many reports have
been sent me relative to the numbers running up. From
my inspector's book I take the following : ' Aug. 28. At
Ballisodare, numbers of salmon in every part of the river
between bridge and lowest fall. Sept. 1. Collooney ladder
literally full of fish. They did not run in such numbers
last year until November, being over two months earlier
this year. Sept, 6. Plenty of fish immediately above
Collooney Bridge. Sept. 25. Collooney ladder swarming,
and plenty showing in every place between bridge and
fall. October 3 to 6. Heavy floods. Collooney ladder
resembles a steeplechase, as we see them clearing the
steps in pairs, and some very good fish. Oct. 8 and 9.
Plenty of fish still on the run. Oct. 16. I have been
watching the salmon jumping and playing at Collooney
fall and ladder. I have visited the ladder daily this week,
and from the numbers in it, am convinced that they
could be removed from top of ladder with the hand.
Nov. 27. Great numbers of fish in Collooney ladder.'
In addition to these notes of my inspector, one of my
water-keepers reported having counted 207 salmon in one

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if

132 AMERICAN PISH CULTURE.

hour ascending the Collooney ladder; and Mr. Culbertson

has written to me to say that he reckoned 100 in less

than half an hour making up the rapids at Ballisodare.

On yesterday, Dec. 2, there were so many fish in the po.^d

at Collooney, that Mr. Leech took up no less than six at

once in a common landing-net.

"Edward J. Cooper.

«' Markree Castle, December 3.

" P.S.— Since my letter was written, the Earl of Ennis-
killen has visited my fishery; and I extract the following
from his notes, entered in inspector's book :—

" ' On the 9th (Dec.) I visited Collooney ladder and
saw immense quantities of fish running up. Frequently
saw four fish at the upper step jumping together. On
the 10th again at Collooney. Not nearly so many fish
moving this day; counted at upper step nineteen in five
minutes. Turned off the water, and put up 256 fish.
This day (11th) counted 102 fish jump at the upper step
in five minutes. Turn.d off the water; the pond actually
alive with fish, in general larger and fresher from the sea
than those of yesterday. Put up 246 fish, and then
stopped, as the fish were getting sick in the pond. I am
confident that we did not take half the number out, and
that we left from three to four hundred in the pond.' "

Introduction of Salmon into the Doohulla.—The follow-
ing extracts and condensation of letters to Mr. Francis on
the subject, show the origin and early progress of this
enterprise. The subjoined is from Mr. Ffennel, inspector
of fisheries.

-^^^^s=

CULTURE OF THE SALMON.

133

" In relation to the DoohuUa river, — I should rather say
the DoohuUa waters, because there is nothing which can
well be dignified by the name of river connected with the
concern. There are several small loughs or lakes which
now discharge through two artificial cuts, one connecting
the upper lakes with the lower one, and the other connect-
ing all with the sea, and more in the character of mere
ditches than of rivers. The whole catchment area (as
engineers call it) of these small lakes is very inconsidera-
ble; they always contained some white trout which
ascended through a tortuous stream or brook, when heavy
rains created occasionally sufficient water in its rugged
bed J these favorable opportunities however were few and
very far between. This place was purchased some years
ago by Mr. John Knight Boswell, of Monkstown, near
Dublin. He requested me to assist him in such measures
as might be adopted for the improvement of the fishery.

" The main principle carried out, was that of connecting
the waters of the several loughs; cuts were made to eflPeot
this — the old stream was dammed out, the water was run
through an additional lake before unconnected with the
others. The speculation was a complete success, though
a valuable white trout fishery only was created when Mr.
Boswell sold it, realizing a large profit for his outlay."

The following, which relates to the same waters after
coming into possession of Mr. Cooper, is from a letter of
Mr. Ramsbottom : —

" It is four years this month since the first lot of ova were

deposited, viz., 18,000. These, when hatched, were kept

12

. AMERICAN FISH CULTURE,
in the nursery beds and ponds for about two years and
three months as smolts, and then turned into the river per-
fectly ready for sea. It was from the above lot of smolts
-76 marked 700 in March, 1862, and which have during
the season just passed returned as grilse, being now a little
over three and a half years old.* I am also happy to in-
form you that I have just received a note from my son to
say that he has for the first time seen grilse on the spawn-
ing-beds of the river at Doohulla.

" That your readers may more clearly understand, I
append a table of the dates :—
" 18,000 ova deposited in 1859.
" Ova hatched February, 1860.

" Fry kept in nursery ponds until May, 1862, being
nursed for two years and three months; but I would here
remark that a few of the fry, and only a few, appeared to
be ready for sea when about thirteen months old.

" Turned out of nursery ponds ready for sea, May, 1862.
" Returned as grilse (after being at sea from thirteen to
fifteen months) in June, July, and August, 1863.

'' You will see ^bat when the first grilse returned (in

June), it must hay. been three years and four months old."

It will be seen from the foregoing how small a stream

can be made exceedingly product've if net-fishing is pro-

*^- It w.- b3 seen by this, that it will sometimes require three years
and a half from the time of hatching to produce a grilse. On the
contrary, a smolt may go to sea when something over a year old,
and return, a grilse, in two months; making at least, two years
and four months difference in the time of maturity.

CULTURE OF THE SALMON.

135

hibited for a few years at its mouth, and the salmon pro-
tected on their spawning-grounds. There are no doubt
many such along the coast of New England that could be
stocked, and salmon cultivated with as much profit as at
DoohuUa.

The project of stocking the rivers of Australia with
salmon was commenced in 1864. After a long discussion
as to the manner of sending out the ova, a hundred thou-
sand salmon and three thousand trout eggs were packed in
two hundred boxes ; moss being used in packing, much as
we do with the ova of trout in this country. The two
hundred boxes were closely surrounded by thirty tons of
ice in the hold of the ship Norfolk, which sailed on the
21st of January. The ship was seventy-seven days in
making the passage, and arrived at Melbourne on the 15th
of April. The greater number of the boxes were at once
sent off to Tasmania, reaching Hobart Town m the 20th,
where suitable arrangements had been made for hatching
on the liver Plenty. On opening the boxes it was found
that more than two-thirds of the ova had perished. This
occurred where they were tightly packed and the moss was
deadened and had assumed a brownish tint. In the boxes
where the moss was green and somewhat loose, they were
still alive.

The temperature of the water in which they were hatched
varied froui 46° to 49^, some of the ice left from the Nor-
folk being vsed to keep it below the latter point on warm
days. Mr. Ramsbottom, son of the noted fish culturist,
had charge of the hatching; but with all his care only

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^36 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

three thousand fry were produced from the thirty thousand
eggs that arrived in sound condition. These were healthy,
but did not grow as fast as some of the young trout. While
the friends of the enterprise were congratulating themselves
that at any rate they had three thousand young salmon,
there was a mysterious disappearance of the greater part
of the Some, it was thought, found their way into the
river; only about five hundred remained in the pond, and
these also after a while were allowed to escape to the river.
To this " small point," as a Yankee would say, had this
much-talked-of introduction of salmon into Australia been
" whittled down." The enterprise, however, was commend-
able in those who attempted it, and we say all honor to its
patrons.

There are reports of grilse having returned, whether
from this small migration, or from the hatching of subse-
quent importations of ova, I have not been able to learn
definitely. But the five hundred even, if protected, will
in due time make salmon abundant. The following, copied
from the Hobart Town Mercury, I have clipped from the
report of the Vermont Fish Commissioners :—

" The first batch of salmon hafe teen sent out to sea,
and we shall have a second batch to let loose at the end
of the year. When Mr. Kamsbottom, in charge of the sal-
mon ponds at the Plenty, turned the first batch into the
Derwent at tlie close of 1865, he fixed upon February,
1866, as the date of their return from the sea, and they
have been true to their time. They began to return in the

I i

CULTURE OF THE SALMON.

137

month of February, and now seem to be returning in con-
siderable numbers.

" After enumerating the instances where salmon had
been seen, the writer concludes by saying : —

" All doubts of the return of the first batch of salmon
in greater or lesser numbers are therefore at an end. We
cannot say that the Derwent swarms with them. But
enough has been said to show that they have returned in
considerable numbers."

The following statistical information is from the report
of the Vermont Commissioners of Fisheries : —

Mr. Ashworth has communicated to the International
Congress to Promote the Cultivation of Fisheries the fol-
lowing table of the number of salmon taken in fisheries
of the Galway : —

In 1853 the number taken was

'' 1854 "

(<

u

«

((

a

1855

1856

1857

1858

1859

1860

1861

1862

1863

1864

u

((

a

a

u
u

«

«

((
((
((

«

((
((

a

n

C(

a
((
((
((

1,603

3,158

5,540

5,371

4,857

9,639

9,249

3,177

11,051

15,431

17,995

20,512

During the past two years the number has been in-
creased, but we are not able to give the exact figures.
12*

\

138 AMERICAN PISH CULTURE.

Bamodare.~J),,rmg the eleventh year from the time
these fishways were built, the number of salmon taken in
these waters was over ten thousand.

StormontfieU-Mv. Ashworth also submitted tables'
giving the yearly renta' of the fisheries on the Tay river
Scotland, from the year 1828 io 1864. « In 1828 the an-
nual rental was £14,574 10. In this year an act was passed
which made net-fishing legal up to the 14th of September
instead of the 26th of August. The annual rental gradu-
ally dropped off from year to year, till 1852, when it was
only £7973 5«. The public mind then became awakened
and the law was repealed, and all fishing ceased on the
26th of August as before. There was great opposition to
the repeal of this law. The fishermen insisted that it was
an unjust abridgment of their rights. They could not
perceive the necessity of protecting the breeding salmon
that would be likely to pass up during this interval of
nineteen days. They insisted that the more they were
permitted to fish the more fish they would catch. In ad-
dition to this wholesome law, an establishment was com-
menced at Stormontfield, for breeding salmon artificially.
The annual rental steadily increased under this new system
as follows : —

" In 1853 it was £8,715 17«.

1854 "
1865 "

" 1858 '*
1859 "

" 1860 "

((

((

>(

(i

9,269 6».

9,977 13«.
11,487 2.S.
J 2,884 Us.
13,827 10«.

CULTURE OF THE SALMON.

139

In 1861 it was £14,109 15«.

" 1862 " ^* 14,080 12«.

" 1863 " « 14,257 16«. ''

" 1864 « « 15,000 00«.
" These oflScial documents, the concurrent testimony of all
whom we heard speak upon the subject, and the great abun-
dance of salmon we saw in the market of England, convince
us that good results have followed the efforts to restock the
streams of Great Britain. It may be proper to remark in
this connection, that we estimated the amount of salmon
for sale in the London markets to, be more than double all
other fresh-water fish on sale. The price has been affected
by the increase of supply. They were selling in July last
at one shilling (twenty-four cents) per pound. Six years
ago salmon were sold in London at over a dollar per
pound."

From B. J. Lane, one of the special commissioners for
Irish fisheries, we obtained their reports for a series of •
years. In them there is evidence of steady progress. In
the report of 1865 they commence by saying: —

" We have great satisfaction in being able to report the
steady and progressivo improvement of the fisheries com-
mitted to our charge. That improvement is, however,
more real than app'arent. Its proofs are found in the
shoals of smolts that descended to the sea last spring, in
the multitudes of fry that swarmed in the rivers during
the summer, and in the unprecedented number of breeding
fi^^h that have so lately thronged the spawning-bods. Its
effeotto appeaf in (iiu inorease of the number of men living

140

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

on the fisheries, and of the funds collected for the purpose
of preservation. In no previous year, as far back as living
evidence will take us, have the rivers of Ireland been so
well stocked with salmon, young and old.^*

That their anticipations for a continued increase were
well foundfcd, is evident from tables submitted in the
report for last year. From them it appears that the whole
amount of salmon shipped over the seven railroads in
Ireland in 1865, was 790 tons, 14 owt., and 3 qrs. In
1866 there were shipped over the same roads, 1092 tons,
10 cwt.j, and 2 qrs.

CULTURE OF THE SHAD.

141

CHAPTER VI.

CULTURE OF THE SHAD.

The Shad. — Its instincts, and analogies to the snlmon. — ^Migra-
tions. — Former abundance. — Incubation of its ova. — Its growth. —
Its introduction into rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, by Dr.
Daniell. — Hatching its spawn at Holyoke. — Ascent by flshways
over dam of Susquehanna Canal Company. — Report of Col. James
Worrall. The Alewi/e.

An account of the specific characteristics of this fish is
unnecessary here, and would scarcely interest the general
reader ; we will, therefore, allude only to its instincts and
habits, bearing on the subject-matter of this chapter.

The shad belongs to the great family of herrings (CZm-
peidse), so useful, and it might be said, almost indispensa-
ble to man. Although there are two varieties which visit
our rivers, i. e., the white shad, and that with a row of
spots on its sides, they are known as the same species Alosa
prxstabiKs, and, doubtless, occupy the same spawning-
grounds, at the same time, and breed promiscuously the
one with the other. Its geographical range extends all
along our Atlantic coast ; and through the laudable efforts
of Dr. W. C. Daniell, has been introduced into the Gulf of
Mexico, by stocking the Alabama river by means of arti-
ficial propagation. This gentleman based his hopes of
accomplishing this enterprise, on his knowledjiie of the un-
erring instinct of this and other anadromoua fishes, return-
ing to their native rivers to reproduce their spec? ..

142

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

The Clupeidse, show many analogies to the salmon family,
not possessing, however, the adipose dorsal fin. The most
noble species of each — the shad and the salmon, — resemble
each other in their migratory habits, and both attain that
rapid growth and excellent flavor, for which they are dis-
tinguished on similar feeding-grounds, and likely, to a great
extent, on the same food ; although the locality of these
feeding-grounds, where they do not overlap, may occupy
different parallels of latitude. There can be no question
that soft-shelled Crustacea, the young of molluscs, small
fish, and the lower orders of marine life, are consumed in
large quantities by each.

It is generally believed now, that the shad, as well as
the salmon, does not wander far at sea from the mouth of
its native river; and in seeking it may coast along for
some distance from the north or south, and thus give the
impression that the great shoal may come from either point.
At the north, the old theory was, and still is with many,
that shad come from the south, while Dr. Daniell alludes
to the supposition on the coast o :* Georgia (though he
doubted it), that they come from the north.

Notwithstanding the analogies of the shad and salmon
just mentioned, it is surprising that the former retains its
fleshiness and delicate juices quite up to the time of spawn-
ing, while the latter continues to fall off from the day it
enters fresh water. It has even been insisted on by many,
that the longer a shad has been in fresh water before
spawning, the better its condition ; as many of those taken
just before the season closes, and high up the rivers, are

CULTURE OF THE SHAD.

143

finer than the early run. This is likely erroneous, as the
late run proceed at once to their spawning-grounds, not
lingering as the great body do, but travelling hundreds of
miles in a few days. Fresh run shad have been taken at
the head of tide on the Susquehanna, with small salt-water
fishes in their stomachs so perfect that their species could
be identified. I mention this fact as an evidence of the
rapidity with which shad sometimes travel. After they
enter fresh water, it is generally believed that they do not
feed, as they are invariably found with empty stomachs.
It is true that a shad will rise at an artificial fly occasion-
ally, or take a minnow, as I know from experience, but on
opening them, these, ai^well as other anadromous fishes, are
found without food. Amongst these I instance the herring,
the alewife, the salmon, and Canadian sea trout. It is
reasonable to suppose that shad are omnivorous, and that
some of the algae which are gelatinous and highly nutritive,
contribute to their rapid growth.

Shad, at one time, entered every river on our coast which
furnished the requisite spawning-beds, and ascended until
some barrier opposed their course; every tributary was
crowded with them. Civilization, and its attendant enter-
prise, prosecuted without provision for the passage of the
fish to and from their spawning-grounds, have driven them
entirely from some rivers, and lessened their numbers sp
materially in others, that shad are now considered rather a
luxury, than one of the chief staples of life, in their season.
In view of this alarming decrease, many of the States have
appointed Commissioners of Fisheries, and are constructing

144

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

ni

fishways over impassable dams. The New England States,
by concerted legislation, have a joint commission, which
gives us hope of a speedy restoration of shad and salmon to
rivers from which they have been expelled.

In the report of the Commissioners of Fisheries for the
State of Vermont (October 11, 1866), it is said of shad,
that they " select their spawning-grounds in bodies of
water deeper and warmer than those occupied by salmon.
The deep eddies beldw dams and waterfalls are generally
selected by them. The eddy below Bellows Falls was for-
merly a favorite spawning-ground for shad. The one
below Holyoke dam in Massachusetts, is now occupied for
that purpose, and thousands of shad are now annually
caught at that place." This was also the case below Fair-
mount dam long after the Schuylkill was obstructed there,
and hut for the city gas-works, it would still have been a
spawning-ground. Even now, a few shad continue to
spawn there. A few years since, when returning from the
dam where I had been fishing for white perch, two or three
young shad (likely pursued by rockfish) leaped into my
boat. This occurred in the latter part of May, and the fry
were then between three and four inches in length. The
remarks just quoted, as well as my observations, are
corroborated by the experiments in artificial propagation at
Holyoke last summer, and prove that shad instinctively
deposit their spawn where it is kept suspended by the
action of the water, if such a place is accessible.

The short term of incubation (60 or 70 hours), and the
fact of this fish being so prolific, are palpable arguments in

CULTURE OP THE SHAD.

145

favor of its artificial propagation. By such means they can
be immediately introduced into upper waters and tribu-
taries of our rivers, if fishways are provided for their
passage up and down. In eddies where sun-fish, perch,
chub, roach, and other small fish Congregate (being led
thither, no doubt, by an instinctive knowledge of the food
they are to find), the suspended and moving ova of shad
must offer easily attained morsels, and it is not hkely that
any large proportion escape the ravenous devourers, or that
one out of five of the helpless fry live to migrate to sea.
All Philadelphia fishermen know how tempting a bait shad
roe is to any fish, from the splendid rockfish down to the
grovelling catfish. That it would pay to keep the fry for
a short time in ponds of river water, is problematical, but
well worth the experiment.

The Massachusetts Commissioners of Fisheries, in their
last report, comparing the statistics of Mr. T. D. Stoddart,
as given in the ^' Harvest of the Seas," with other autho-
rities, estimate that of the eggs of salmon which are not
devoured, one-third become parrs, that two-thirds of the
parrs become smolts, that one-twentieth of the smolts be-
come grilse, and that one-tenth of the grilse become salmon.
Thus showing that only one out of fifteen hundred eggs
produces a full-grown salmon if deposited naturally, and
the ova, fry, and grilse subjected to the usual chances.
Or, that the produce of twenty thousand ova at the end of
the third year is only seventy grilse, seven full-grown
salmon, fifty thousand new parrs, and two hundred thou-
sand eggs. The twenty thousand eggs thus producing
13 K

146

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

only seventy-seven fish fit for the table in three years. To
show the advantages to bo derived from the artificial pro-
pagation of shad, the report alluded to continues : —

" By the shad, thanks to the admirable experiments of
Green, we may illustrate the results of natural and artifi-
cial propagation side by side. We assume that the male
is fecund at one year, that the female carries spawn at two
years, and lays from 10,000 to 12,000 eggs to each pound
of her weight, and that males and females are in equal
numbers. Considering what is known of the hatching of
the eggs, by the natural process, and assuming that the
young are destroyed in the same proportion as those of the
salmon, the following fractions may be deduced :— •

f

I of all eggs laid, get impregnated and escape being

eaten by other fishes,
^'jj of these hatch.

^jj of those hatched grow to one year.
^ of the yearlings grow to two years.
^ of the two-year-olds grow to three yeois.

" It would hence appear, that of 40,000 eggs of shad
laid in the natural way, only one arrives at the age of
three years. Now suppose two pairs of adult shad should
come to a river each year, for three successive years, and
there breed; what would they and their descendants
amount to at the end of that time ? The following table,
calculated from the data foregoing, will answer this
question.

Il

CULTURE OF THE SHAD.
N^atural Breeding.

147

B'Slnning of First Year.

BegiunlDgofSecoud
Year.

Beginning of Third
Year.

End of Third Tear.

4 Shad.
1760 Young.

) 4 Shad.
I 1760 Young.

36 Yearlings.

f 4 Phad.
\ 17 SO Youiig.

:<5 Yearlings,
f 7 two year-olds.
\ 1760 Young.

4 Shad.
35 Yearlings.

7 two-year-olda.

3 three year-old*.
35 Yearlings.

Total

84

"Even at this rate, and allowing that all shad die at
three years old, the number of three-year-old fish in a
river, derived from a single pair, would double in about
eight years, although, for several years, there would be, of
course, no three-year-olds at all in the river, the original
pair having died. But, since the number of the largest
fish is always small, compared with those of less size, and
as these large ones are most liable to get caught, it may
well be understood that the river fishermen think that both
shad and salmon have * decreased in size,' and that they
are obliged to make their net-meshes smaller. The gain
by artificial propagation of shad, lies at the very outset,
and consists in the increased percentage of spawn that may
thus be hatched ; the ratio of the artificial to the natural
being at the most moderate estimate, as seventy-two to one.
Starting with this difference, and taking the other propor-
tions just as in the above table, we should have the follow-
ing results from the artificially hatched spawn of two pairs
of large shad, taken three years in succession, added to
the spawn of their mature progeny within that period :—

148

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.
Artificial Breeding.

Beginning of Pint Tear.

Beginning of Second
Year.

Beginning of Third
Year.

End of Third Tear.

•126,000 Young.

♦126,000 Young.
2620 Yearlings.

*120,000 Young.

2620 Yearlinsrs.
504 two yciir-olds.
t3,969,000 Young.

2f)20 Yearlings.
604 twoyeiir-olds.
252 three-year-olds.
168,7(JO Yearlings.

Total

162,036.

" Compared with the foiaier table, the results in favor
of artificial propagation are as 162,036 to 84, or, as 2000
to 1, nearly. This is nothing unbelievable. * * But it
is a diflference that ought to call the attention of all
thoughtful persons to this subject. It would be very little
labor or expense to set free 100,000,000 young shad in the
Connecticut, and these might reasonably be supposed to
return us nearly a half million of two-year-old fish. Fif-
teen hundred large females would yield the required
amount of spawn, and this is not more than a half of one
per cent, of the females now yearly taken in the river."

The supposition that shad remain at sea two years is yet
to be proven. I know, from personal observation, that
their growth is rapid, for I have taken scores of them in
August, when fishing in a deep tideway for white perch ;
the size averaging six or seven inches in length, which at
least equals that of the generality of smolts. If the

* From the eggs of two females : — f^ of 140,000.
t From the eggs of the two-year-olds.

CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 149

smolt returns the following summer a grilse of from three
to five pounds, why may not a shad attain a weight of two
and a half or three pounds in the same time ?

In a report of the Fish Commissioners of one of the
New England States it is said that a few male shad nine
or ten inches in length are sometimes taken in the Connec-
ticut river; and it is assumed that these have spent one
winter at sea. On this, which is a i-iere supposition, the
theory has been started that the females and most of the
males remain at sea two years. May not these males have
remained in the river all winter, the milt developing in the
mean time as it does in the male parr of the salmon ? We
kno^^ how much shorter time is occupied in the hatching
of the spawn, and the more rapid growth of the fry of the
shad. In three or four months a young shad will grow to
a size which a smolt only attains in fifteen or it may be in
twenty-seven months. With this wonderful precocity of
egg and fry, I cannot see why its growth at sea should not
be as much as two or three pounds by the next spring or
summer. If a few thousand shad fry could be confined to a
limited space by leading off a side stream from one of our
rivers, and marked, after they had grown to five or six
inches, by cutting off the hinder part of the dorsal fin, and
then turned loose, it is quite likely that some of them might
be taken in the river near the place of their nativity the
following summer, and the problem be solved.

The following, from the proceedings of the Academy of
Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, communicated through the
Smithsonian Institute, shows how the pioneer movement in

13*

150

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

1*'it!

:>4troducing shad into the rivers flowing into the Gulf of
Mexico was made : —

" On the Introduction of the American Shad into ike
Alabama River. By W. C. Daniell, M. D. of Savannah^
Qa. — My success in establishing the white shad in the
Alabama river being now complete, I propose to give you
a detailed statement of the matter.

" Having long doubted the generally-received theory of
the annual migration south from the northern seas, of the
white shad, and of the consequent annual migration thither
of the young fry hatched from the eggs deposited by their
parents in our fresh-water streams, I made inquiry of our
fishermen, and learned that minute but distinctive difler-
ences were readily detected between the white shad taken in
the Savannah river and those taken in the Ogeechee river,
eighteen miles south of the Savannah river. Fully satis-
fied of this fact, I readily concluded that the young shad
that descend to the sea never go so far from the mouth of
the river descended as to lose their connection with it, and
that they ascend in the spring the same river which they
had descended as young fish the previous summer. Then
the feeding-ground, so to speak, of the shad is in or near
the mouth of the river. If the young shad does attain its
growth at the mouth of the Savannah and of the Ogeechee
rivers, may there not be equally good feeding-grounds at
the mouths of the Alabama and other rivers flowing into
tbd Gulf of Mexico ■(' To solve this question, I, with the
aid of my friend, Mark A. Cooper, Esq., whose residence
on the Etowah river, in Barton county, supplied an eligible

CULTURE OP THE SHAD.

151

locality for the experiment, in the early summer of 1848
had placed in a small tributary of the Etowah river the
fecundated eggs of the white shad, which I had myself
carefully prepared at my plantation on the Savannah river,
ten miles above this city, from living parents. These eggs,
so deposited by Major Cooper, were daily visited by hL
until they had all hatched. I sent another supply of
fecundated eggs to Daniel Pratt, Esq., at Prattsville, near
Montgomery, Ala., in 1853 or 1854, as he writes me, which
he deposited in a small creek. Inasmuch as he left home
soon after, and was absent ' some ceks,' he can only report
that during that absence heavy rains raised the waters in
the creek, and washed away the ' pen' in which he had
placed the white-shad eggs supplied by me. Nothing can
therefore be safely affirmed of the success of this second
deposit, nor is it important, as in 1851 or 1852, the white
shad had already been taken in the fish-traps at the foot
of the Falls of the Alabama, at Wetumpka, and of the
Black Warrior, near Tuscaloosa, though unknown to me at
the time of supplying Mr. Pratt with the fecundated eggs.
" Through the kindness of a friend at Montgomery, Ala.,
a shad taken from the Alabama river was sent to Professor
Holbrook, of Charleston, S. C, and he wrote mo that he
'felt certain' that the fish received and examined by him
was identical with the white shad of our Atlantic rivers.
I have a letter from Charles T. Pollard, Esq., of Mont-
gomery, Ala., of 6fb inst., in which, speaking of the white
«had in the Alabama rivor, he says: « They have gradually
increased in quantity since they first appeared, and havo

152

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

year by year increased ia size, until, to use the words of a
native of South Carolina, who lived many years near Sis-
tera Ferry, on the Savannah river, they are now equal to
the best Savannah river shad.'

" The white shad have chiefly been taken in the fish-
traps at the foot of the fall at Wetumpka and near Tusca-
loosa. One, I am informed, has been taken from a trap at
the head of the Coosa river, near Rome, in this stp+e, and
only some sixty miles below the locality in which the eggs
were deposited by Major Cooper, in a tributary of the
Etowah river. I also learn that some few have been taken
with a dip-net near Selma.

" I think that we may safely conclude that the white
shad may be as successfully established in the Mississippi
river as it has been in the Alabama. Since feeding-grounds
for that delicious fish exist at the mouth of one river flow-
ing into thz Uulf of Mexico, may they not exist at the
mouths of other or all the rivers discharging into that
sea ? Time must answer that question.
"Savannah, April 19th, 1866."

It is to be regretted that some memoranda concerning
the incubation were not given in this communication. It
would have been a matter of much interest to compare
observations of this kind with those of Mr. Lyman, of the
Massachusetts Fish Commission, who says, " Green was not
able to hatch more than 2 per cent, of the ova deposited
on the natural river-bed."

The following account of the hutching of shad-ppawn at
Holyoko is from the admirable report of the cnmmissiou

CULTURE OP THE SHAD. 153

just named. All the facts connected with the incubation
are so interesting, and at the same time so new, that I
quote Mr. Lyman's observations almost entire : —

" Artificial Breeding of >S'/iac?.— Early in last summer,
Seth Green oflFered to come, at his own expense, and try to
hatch the eggs of the shad at Holyoke, provided the New
England Commissioners would furnish the necessary ap-
paratus.

" Green began his experiments the first week in July.
He put up some hatching-troughs, like those used for
trout, in a brook which emptied int(i the river. Having
taken the ripe fish with a sweep-seine, he removed and
impregnated the ova in the way already described for
trout. These, to the number of some millions, he spread
in boxes j but, to his great mortification, every one of them
spoiled. Nothing daunted, he examined the temperature
of the brook, and found, not only that it was 13° below
that of the river (62° to 75°), but that it varied 12° from
night to day. This gave the clue to success. Taking a
rough box, he knocked the bottom and part of the ends
out, and replaced them by a wire gauze. In this box the
eggs were laid, and it was anchored near shore, exposed to
a gentle current that passed freely through the gauze, while
eels or fish were kept off. To his great joy, the minute
embryos were hatched at the end of sixty hours, and swam
about the box, like the larvao of mosquitoes in a cask of
stagnant water. Still, though the condition of success was
found, the contrivance was still imperfect; for the eggs
were drifted by the current into the lower end of the box,

1(1

i;S III

154

AMERICAN FISH CULTUIIE.

Fias. 1, 2, 7.— Orocn's patent hatching box soen from the Bide, end and bottom.
Scale, t-20th. a, side floats 3 4" long ; 2" by 3" square, set with screws, b, bottom
croHS bar, bevellpd, to throw the ciirront upward, c, wire-net bottooi 14 wires to
an inch, rf, trap in hlml end for escape of young fish, covered by wire-net, 8 to
an Inch, and with a covering slide, e, anchoring cord. /, water-line. G, spawn.

and heaped up, whereby many were spoiled for lack of
fresh water and motion. The best that this box would do,
was 90 per cent., while often it would hatch only 70 or 80
per cent.

"The spawn-box he at last hit on is as simple as in-
genious. It is merely a box with a wire-gauze bottom, and
Steadied in the water by two float-bars, screwed to its sides.
These float-bars are attached, not parallel to the top line
of the box, but at an angle to it, which makes the box
float with one end tilted up, and the current striking the
gauze bottom at an angle, is deflected upwards, and makes

CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 155

such a boiling within as keeps the light shad eggs con-
stantly free and buoyed up. The result was a triumph.
Out of 10,000 ova placed in this contrivance, all but seven
hatched. In spite of these delays, and of the imperfect
means at hand for taking the fish, Green succeeded in
hatching and setting free in the river many millions of
these tiny fry.

"As no way is now known of keeping shad in ponds or
pools, they must be watched at their breeding-grounds,
and when the spawn begins to flow fre-ly from them,
operations may commence. The fishing must take place
by night, because (near Hadley Falls, at any rate) no ripe
females are captured by day; those taken are all spent, or
not yet ready to lay. This may be because they are in the
deep holes, spawning, or because they are above, in the
quick water. The seine must not be hauled quite ashore,
but the bight of it must remain in the shallow water, that
the fish may be kept alive. Thence they are taken out,
and the spawn impregnated in a tub, or a large pan of
water. Many scales will fall in the water, and must be
carefully picked out, before the ova are distributed in the
floating boxes, wherein they may lie about one-fourth of an
inch deep. The boxes must be lashed end to end, in lines
of convenient length, and it is well to surround them with
a log boom, to keep oflF rubbish brought down by the
stream. They should be placed conveniently near the
shore, in a gentle current, but not so near as to risk being
left dry by a fall of the river. Thej viU now appear as
if they had nothing in them, for the eggs are almost as

166 AMERICAN FISH CULTURB.

transparent as the water itself; but if they turn milky,

and look like half-boiled sago, they are spoiled.

<'The contents are not, however, to be thrown away,
without taking up some in the hand, when it will likely
appear that but a small part are addled, while the rest re-
main transparent. With further progress the embryo may,
with a weak glass, be easily seen moving in the egg, which
then is not so clear, and at the end of sixty hours (with
sunshine and water at 75°), the box will be found alive
with tiny fry, almost transparent, except the eyes, swim-
ming freely, with their heads up stream. In confinement
they cannot be kept, because the yolk-sac does not suffice
for their support for more than one or two days. But care
must be taken to liberate them in a mfe place. Green
observed that, on setting them free among the shallows
near shore, the dace {Argyreus) and other little fishes
rushed to the spot, and commenced jumping at them. In
the stomach of a dace, he found fourteen shad fry. Then,
by a series of most ingenious experiments, he discovered
that the fry, so far from frequenting the shallows, like
many minnows, made directly for the main current, in mid-
river. How different this from the young trouts that lie
aJmost helpless for forty-five days, and then are fain to hide
behind stones and roots ! Whereas, these minute, trans-
parent, gelatinous things push boldly for the deep, swift
current, where they are too insignificant to be attacked by
the great fishes. Will the physicists tell us what ' corre-
lation and conservation of force' produces thh;, or will the
Darwinians set forth how, some millions of }ear8 gone, a
narfinnlar shiid ^rv, finding by accident th-.t he did not get

CULTURE OP THE SHAD.

167

eaten in deep water, transmitted a deep-water instinct to

his children, who thereby flourished, while the shoal-water

fry got in due time exterminated ?

" So the fry must be let go in the proper way by towing

the boxes into mid stream, or by liberating them during
the night, when their enemies do not feed. In either case,
the trap-slide must be raised, when they will be carried
gradually through the coarse netting by the current.
This operation must be performed as soon as all the ova are
hatched out. There ends the nursery care; for we kaow
no method of keeping the young till they have gained size
and strength. What we may hope to avoid is, the enor-
mous loss which the eggs themselves suff-er, when deposited
by the natural method.*

" The ovaries of a full-grown shad weigh at the spawn-
ing season about thirteen ounces, without the membranes.
With a common lens, three sizes of ova are at once distin-
guished. The first have a diameter of ^-g^ to ^-g^ of an
inch. These are transparent and ready to be laid; the
second, y^5 to ^^^ of an inch; the third, ^§„ of an inch.
These two smaller sizes are opaque; they are still found
after the fish' hns spawned, and are the crops ready to
mature the next year and the year after. This state of the

* With the utmost care to secure every favorable surrounding,
Green was never able to hatch more than two per cent, on the
natural river-bed. Only those eggs hatched that chanced to catch
in an angle of the gravel, where they had the current all about
them. This does not take into the account those that are not im-
pregnated, or are devoured, or covered by mud, &c., &c.
1^ - •

158

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

ovary has its parallel in the turtle, and possibly in all of
the vertebrata.

"It is scarcely necessary to add that the microscope
shows other and smaller ovarian eggs. An ovary of the
size above mentioned contains about 70,000 ova, ready to
be laid. Their diameter increases, as soon as they are put
in water and impregnated, from yg^ to -^^ of an inch.
This is by the endosmosis of water between the yolk and
the shell membrane.* Of the embryonic development, we
have, as yet, only an imperfect outline to present. Forty-
one hours after impregnation, the condition of the embryo
is, on the whole, in advance of that of coregonus on the
thirty-third day. , The under surface, from the nose to the
beginning of the ventral, is in close contact with the yolk,
which is composed of a great number of rounded divisions,
such as are seen in the complete segmentation of that
body, while its surface is flecked with pigment stars, of
which a less number may be distinguished on the forward
part of the trunk. That part of the embryo which swings
free makes a spiral half turn, so that the dorsal fin is
turned toward, instead of from, the yolk-sac. The head,
which is pointed in front, and flattened, bears no res'>m-
blace to that of the grown animal, and it would be, perhaps,
fanciful to compare it eve lo such forms as Petromyzon
(Lamprey eel.) A large portion of it is occupied by the

* The same takes place in a less degree in the egg of Coregonus
(white fish.) (Carl Vogt, loc. cit. p. 27, PI. I. fig. 9.) Accus-
tomed only to eggs of trout, Green was much astonished to behold
the mass of ova swell to near twice its first bulk.

CULTURE OF THE SHAD.

159

eye, which fills proportionately at least four times more
space than in the adult. The choroid coat, not yet closed
below, partly encircles the crystalline lens, above which
may be distinguished a clear space, which is a portion of
the vitreous humor. The form of the brain may already
be distinguished, especially when fore-shortened from the
front. It is probable that the pectoral fin already exists,
but, from the extreme transparency of the tissues, its out-
lihe could not be caught. From the well-marked nuchal
bow, the flattened body tapers gradually to a fine point, and
is bordered, above and below, by an embryonic dorsal and
ventral which spread into a spatula-like caudal fin, and it
should be observed, that neither in this stage nor in the
newly-hatched, does there exist any unevenness of the
margins of these fins, that should indicate their approach-
ing separation ; whereas, the newly-hatched salmon already
shows very distinct dorsal, adipose, caudal, anal, and ven-
tral fins ; and the little Coregonus, though less advanced in
this respect, shows plainly the boundaries of these organs.
Near the base of the caudal is now to be seen the end of
the alimentary canal, passing at an angle across the breadth
of the fin. The heart may be observed beating, and the
embryo itself moves itself round and round within its
prison, by a series of convulsive jerks. This motion is
called by the breeders, ' life in the egg.'*

* In this stage Green succeeded in keeping eggs aHve in damp
moss for six days, in a low temperature. But they are very hard
to transport long distances, and cannot be hatched in cold water.

160

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

Ili!!l

" The specific gravity of the eggs at all stages is very
small — barely enr.»!gh {,o sink them in still water — a great
contrast to ^ ^ . P < lie trout, which i^o down almost like
shot.

" The newly-hatched young is //^ of an inch long. It
swims actively by a continuous and rapid vibration of the
body, and keeps its head to the canent, perhaps to get the
food that is carried past.* The yolk-sac, whose longer
diameter, already in the egg, was parallel with the body,
now appears still more ovoid in form. The pectoral fin is
easily seen, and the finger-like canals in it indicate that its
rays are forming. The embryonic, dorsal, caudal, and ven-
tral fins are continuous one with another, and extend round
the whole body, back of the yolk-sac. In the caudal a
few faint, radiating fibres indicate the formation of rays.
The choroid has completed its circle, and the eye has
nearly the outward look of that in the adult. Along the
course of the alimentary canal, quite to the anal opening,
and over the yolk-sac, the pigment stars are more numerous
and defined, A littia indentation indicates the mouth,
which lies under the eye, and opens as a curved slit. The
general mass of the brain is easi'v made out. Along the
centre of the body, a more translucent stripe indicates the
dorsal cord, above which the range of muscular bundles
begins to be distinct.

*' The current carries the fry gradually seaward. Hence it is,
that since the erection of the Holyoke dam, young shad are no
more seen there ; because, by the time they are large enough to be
noticed, they have all drifted lower down the river.

CULTURE OP THE SHAD. igj

" Within eighty-two hours after hatching, great develop,
ment has taken place. The tail, though not forked, haB
taken on its triangular form, and is n.ade up of fine, radiat-
ing fibres. The embryonic dorsal and ventral are reduced
in breadth, whereby the anal opening is brought close to
the body, the base muscles of the true dorsal may also
be seen as it begins to form. Along the body the trans-
verse muscles show themselves distinctly both above and
below the lateral line. The pectoral fins have now their
fibres complete, and resemble two little flat brushes. The
mouth is pushing forward towards its normal place. It
seems to have, in the under lip, a notch, perhaps the
point of future union of the mamillaries. The yolk-sac no
longor plays an important part, and is reduced to very small
dimensions. But the most striking change is the develop,
ment of gills, four on a side, and each in its gill-pouch.
Ihe gills themselves can be distinguished, like little bows
along which run their veins and arteries. These, together
with the size and position of the eyes, give the under sur-
face of the head rather the look of that of a skate embryo
than of a shad.

- Such is a hasty sketch of three periods of embryonic
life m this Alosa. Of the young, at three months, outlines
have already been given.* It should be added, that their
jaws ure, at this age, rrmed with fine, sharp, slightly
curved teeth, nearly continuous along the upper maxillary
and intermaxillary pieces, with a few at the point of the

* See plate at the commencement of this chapter.

\

162

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

lower maxillaries. None, apparently, on the vomer. These
are necessary for the capture of the water beetles that then
constitute a part of their food. The jaws of the adult are,
as is well known, smooth.

" Of the further growth of the shad, we cannot as yet
speak with certainty, although there are pretty good
grounds for an opinion. Mr. Frederic Kussell, late Com-
missioner from Connecticut, first called attention to some
small Alosse, about nine inches long, called by the fisher-
men, ' chicken shad,* or ' Connecticut river alewives.' He
was led to consider them partly grown fishes, from the fact
that they all were males. Of many hundreds examined,
only one female could be found, and there the ova were not
developed. The fish taken for artificial breeding at Holy-
oke were then compared, and it was found that they were
of three, if not of four distinct sets or sizes. The smallest
were the ' chicken shad,' and were all males; the next were
but half the size of the largest, and were males and
females j so also were the largest of all. Hence we may at
least guess, that the young of the autumn go down, as min-
nows of four inches, to the sea. The next spring the males
are fecund (so too in the salmon parr), and seek the fresh
water, urged by the sexual instinct, and are the chicken
shad or yearlings. Not so the females, which, not yet
sexually developed, remain in the salt water, or in the
estuaries. When two years old both sexes are fecund and
seek the river together. These are the half-grown or two-
year-olds. The third season they are large fish, and may
be termed three-year-olds. But these three-year-olds have,

n

CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 1^3

in the ovary, at least two crops of ef,gs ready, though
undeveloped, for the next two seasons. N'ature does not
prepare her seed only to die ! Old fish become barren.
These two crops of eggs are to be laid, and for that the fish
must live at least two years more. The impression that
prevails among fishermen, both here and in Europe, that
shad die after spawning, the first year, comes only from the
familiar fact that fishes are in meagre condition after spawn-
ing, and that some of the weaker probably do die, and are
seen floating. There was a similar idea about lamprey eels,
which was to the efiTect that they made fast by their sucker
and then slowly decayed."*

* Concerning the indisposition of some persons to believe in the
utility of fishways, Mr. Lyman, one of the Massachusetts Fish Com-
missioners, gives the following :

" When the fishway at Lowell was building, some of the factory
superintendents (very intelligent men about factories), said, that
the fish must have a schoolmaster to teach them to go up those steps !
The next year shad and salmon did go up, and without any school-
master. The nearer we get to the truth, the more it stands out,
that artificial propagation and free passage over dams, are the two
great conditions of restocking rivers."

The same writer takes the subjoined "fling" at certain slow,
cautious peopla : —

" This feeling gets strength from the loose impression that game,
like the Indian, is doomed, and that the last shad or trout is soon
to be caught,— a sort of Dr. Fear-the -worst theory,—

' Tho former did maintain
The man would take all medicine in vain.'

" This kind of sentiment is shown by the uncomprehensive way

164

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

The subjoined reports for the years 1866 and 1867, made
by Col. James Worrall, the Commissioner appointed by the
Governor of Pennsylvania, under the Act of March 30th
1866, contain information of much interest to the citizens
of the state. His description of the fishway at the Colum-
bia dam, will show the reader how such means of passage
for the shad are con:jructed, and how the fish find their
way up. He also explains the reason of the delay in build-
ing fishways at other dams on the Susquehanna, as pro-
vided for under the above Act. For these reasons I have
deemed it advisable to give both of his reports in full :—

r.

*« Hakbisburo, Pa., December 3d 1866.
" Dear Sir :— In fulfilling the duties devolved upon me
under the act of 80th March 1866, ' relating to the pass-
age of fish along the Susquehanna and certain of its tribu-
taries,' I have the honor to report as follows :

in which legislative committees often receive applications from peo-
pie who petition for tlie control of particular streams, or creeks, or
ponds, for the purpose of raising fish or oysters in a systematic and
economical way. At once the members begin to ask whether this
control would not abrogate some grant of the Pequot Indians to
Fear-the-Lord Crowell, in the year 1639; or some ancient right
of the inhabitants of Harwich Centre to dig one peck of quahogs
per man on that particular ground,.

" These same committee-men would not treat a petition for a
railroad or a cotton-mill in this way, and simply because they
believe iu the success of a railroad or of a mill, bat they do not
believe in and do not know about the success of fish or oysters."

CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 155

« Immediately after my appointment, by your Excel-
lenoy, I coi^sulted all the authorities on the subject within
my reach, and finally devised a plan which was in the form
of steps commencing at the comb of the dam, and falling
or stepping down, one after another, at the rate of six
inches per step; eroh of the.o steps being also a trough
ten feet wide, to contain a constant supply of water two
feet deep for the fish to rest in during their ascent.

" The width of the flight of steps was to be from two
hundred feet on the main stem of the Susquehanna to a
proportional width for its smaller tributaries, and the whole
was to be constructed of good substantial crib work, such
Bs is employed and approved in the construction of dams
in Pennsylvania.

" I had this plan carefully draughted and specified, and
before the ist of June I sent it in, plan ard specification,
to the following corporations owning dams on the streams
mentioned, namely: The Susquehanna Canal Company;
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company; The West Branch
Canal Company; The Wyoming Valley Canal Comj^any,
and The North Branch Canal Company. As these corpo-
rations owned all the lower dams on the river, and which,
if not altered for the passage of fish, there would be no
use in altering dams located above them, and as I knew
that they all, except the Susquehanna Canal Company,
held their property by purchase from the state, without
encumbrance, as alleged, and deemed themselves, there-
fore, exempt from the operation of the law, I did not
notify individuals or corporations owning dams above them ;

if ifHl

166

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

for even should such accept notice, comply with the law
and alter their dams, fish would be debarred from reaching
them by the neglected dams below, and there would be
expense and trouble for nothing.

" In pursuing this course I have not obeyed the letter
of the law, but I trust to be forgiven when the circum-
stances are considered,

" My surmises in respect to these companies proved to
be correct. None, except the Pennsylvania Railroad Com-
pany, regularly acknowledged even to have received my
notification, nor have I heard from any of them since.

" The Susquehanna Canal Company, owning the dam at
Columbia, however, have complied with the law in every
respect, as far as I was able to direct them how to do so.

" On or about the 1st of June I met Mr. B. Andrews
Knight, their president, at Columbia, and conferred with
him on the subject, and he expressed his willingness to
carry out the plan, but suggested some modifications,
which I did not like to accept, until I could sustain my-
self by other authorities on the subject, and our meeting
was adjourned until in July, that I might be enabled in
the mean time to do so.

" I proceeded immediately to the New England States j
conferred with the chairman of the Fish Committee of the
Legislature of Connecticut, the Hon. Mr. Avery, and pre-
senting credentials from your Excellency to the Governor
of Maasachusetts, Governor Bullock, was introduced by the
Hon. Oliver Warner, Secretary of the Commonwealth of

CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 157

Massachusetts, to Theodore Lyman, Esq., who has charge
of the subject in that state.

" In Connecticut I was informed by Mr. Avery that they
did not consider the river (the Connecticut) obstructed by
any works of theirs which existed in it, and that they so
intended to answer the state of New Hampshire, that
state having officially requested to know if any such ob-
structions existed.

" In Massachusetts I found that they had not advanced
in these improvements further than we had, they being
just then engaged in devising plans for the Merrimac, and*
perhaps other of their streams.

"They, however, had given intelligent consideration to
the subject.

"Mr. Lyman is well known as a naturalist, and he had
availed himself of consultations with Prof Agassiz, whose
reputation, I need not say, is, in the same pursuit, world
wide. I could not learn that in the other states of New
England I would be able to add to the information obtain-
able from these high sources in Massachusetts, so I pro-
ceeded no further than Boston.

*' In July I met Mr. Preddent Knight again on the dam
at Columbia, and there, in consultation with himself and
Mr. Daniel Shure, the able superintendent of the Susque-
hanna Canal, a plan was devised, chie% by Mr. Shure,
with some modifications suggested by my New England
experience, which plan has been since carried out, at a
cost of some «5000 to that company, and I have reason to
hope that it will prove to be a ' success,'

168

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

"If my hope should prove well-founded, some small
number of shad will make their way as far up the river
next spring as Duncan's island, a distance of nearly fifty
miles higher up than they have been able to reach for
many years, and this number will increase from year to
year, if not too much thinned out by fishing, until we may
hope for an adequte supply of this spring delicacy, being
brought back to localities so long unjustly deprived of it.

"I say small number, for I have recently received a
letter from Mr. Lyman, of Massachusetts, the gentleman
, before alluded to, to whom I had communicated the progress
of our operations, warning me that I < must not be disap-
pointed if my shad do not go up so fast or so far as I hope.
It is not the tendency usually of fish to make much exertion
to pass beyond the beds where they were '••^«wned,' and he
particularly wishes me to 'causa re ^ -^ -aervations to
be made on this very point, and if the fish do go over the
dam and pass far above it in really large numbers, that I
would tell him of it, as it would be a point of interest in
natural history* — (8«e last number (October or November)
of the proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural
Science, on the planting of shad In the Alabama river),
and he adds, ' if they do wt go freely over, being satisfied
that they could if they dmge, you must transport some
from below into the basin of the dam above, and then let
your legislature forbid fishing above the dam for five
years. That is the term allowed In Maine to restore bar-
ren rivers.'

" I think we need hardly take the trouble to transplant

CULTUKE OF THE SHAD,

169

fish from the lower to the upper leveis, for once or twice
that the Columbia dam has beer* broken, they have made
their way above it, and have been caught in small numbers
at Duncan's island.

" But what Mr. Lyman says is nevertheless true ; that
the fish will make almost irrepressible exertions to return
to the beds where they were spawned, while to pass beyond
there, they will take but little trouble.

" The spawn (fry) of the few, however, that make their
way up, will return by resistless instinct in the following
season, and it may be well to consider his other recom-
mendation, that the fishing above the dam should be some-
what restricted by legislative enactment for a limited
period, until our great Susquehanna shall be cured of
' barrenness.'

" It remains for me to describe t you the device which
has been inserted in the Columbia dam.

" The dam itself is about six feet high, and about a mile
and a third long, and is located on a rough, rocky bed.
The channel below is rapid and much interrupted by large
rocks, worn by the water. The fish channels in these
rapids are tortuous and much spread over the whole bed
of the stream.

" A point was selected within about a quarter of a mile
of the York county shore, where the fish ' most do congre-
gate' from all the lower channels every spring, uad where
many of ' .ei. have been annu ''y ^akenj and at this
placu a seocifn;, forty feet long, was cut clean out of the
15

J70

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

dam, a coffer dam li?ving been first erected above to keep
off the water.

" In this opening, a new subdam was erected, so that ita
comb or highest elevation would about equal the level of
the water below the principal dam when the fish are run-
ning (a little ovc r three feet ^ay). The lower slope of this
subdam was placed at an inclination of one in fifteen, and
the sides of the aperture in the main dam were dentated
or framed in a series of offsets, so as to promote the forma-
tion of eddies in the current passing over the subdam.

" When the fish are running then, in the spring, the
water in the r.perture will be under the influence of gra-
vity in oppos t<! dire>?tion3. The lower water will try to
attain its level, the top of the subdam and the upper water
rushing through the aperture will meet and certainly drive
it back, but with a force considerably impeded by the
cushion, so to speak, of lower water.

" The fish will be nosing along the foot of the main dam,
as is their wont, and finding its passage open, agitated
though it be by these contending currents, they will
endeavor to pass up, and let us hope they will succeed.
But should tliey fail in the first few trials, there are the
recesses at the sides where the eddies are sure to be formed,
and where they mav gather strength for a renewal of the
trial. I am informed, by persons in the neighborhood of
Columbia, who have seen this aperture of ours with the
water running through it, that there are many passages in
the Oonewago rapids below which are much more difficult
of ascent than this isj and which, of course, the fish must

CULTURE OF THE SHAD.

171

easily pass, or they would not be caught, as they now are,
at the base of the Columbia dam, their next obstacL\

"Such is the result of our labors at the Columbia dam,
and we have but to wait now until spring to see what
action the fish, our long absent friends, will take upon the
subject.

" If our inducements are not suflScient, we may, in the
future, be able to improve upon them, and Mr. President
Knight has expressed his willingness to render all reason-
able aid in making such improvements as, after experiment,
may seem to be required.

'* The next two dams in streams, contemplated by the
act, are first: the Middletown Feeder dam, crossing the
Swatara a short distance from its mouth, and the Duncan's
Island dam, crossing the Susquehanna at or near Clark's
Ferry. These both belong to the Pennsylvania Kailroad
Company, whom I notified, according to law, and who
acknowledged the receipt of the notification. On Novem-
ber the 1st, nothing had been done to either of these dams,
and immediately after that lay I had placed in the hands
of the district attorney of Bamphin county, J. W. Simon-
ton, Esq., a written account of my proceedings. If the
case be carried to the courts, and a decision smmld be had
against the constitutionality of the act, there will be no
use in prosecuting the companies higher up tie «to-eam
If the act should hold, and the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company be compelled to alter ite dams, the point will be
settled for the upper companies, and there will be no more
trouble. So I did not initiate legal proceedings in respect

172

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

I

to those companies, deeming it better to await the decision
of the courts, in reference to the case of the next dams
above Columbia."

II.
"Harrisburo, December 18th 1867.

" Sir : — Having been re-appointed by your Excellency
to the position of Commissioner, under the Act of March
30th 1866, relating to the passage of fish in the Susque-
hanna and its tributaries, I have the honor to submit the
following report : —

" The passage for fish constructed in the Columbia dam,
and described in my last report, I have every reason to
believe is a success.

"It is notorious that shad have been caught of the very
finest quality and in respectable numbers as high above the
Columbia dam as Newport, on the Juniata.

" The numbers actually taken, during the past season,
between Columbia and the Juniata, are variously estimated
at from ten to fifteen or eighteen thousand, by men in whom
full reliance can be placed.

" In my last year's report to Grovernor Curtin, I stated
that the various companies owning the lower dams on the
Susquehanna and its tributaries were duly notified, accord-
ing to law, of what was required of them, under the act,
and that no company had responded except the Susque-
hanna Canal Company, who had complied with the act to
my satisfaction, by the construction of the designated weir.

" I laid information, strictly in accordance with the act,
against the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, who, at that

CULTURE OP THE SHAD. I73

time, owned the next structures which barred the access
of the shad to the upper river.

"This information was duly reported to the District
Attorney of Dauphin county, but was not acted upon last
year, and thus one season has been lost in the progress of
our * reconstruction.'

" This year, however, true bills have been found, both
against the Pennsylvania llailroad Company, the company
owning the dams last year, and the Pennsylvania Canal
Company, the party owning them at this time; and there
is every reason to believe that the question of the consti-
tutionality of the law will very soon be settled in the
courts.

"Should this question ,)e put at rest so that this cor-
poration shall be compell.J under the law to erect the
weirs, I have not any doubt but what shad will make their
appearance once more above Duncan's Island, in the Sus-
quehanna ; and if this first company constructs, the others
who were duly notified, as stated in my last year's report,
namely, the North and West Branch Canal Companies and
the Wyoming Valley Canal Company, must also comply or
otherwise stand a lawsuit, which it is not supposed that
they will do with the record against them.

" The whole matter then depends upon the result of this
suit. If the law now in existence be inadequate to produce
the desired result, it will be for the legislature to consider
the matter further.

"The people on the Susquehanna, between Columbia
and Duncan's Island, and up the Juniata, as far as New-
16*

174

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

port, have had a taste of fish ; and those living above those
points being informed that with an expenditure of a few
thousand dollars at each dam, this delicious luxury can be
brought again to their doors, it will not be at all surprising
if they should feel exceedingly anxious that a law should
be passed benefitting them in the same way.

" Large numbers of the spawned fry of the shad have
been observed at various points making their way down
the river during the fall, and the bodies of the old fish —
those that had fulfilled their mission in spawning — were
also seen at various points, in large numbers, late in the
season, floating down with the current.

" I should not be surprised, therefore, if the catch in
the coming season would double or treble the number
taken during the season last past, for it is a well-known
instinct of this branch of the finny tribe that they return
unerringly to the localities in which they were spawned,
unless prevented by some insurmountable obstacle inter-
posed during their absence.

" The erection of fish dams (weirs) in the river, how-
ever, will tend very materially to diminish this desirable
result, and public opinion in Dauphin, Cumberland, and
Perry counties is so strong against these devices, that I
believe but a single one was erected along the borders of
those counties this year, and that one was promptly sup-
pressed by law.

*' Having heard, however, that some of those nuisances
were about to be, or had been erected, along the river
nearer to Columbia, I caused the citizens to be requested
to lodge information against them.

CULTURE OF THE SHAD. j^g

"No such information has been lodged, and I have not
been able to ascertain to what extent the downward
passage of the spawn has been interrupted in the localities
spoken of. The main dams in the river are scarcely a
greater obstruction to the passage of shad than these fish-
trap«-they catch the spawn (fry) in their meshes, and
there the little creatures die by the thousand.

" It is in the hands of the people to remedy this cryin^^
evil. The laws against the erection of such structures are
8ufficie;itly stringent to put a stop to them altogether; but
unless those interested will lodge information, the system
will continue, and although the most efficient weirs (fish-
ways) shall be made in the large dams for the passage of
fish up the stream, unless the way for the spawn (fry) to
get down be left open, no increase in the catch from year
to year can be expected.

"There i. „„ state, county, or township officer whose
bnsmess .t ,s specially to watch this infraction of the law
and I would suggest that it be made the duty of s„u,e'
such officl .n the counties bordering „po„ the river to
have an eye upon it-notifying all persons against puttin.
up such structures, and that if they should still pe^ist in
do,ng so they will ho proceeded against in the n,„st sum-
mary manner.

"A little active interest taken by the public in this
-gard ,s all that is necessary, and it cannot be many years
un ,1 the shad shall be fully reinstated in the S..,JJZ:
and Its tributaries for hundreds of miles."

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176

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

THE ALEWIFE.

This species (tyranus), of tLe same genus as the fine fish
just treated of, is the gaspereau of the Canadians, the ale-
wife of the New England states, and the herring of the
Middle and Southern States. The means to be used for
its restoration to the streams from which it has been driven
are so identical with those now being resorted to for the
purpose of bringing back shad and salmon, that I have not
thought it necessary to make more than this brief allusion
to it.

One habit of this species, here and further south, is
somewhat different from the habit which prevails with it at
the north. I allude to its entering very small streams to
spawn. In the Delaware it does not ascend the upper
waters as far as the shad, not being abundant above the
terminus of the tide. The same may be said of it to the
southward. Here, as in the Eastern states, there are
several runs differing in she, the earlier being larger fish.
South they have been, and continue to be, so abundant
that no thought of their becoming scarce has ever been
entertained. As an evidence of their abundance, I quote
as follows from the " Amorican Anglers' Book :" —

" In Maryland and Virginia they have even been used
as manure, as the small species known as 'manhaden' and
' mossbunkers' have been farther north. In Virginia and
North Carolina, the custom of visiting the ' fishing-shores'
annually for a supply of herrings to salt down, still exists
aa an ' institution/ and the inhabitants for many miles buck

CULTURE OF THE SHAD.

177

from the rivers that furnish these fish, come every spring
and take away immense numbers of them.

" One of the greatest hauls with a seine that I ever
heard of, was made by a fisherman on the Potomac near
Dumfries, Va. With one sweep of his long net he en-
compassed a school which supplied all applicants. He sold
them as long as they would bring a price, and then, after
furnishing tiiem to the people of the immediate neighbor-
hood without charge, lifted his net and allowed the remain-
der of the imprisoned fish to escape.

" The herring will occasionally take a bait, and on a sun-
shiny day in May, when the wind is from the south, will
jump at a piece of red flannel tied to a hook. An old
Scotch merchant of x\ew York-a superannuated t^out-
fisher— some years back was in the habit of fishing for
fchem with a fly, from the decks of vessels in the East
River."

M

178

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

CHAPTER VII.

NATURALIZATION OF FISHES.

General remarks. Salmonid^. — The Brook Trout. — Instances
Bf its naturalization. The Lake Trout.— Mr. Robinson's letter on
its propagation. The Schoodic and Sebago ASa/mon.— Extract con-
cerning its habits and propagation, from Maine Fish Commissioners'
Report. The Sea Trout of Canada. — Advantages of naturalizing it.
The Grayling.— New species found in Michigan. The White Fish.
—Its excellence, habits, and m<-nner of propagating. 77*6 Otsego

Bass. — Not a bass. The Smelt. — General remarks. Percibje.

The Rock Fish.— The Crappie.—The Black Bass of the Lakes.— Itn
adaptability to naturalization. The Black Bass of the West ana
Soiith.— Its introduction into the Potomac— Mr. Wright's score
of fish taken with the rod.- Their naturalization in mill-ponds.
SihVRiDJE.— Small Species.— Thair excellence as food.- Manner
of cooking them. — Their proposed introduction into England.
Cyprinid^.— General remarks on. Esocid.*:.- Injurious results
from introducing them.

I USE the term naturalization as the most appropriate in
reference to fishes which are to be introduced into a new
habitat.

Not only in France and England is this branch of fish
culture claiming the consideration of thinking and enter-
prising persons, but in this country its great advantages
are beginning to be appreciated. Th? French govern-
ment and people have become aware of the value which
lies in hitherto waste and uncultivated waters, and, as I

vv.

NATURALIZATION OF FISHES. 179

hav3 remarked on a preceding page, have made consider-
able progress in turning them to profit.

The fact that certain fishes are not found in certain
waters is no indication that such waters are not suitable to
them. I know of several instances on fine brisk streams
where trout were unknown above high falls, until a few
were passed over, and thus introduced above. Here they
are prolific, and grow as large as their progenitors in the
waters below. Lakelets and new streams have also been
successfully stocked with these fish. I also know of natural
and artificial ponds, as well as mill-ponds and rivers, where
the two species of black bass have been introduced, and
where they have multiplied and grow to the size they do in
the waters they were taken from.

Waters have no doubt been accidentally, or it may be
said, providentially, stocked with percoids, cyprinoids, and
pike, by the ova of these fish (which are surrounded by a
glutinous substance) adhering to the legs of wading birds,
which have transported them in their flight from one river
or lake to another. Some even suppose that the eggs of
fish have been swallowed by birds in one stream, and pass-
ing undigested through them, have be . deposited in other
water. The latter theory is scarcely tenable ; with the ova of
trout or salmon either would be impossible. Referring to
the stocking and replenishing of certain waters of the Mis-
sissippi Valley with percoids, I hope I shall be excused for
again quoting from the '< American Anglers' Book :"—

"I have alluded en another page, to the replenishing
of the lakelets, found so abundantly scattered along the

180

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

margin of the Mississippi, through its alluvial bottom lands,
by the occasional overflow of that river. This phenomenon
is strongly presented to the notice of observing anglers in
the neighborhood of St. Louis, and one is apt to wonder
where the great numbers and varieties of the perch family
come from, to stock those sluggish waters. In thinking
over the matter, I have fallen back on my favorite theory,
the instinctive migration of surplus production^ as appli-
cable to fresh-water fishes, as well as to salt water or pela-
gian genera.

" If the reader will take the trouble to look at a good
map, he will see that the states north and west of the con-
fluence of the Mississippi and Ohio, are threaded for thou-
sands of miles by rivers of gentle flow, and dotted with innu-
merable lakelets, which, to a great extent, are the feeders
and sources of the Mississippi. These are the breeding-places
of bass, crappie, and other percoids ; most of them spawn
early in the spring, soon after the ice has left the lakelets ;
and as most fresh-water species instinctively run down
stream after spawning, it is easily conjectured how large
schools of these fish are hurried along by freshets, and
deposited in the ponds that are fed by the overflow of the
great river.

" After a rise in the Mississippi, the lakes and ponds
that skirt its course, above the mouth of the Ohio, and
down through the regions of cotton and sugar, are filled
with fish of this family.

"In the ponds which have been replenished in this way
In the neighborhood of St. Louis, their numbers decrease

NATURALIZATION OF FISHES. 181

very little the first summer; the second season they spawn
and breed, as in their native waters, but if the ponds are
not refreshed by an overflow of the river every two or
three years, the waters lose the chemical condition neces-
sary to the reproduction of fish, from a continued infusion
of decided vegetable matter, and the lakes become barren,
until another overflow of the mighty river comes rushing
through, clearing them of foul, and filling them with fresh
water; and restocking them at the same time with fish, and
most numerously with percoids.

"Below its junction with the Ohio, the Mississippi has
made, in the course of time, many a " cut off," forcing its
way in times of flood, across the neck of a peninsula or a
bend, in seeking a more direct course, and leaving con-
siderable bodies of water, of a horse-shoe shape, as the old
channel closes. These are fed by the annual or occasional
overflow of the river, and their waters refreshed and re-
stocked with fish, as just described. Bruin Lake, opposite
Grand Gulf, Mississippi, is a water of this kind, and is said
to contain bass (or as they are there .called trout) of im-
mense size. I have been told by an angler, that he has
taken there, in a day's fishing, thirty of these fish, whose
aggregate length was sixty feet."

In naturalization, care is required that predatory fishes
are not introduced into waters with more valuable species;
black bass, for instance, should not inhabit waters where
the young of salmon and shad are reared. We occasion- '
ally find through the country, pig-headed individuals who
have introduced pike into ponds which were well stocked
16

182

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

with trout, because the former were larger fish. The con-
sequence of course is, that the valuable and more beauti-
ful trout are exterminated by these fresh-water sharks in a
few years.

The quality of the water should also be considered, cold
or warm, clear or muddy, swift or sluggish ; and such fish
introduced as are natural to the stream or pond.

As it is inferred that naturalized fish will propagate
naturally, it is necessa'-y that suitable spawning-beds
should be accessible to them in their new home. A cool,
well-shaded lakelet, which it is intended to stock with trout,
should have spring brooks or rapid streams entering ; these
should be provided with an abundance of gravel in gentle
and shallow currents. For fish of the carp and perch
families, aquatic weeds and grass or brush should be fur-
nished, on which these fishes deposit their spawn ; which is
agglutinated together, and adhere to aquatic plants or
stones by means of the viscid matter which surrounds
the eggs. Bundles of faggots tied irregularly may even be
placed in parts of ji pond where they are likely to spawn
for their accommodation. The impregnated ova could be
collected, if desired, as it is in China, and transported
adhering to the twigs, in water, or stripped off, if done
gently, and sent away in small vessels.

The naturalization of species belonging to the perch
family is, or should be, a matter of importance to the peo-
ple of the Western States. Many an insignificant stream
which now affords a home only for small worthless species
might be dammed and stocked with bass obtained from

N^TURALiaATION OF FISHES. 133

larger waters. A supply of fish food which is now pre-
carious and only obtained by a long trip to rivers and
lakes, might be thus made oertain and brought to one's
own premises or immediate neighborhood.

Concerning the hybridizing of fish, I would here re-
mark that many erroneous notions prevail, and some very
impracticable suggestions have been made by those who
should know better, about cr&rting different genera or
species. When fish culture was in its incipiency, some of
the learned men of France, amongst whom (if I remember
correctly), certain renowned biologists were included, sug-
gested crossing the pike with the salmon. I have no
knowledge of any results from experiments of this kind
which are reported to have been made at Huningue, but I
doubt whether the ova of one genus (to say nothing of that
of a different family), can be impregnated with the milt
of another. If species of the same genus were even
crossed, it is reasonable to suppose that the progeny would
not be endowed with reproductive powers. They would,
doubtless, be mules. There is a limit to the violation or
interference with certain laws of nature, and hybrids when
produced, are inferior animals. We see it in the produce
of the horse and ass, where the reproductive power is lost;
and in the mulatto, where the physical condition of the
Caucasian or the negro, in most cases, deteriorates. Ex-
periments in hybridizing, therefore, may develope certain
truths that might be interesting to biologists ; but that
new species or mules of larger growth or greater excellence
can be thus produced, it is unreasonable to hope for.

T

■

184 AMERICAN FISH CULTURi;,

It is my purpose to treat separately, and under its appro-
priate head, of the species of each family which I have
thought may be advantageously naturalized.

SALMONID^.

Having already treated at length of the cultivation of the
true salmon (^S. salar), I will proceed with other species
of the same genus.

The Brook Trout {S. fontinalts).— This, as well as
its nobler cogener, has already occupied so much space
that further notice of it might be deemed superfluous.
Still its cultivation is a matter of so much importance that
I shall ofiFer some remarks on its naturalization.

No sooner is a line of travel opened to within a reason-
able distance of any part of the country where trout are
abundant, than the backwoodsman, in league with the city
fish dealer, commences a war of extermination. Urged on
by the high price they bring in market, all manner of
means, fair and foul, are used to take them, and they are
sent to the cities in season and out of season. Sometimes
trout of unusual size are oflFered for sale even in the streets
of New York just after they have spawned, and incon-
siderate people buy them, wlien they are no more to com-
pare to the same fish in June than a handful of dried
apples are to a Newton pippin. We also see them gar-
nished and displayed in the windows of restaurants in
October and November, and those who are ignorant of the
flavor of a trout in good condition, eat them because trouti
are considered a delicacy. I forget how many tons of

NATURALIZATION OF FISHES. 185

trout are estimated to have been sent from the Umbagog
region to Boston last fall. Another cause for the decline
of trout streams is the relentless manner in which these
fish are pursued with hook and line. Fish of all sizes,
from the length of one's finger upwards, are strung or
basketed by country bait-fisher or city angler with his flies.
The poor ambition possessing each, that he may boast of the
numbers of trout he has exterminated, without regard to
size; for with such the fingerling counts one, as does the
fish that runs one's line off the reel. With this state of
semi-barbarism existing— and it appears almost impossible
to ameliorate it— it is evident that naturalization and arti-
ficial propagation must be resorted to in more thickly set-
tied parts of the country, if we wish to prevent these
beautiful fish from becoming almost as rare in our streams
as salmon now are.

I have alluded in the introduction to this article, to the
stocking of the upper parts of streams with this fish, and
could cite instances in which they have been quietly intro-
duced into others, where, after a few years, those who
transplanted them were rewarded with good fishing, until
the knowledge of such fact caused the brook to be' over-
fished.

The Cuttyhunk Club, an association of anglers who
have established themselves on the island bearing that
name, are about introducing brook trout into a fine fresh
water pond on their grounds. In a letter, bearing date
April 25th, a member of the club says : " We have not -
got along far enough at Cuttyhunk to give any decided
16*

186

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

result. We have had 21,000 spawn from Seth Green, of
which we thlak we have hatched and have in good lively
condition all except about 2000. These fish we have in
boxes, fed by a cool spring, and arranged under Gicen's per-
sonal inspection, and attendee! by Capt. Simons, an enthu-
siastic and very careful person. We have plerty of water
to kee^i the.^e little fellows confined until this fall, when we
shall curn them into a pond of ten acres and about twenty
feet deep, cool, fed by springs, No cutlet except what
leeches through the sand into the sea. In very heavy
weather the sea sometimes dashes a little salt water into
this pond, which lias about four feet above high tide, and
this we thin'c a good feature. We have now about 300 fish
of a quarter of a pound each in this pond with lots of feed."

Having occupied so umch space with the cultivation of
the trout. I shall conclude by giving the following from the
Maine Fish Commissioners' report ooroerning its naturali-
zation ; —

" Mjij. S Pill, of Phillips, writes to the Maine Farmer :
'■ In the fail of 1850 I put into the Sandy river ponds ten
or twelve trout ; for soveu or eight years no indications of
them were to be seen, notwithstanding thousands of pciople
orcsKcd those ponds every year. Since 1857 it is judged
that not less than 2000 pounds have been taken out
annually. So fur as I haVc bean ablo to inform mys:lf,
never a fish had been seen in eith'ir of those ponds prior
to my colonization.' ''

The Lake Trolt. — Of these wo have ;uany speci'/i,
from the gigantic ^. Namaycmh to the lesser trout of our

NATURALIZATION OF PISHES. jgj

smaller lakes. They are known in Canada as "Lunge"
m some of the Eas^.ern States as " Togue," the average
of the species in the smaller lakes not exceeding three or
four pounds. Experiments were made last winter by Mr
Robinson, of Meredith, N. H., in hatching the ova of the
lake trout found in his vicinity. In a letter to Mr. Ains-
worth he says : -In regard to our lake trout, I am making
the experiment of hatching them, under the patronage
of the New Hampshire Commissioners. I am well satis-
fied with the result thus far, considering my want of know,
edge in the business. I fMnk that, with a little more
■ight on the subject, I can make a perfect success. I lost
a great many spawn by bringing them home in buckets
sitting m the bottom of a wagon, and others by being
jarr<,d in a boat beaung to windward in a heavy sea. All
I transported without jar are hatching well. There is no
real trouble in obtaining the spawn. The fish come on the
shoals to spawn, and can be taken in mesh-nets without at
all injuring the fish. I captured some 250 fish of both
sexes, and after manipulating, returned them to the hike
and Killed but few. Those I took were of the proportion
of five or six n>ales to one female. The amount of spawn
I should judge would be about the same as salmon, say
about 2000 for a two-pound fish and upwards, to 10,000
for u ten-pounder."

There is bat little doubt that any of the species referred to
can be naturalized in lakelets that are suitable to the black
ba«s of the northern lakes. They do not appear to be pro-
.ific, as they are not found in great numbers in the hikea

188

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

they now inhabit; nor is the flesh ol any of them com-
parable to that of the true salmon, the land-locked salmon,
or the brook trout. The last' report of the Maine Fish
Commissioners contains the following remarks on their
habits : —

" Late in October they resort to shoal water, and spawn
on rocks and ledges. They come suddenly, finish the
operation in a few nights, and immediately retire to deep
water. It has been noticed that the females come to the
spawning-grounds first. The first night of *heir appearance
nearly all will be females, and at the last nearly all males.
They are accompanied and followed by a motley throng,
composed of nearly all kinds of fishes in the lake, eels and
hornpouts predominating. Probably few of the eggs
escape them."

The Sohoodic Trout, or more properly salmon (;S^.
gloveri), and the Sebago salmon (*S^. Sehago), I am in-
cliued to believe are identical. Both are doubtless land-
locked salmon, having lost the instinct of migration to sea
many, many generations back. It is likely that at some
remote period natural obstructions prevented their migra-
tions to the ocean, and the habit of reproducing in fresh
waters without going to sea to recuperate was forced upon
tliem and became an instinct. These modified salmon
(if I may so call them) are now permanent in Sebago and
Schoouic lakes, although there appears to be no obstruction
to the marine migrations of the latter. 7hese fish could
probably bo naturalized in the smaller lakes of New Eug-
laud and Now York. lo the Umbagog region they would,

NATURALIZATION OF FISHES. 183

without doubt, do well. Chautauque Lake, near the divid-
ing line between Pennsylvania and New York, could likely
be stocked with them; at all events such an enterprise is
worth the experiment.

The following interesting account of the Sebago salmon
is taken from the Maine Fish Commissioners' Report:—

"This species was once quite abundant in the waters
connected with Sebago Lake; but torch and spear, and
exclusion from the spawning-grounds, have made great
inroads on their numbers. Probably not more than a
thousand of them are now taken annually. Nathan Cum-
mings, Esq., of Portland, has given us much information
about these fish. He says that when the Cumberland and
Oxford Canal was building, during the first winter the
workmen sent away fifty barrels of them. Mr. Cummings
used to fish for them very successfully at the outlet of Se-
bago Lake, but for some years he has tried them there to
no purpose. They are still brought in limited numbers
into Portland each spring and fall, mostly from the lower
part of Crooked and Songo rivers.

" The principal breeding-grounds of this salmon at the
present time are on Crooked river, below Edes Falls, in the
town of Naples, and in Bear brook, at the head of Long
Pond, near Harrison village. They make their first appear-
ance in the direction of their spawning-beds about the Lst
of September; in Crooked river a little earlier than in
Bear brook. In the latter stream the males come first
alone, and run bank and forth in the mouth of the brook
until the last of the month, when they are joined by a few

190

AMERICAN PISH CULTURE.

females, but these are still very few until the 15th of Octo-
ber. Soon after this date they begin to ascend the rapids
to spawn. It is not often, however, that any of them are ma-
ture and commence spawning until the 20th. They come
then in eonsiderable numbers, and soon finish spawning.
Very few are found in the brook as late as November 14th,
although probably they sometimes spawn later. Crooked
river is a larger stream, and they report different habits in
some respects. The very first that come into the stream
are males, but after that the females seem to head the ad-
vance, and the males follow them ; taking the whole of
September, the males are not more numerous than the
other sex. In the whole season there are more males.
They sometimes continue to spawn very late. The state
of the water has a great influence on their motions at this
time. A rise i followed by a plentiful run of fish.

" Their beds are made in the gravel where the current
is rapid, but just on the verge of a ripple in the water;
rarely seen on the lower side of a ripple. They make
large excavations, the sand and gravel from which are
carried out by the current, and form a mound below.
These excavations are sometimes three feet in diameter
and are made by more than one pair. A large number of
both sexes are sometimes seen together in one hole. No
fighting is observed amongst the males. It is more com-
mon, however, to see a single pair working together, lying
side by side in the nest. They make the excavations by
fanning with the tail, no digging with the head being ob-
served. On favorite grounds the nests encroach on each other

NATURALIZATION OP FISHES. ,9,

on =11 sides frequently Iyi„g „„^.b„,3

»est has not been ascertained. The work of spawning is
c«..ed „„ at night, and by day the fish are rarely t! be
soon on the beds. Their ascent of the strcan. also occurs

but sn^al males are taken with their stomachs full of eggs
The adult males are very different in appearance from the
other sex, be.ng much deeper and thinner, with larger and
-ore pomted heads.* The lower jaw is furnished at the
spawn,„g season with a singular recurved process, some,
tjmes near an inch in length, which shuts into the roof of
the mouth ; it is conical in form, either truncated or with
the ape. bent backward. On an adult male of one pound
«o,ght th.sw.s present, but not so fully developed as in
tho la-Kcr specimens. In younger individuals it was want-
■»g. Both jaws in this sex are so curved as to prevent the
closmg of the mouth. A male of si. inches length had a
forked tad, cght or nine black bars across the side, twelve
large vermilion spots „„ the side. One that measured
e.ght and one-half inches in length, has the same forked
ta.l and the bars on the side, but they arc very faint
and the vermilion spots have changed to maroon; the
Hook on the jaw not yet visible.

" The spawning-gvounds of this species arc very limited.
Th,«e of Long Pond are confined to Bear brook. Those
of Sebago arc mo.,tly lin.itcd to two or three mile, of

• T^i, .iiffor„„c„ i„ *, .,,.„,, „,. ,,„ „;;;:;;;;:;;;;;;;;;:—;-

to .11 tl,e .pccc. of ,he geau. &/.» „, „,. ,p„„„i„^, ,„.,„„_

n

192

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE,

Crooked river. In formei* times they ranged at the spawn-
ing season the whole length of Crooked river, as far, at
least, as North Waterford, and great numbers of them
were taken at many points ; but they were never known
to ascend the river at any other season than fall, farther
than the first gentle rapids near its mouth. This is rather
singular; for the sea salmon (/S^. salar) ascends rivers of
smaller size than this in June, and passes the summer in
them. The grand fishing-place in May was from the
junction of Crooked and Songo rivers several miles down.
The fish took bait eagerly, and were then in superior con-
dition. They left this ground as early as the last of May,
but at the outlet they were taken much later. In the lake
itself they were only caught in the track of the rafts that
came down across the lake into Presumpscot- river, and the
arrival of the rafts at the outlet was always the signal for
good fishing there. In Long Pond they are never caught
— only when entering the brook, and in. the spring only a
few small ones are taken there.

" The size attained by the Sebago salmon is very con-
siderable. The average of those taken in the fall is, for
the males, 5 pounds ; for the females, a little more than
3. A female 25 inches long weighs 5 pounds ; a male of
the same length weighs 7 pounds. Of two males 29 inches
long, one weighed 9 pounds 14 ounces, the other 11 pounds
4 ounces. Some extreme weights may be given. One was
taken the past season at Edes Falls that dressed 14 J pounds.
The largest on record was caught by Mr. Sawyer, of Ray-
mond. Its weight was 17} pounds, and is vouched for by

NATURALIZATION OF FISHES. 193

Franklin Sawyer, Esq., of Portland. These old fish are
seldom caught with the hook; and of those taken in the
spring and summer, when they are in season, the average
weight would be less than indicated by the above.

" These fish are said to be about as plenty as they were
ten years ago. But it is strange that they can maintain
their numbers against such persecution as follows them.
The spear is very fatal. In Bear brook nearly all the
breeding males are destroyed before the females are ready
to. spawn. In 1858 a law was passed for their protection
which would enable them to recruit their numbers were it
enforced.

'' We consider this variety worthy of being propagated
and disseminated through the state."*

The Sea Trovt (Salmo Canadensis of Hamilton
Smith)._From all my researches the only scientific ac
count given of this fish is by the present writer f
Hamilton Smith, though he named it, scarcely refers to
Its specific characteristics. It is decidedly distinct from
*^:!Z!!!!!!!!_l^j^^ and from

* Mr. Nathan Cummings, of Portland, Maine, has communi-
cated to the Massachusetts Fish Commissioners the following con-
cernnig the agility of the young of this fish :-

" The young are very agile. Some of them, bred artificially by
Mr. Robinson, at Meredith, N. H., were put, when quite small, in
« tank, into which, from a height of nine inches, fell a stream of
water flowing through a one and a half inch hole ; whereupon the
.ve y parrs leaped up the stream, and into the upper tank, like
liarlcqum going through a clock-face."
t Sec American Anglers' Book, page 238.
17 N

II

194 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

salt water, and which acquire a larger size and darker
tinted flesh by feeding upon Crustacea found there. Nor
has it but slight affinity to the sea trout {Salmo trutta)
of Scotland and Ireland.

These fish come in large schools into the Canadian and
New Brunswick streams. On their arrival they are beau-
tifully bright and of surpassingly delicate flavor, but like
the salmon, which they precede a month or so, they lose
their brilliancy and flesh up to the time of spawning, which
is in October. As far as I have examined them tlieir
stomachs are empty ifter entering fresh water, while an
occasional brook trout taken in the same pool has a well-
filled paunch. They are, therefore, purely anadromous, and
like the salmon attain all of their growth and flavor at sea.
On this account they ore desirable subjects for naturaliza-
tion, and should be introduced with the salmon, and be
made to participate in the facilities which are now being
created to enable them to ascend our rivers. Four pounds
is not an unusual size ; they are sometimes taken as high as
six and seven pounds.

In ^he summer of 1865 I stopped with a friend at
Harris's, on the Tabasintac, an inconsiderable stream half
way between Chatham and Bathurst, New Brunswick, to
enjoy the sea-trout fishing. My friend captured a goodly
number of them under a pound weight, near the house
after taking our tea. The next morning we travelled seven
miles down the creek in a large " dug-out," drawn by a
pair of stout horses, rumbling along over cobble-stones
down to the junction of the Escadillach. Here, in less than

NATURALIZATION OF FISHES. 195

four hours, at midday and under a bright sun, we captured
four and a half bushels of these handsome fish and left off
from pure satiety. A hundred of these fish were over two
pounds m weight, and many of them four pounds, although
our attendant lamented that there were no large ones in
the pool.. In fishing with two flies on ordinary trout gut
the fish, having a dead pull against each other, would
break loose. After losing many flies in this way, we each
fished with a single salmon fly, generally a worn-out one,
left from my former summer's tackle; and as long as there
was dubbing or feather ^n the hook they would seize it
treely. Their sharp teeth, which are much more formida-
ble than those of our brook trout, made a frequent renewal
necessary. We would have ceased this havoc sooner, but
young Harris, who drove our aquatic vehicle, said he
hauled the pool with a seine two or three times during the
summer for a stock of trout to salt down; we accordingly
kept on until we had taken the quantity above given, to save
him the trouble of making the pool a visit with his seine.

These fish frequent and spawn in the Miramichi, on
which river (I have been informed by Rev. Livingston
Stone, of New Hampshire), a salmon-hatching establish-
ment will be started the coming autumn. Of course it is
to be supposed chat those who have charge of it, will not
neglect so favorable an opportunity of procuring the eg.^s
of the sea trout and giving them the opportunity of makinl
sufiicient progress in incubation to insure their safe trans!
portation to the states.

At the time of writing the foregoing chapter on the

196

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

cultivation of the salmon, I was not aware that so spirited
and praiseworthy an undertaking as the one alluded to was
contemplated, and gladly make this digression to commend
it. The necessity of manipulating salmon on the stream
and transporting the spawn immediately after impregna-
tion, when the ova are so apt to lose their vitality by being
agitated, and not allowing sufficient time in hatching-
troughs for the early development of the young fish in the
eggs, has been almost the only bar to the success of those
who had the task of introducing salmon into the rivers of
New England. It is a matter ofigratulation that this diffi-
culty is about to be obviated. Not having Mr. Stone's
letter at hand at the time of writing this, I am unable to
say whether it is an enterprise of his own, or of the New
England Fish Commissioners, but shall throw some light
upon the question in an appendix.

Thymallus. — To this genus belongs the English gray-
ling. Dr. Richardson, in his " Fauna Boreali- Americana,"
gives an account of two species. Another has lately been
discovered in some of the affluents pf Green Bay. It is
described as a fish of rare beauty and excellence. While
on a trout-fishing excursion lately in the north-western part
of Pennsylvania, I met with a very intelligent, though not
scientific person, who informed me that he, last summer,
while exploring some timber lands on the Oconto and Au
Sable (though I can find no such stream as the latter on
the map), met with a new kind of trout, which he had
n( /er seen before. From his description it was, doubtless,
this new species of Thymallus. He informed me that it

NATURALIZATION OP FISHES. 197

took readily a bait of the flesh of one of its fellows, a
worm having been used to capture the first fish, and that
It was very beautiful and of delicious flavor. Cannot some
of the spirited commissioners of fisheries of the New Eng-
land States introduce this new fish into their waters ?

WHiT^-FiSH.-Lake herrings, Otsego bass, and species
known by other local names are included in the genus
Coregonus. It is likely that we have no less than ten dis-
tmcfc species, from the fat-beladencd C. albus or sapulissimus
and a quadrilateralis of the Arctic regions, to the little
lake herring found in the Saranac lakes. They are all
peaceable dwellers in the depths; approaching the shores,
or the rapids of some afiiuent in autumn to spawn, at
which time most of those found in our markets are taken.
It is said that no food has ever been detected in the
stomachs of these fish. In this respect-^ they show a
marked analogy to the shad and herring. It is said of
them also, that on rare occasions they have been known to
take a bait and even to rise to a fly ; their food, though, is a
matter of mystery. They are not predatory, as will be
seen from the mouth and jaws. Although their food may
consist of minute Crustacea, they are, perhaps, to a certain
extent, herbivorous, as cyprinoids are,* and may find cer-
tain fresh-water algao in the deeps where they feed.

* Fishes that are considered purely pred^t^rTitTtheii^ Mts,
are, in some degree, omnivorous. A striped bass will take a bait
of shad roe; I found once in the throat of one, several roots and
stalks of some succulent aquatic grass. A trout or a salmon will
also take a bait of the roe of one of its own species.

17*

II

198

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

I \M\\

The Large- White Fish (C. alhus), is a fish of rare
delicacy. Its flesh and skin contain a large proportion of
gelatine. In autumn, at spawning time, it is difficult to
broil it because of the fat ; which dripping on the coals
ignites and frequently envelopes gridiron and fish in a
blaze. Its fatness even disfigures it. With head sunk in
its shoulders, it presents the appearance of the body of a
shad with the head of a herring. This, with its congener
(C. quadrilateralis), furnishes a large amount of food to
the northern Indians. Twenty-five years since a goodly
portion of the Chippeways, who were permanently encamped
at Sault St. Marie, subsisted chiefly on them, taking them in
large numbers in the rapids with dip-nets. In the regions
around tht lakes of northern British America and Hud-
son's Bay, it also furnishes a large proportion of food.
Its flesh cloys less than that of any other fish, and it can
be eaten for months without getting tired of it.

The average size of this fish in the upper of the large
lakes of the great range, is somewhat over three pounds;
they have been taken in Lake Superior weighing as much
as ten and twelve pounds. The usual size of those brought
to our city markets is about two pounds. They should be
naturalized in every lake that will aflbrd them a suitable
habitat.

The following from the last Maine report throws much
light on their manner of propagation : —

" Mr. Clark is engaged in the fishery in Detroit river
He estimated the total catch of whit.e-fish in that river
aloue, this year, to be half a million or more in number,

NATURALIZATION OP FISHES. 199

weighing a million and a half of pounds, or seven hundred
and fifty tons. At the retail price in Boston these would
be worth $250,000. Mr. Clark has a pound with an area
of an acre and a half, six feet deep, made by enclosing
with stakes a portion of Detroit river, in which he keeps
white-fish from November until the last of the winter
when they are caught out and marketed. They are first
taken with a seine before they have spawned, and most of
them spawn here in the pound. The operation is in the
following manner: the opposite sexes approach each other
turning partially on the side, and the male appearing to
attach himself by his soft flexible mouth to the female near
ter gills; then both fish dart oflF through the water
together, and as they go the female ejects the eggs and
the male the milt, in such a way that they mingle together
and fall to the bottom. They move ten or twenty feet at
a time, and each time eject several hundred eggs. Mr
Clark placed sieves on the bottom at night, and in the
morning found many thousand impregnated eggs on them.
Mr. Clark has taken the pains to procure, pack, and send
to us two separate lots of these eggs, to assist us in ascer.
taming the best mode of packing and transportation. Of
the first lot, packed in cotton batting, in sand and in river
grass, a few survived the journey, out of fifty thousand;
but of the other lot, packed in river mud and partially
fro^n, not o^e^uiW*^ «^P«"«^ent would, no

* The only mode of obviating this destruction of ovaln"^-
portation, is to have them partially incubated before sending them
away.

200

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

doubt, bring to light a method bj which they could be
successfully brought."

The Otsego Bass {C. otsegh).—Th.m fiah bears the
very inappropriate name of "Bass" :n Lal:e Otsego, while
it does not bear the most remote affinity to any of the
numerous genera of bass. Thus fer it is unknown in any
other water than that which gives it its speciSc name. It
is said even to surpass the larger white-fish in excellence.
Its average size is not much more than hulf that of C. alhus.
Ic could likely be naturalized in small lakes of a more
southern latitude than the large white-fish, and is well
worthy of the attention of those who take an interest in
diflFusiug the best species.

The smaller species of this genus are not unworthy of
the notice of those who would like to see a variety intro-
duced in the many lakelets which dot our Northern and
Middle States. The fcra, of which millions are hatched
at Huningue and sent to ail parts of France, are similar
to those we call lake herrings.

The Smelt (Osmerus). — Of this genus we have two
species. Those usually found in our markets {0. viri-
descens) are taken in great numbers on tmJ. rivers north
of Boston, and along the coa.st of the British Provinces.
The annual value of those sent from Boston exceeds a
hundred thousand dollars. They are retailed in our mar-
kets at from fifteen to thirty-three cents a pound, and make
a most palatable dish for breakfast or supper. The roe is
particularly delicate. They are so abundant at the head
of tide, where they come to spawn, on some of the rivers

NATURALIZATION OF FISHES. 201

emptying into the Bay of Chaleurs, as to be used for
manure ; a barrel of then? in abundant seasons selling for
sixty cents. The average length is not over seven inches,
although they have been taken as long as twelve inches.

Both here and in England the smelt has been naturalized
ia fresh-water ponds and lakes; although an interference
with their partially anadromous habits, produces genera-
tions of smaller and, perhaps, less palatable fish. The
reports^of the New England Fish Commissioners give
several instances of their naturalization in fresh waters.
The Maine report for 1867 has the following :—

" Pnelts are scattere(f all over the state. It seems pro-
bable that we have more than one species. Whether
either of them is identical with the salt-water smelt we
cannot say, but the resemblance is ver, close. In several
localities they attain a large size. Those of Harrison are
said to exceed half a pound in weight, and those of Bel-
grade to measure fourteen inches in length. In spring
they approach the shores, and are sometimes thrown upon
the land by a heavy wind, and perish in great numbers, the
shores being lined with the dead. About the 1st of May
they ascend the streams. In Monmouth they run into
some very small rills that lead into Cochnewagn Pond, and
are dipped out in considerable quantit*eB. In May 1867,
after it was supposed they were all gone, a fresh run
occurred, that yielded thirty barrels. In quality the fresh-
water smelts are fully equal to those from the tide-waters.
Those from Monmouth ha^p been placed side by side with
smelts from Damarisootta, ai>d received the preference."

202

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

The smaller species, 0. sergeantti, found in the Passaic
and Raritan, and discovered lately in the Schuylkill and
tributaries of the Delaware, is preferred by many, to those
brought from the north. The pecuhar odor of a freshly
taken smelt, resembling that of a newly pulled cucumber,
is observed readily in the more southern species, and epi-
cures accord to it a great superiority over the northern fish.
They are found with us only in winter and early spring,
when they spawn and then disappear. They nevcF ascend
above the head of tide, neither do the northern species,
from all I have learned of them in New Brunswick and
Canada. From the success thaif has attended efforts to
introduce the northern species into fresh water, it is evi-
dent that these are not without claims to naturalization.

In this notice of these beautiful and delicate little fish I
may appropriately allude to their food. An examination
of their dentition, and I may say of their stomachs also,
evinces an extremely predatory nature. During the last
winter I took from the pouch of one of the northern spe-
cies, three undigested shrimp, two of the small fry of some
marine species, and a half a dozen ova, as large as the eggs
of our brook trout. Some years ago I made a similar
examination of a number of smelt and found that all of
them had been feeding bountifully on shrimp. I was not
aware uutil then that these lively little crustaceans could
be found in winter. The fact of their being found along
our north-eastern coast at this season of the year is sug-
gestive of the vast amount of marine food accessible to
pelagian and anadromous fishes at all times. Small

!1.

NATURALIZATION OP FISHES. 203

Crustacea, both in winter and summer, and the larger
when they shed their hard coats, must contribute largely
to the sustenance of fishes that inhabit salt and brackish
water.

PERCID^.

We have many fishes included in this family that can be
readily naturalized. They are found both in salt and fresh
waters. Our fresh rivers, lakes, ponds, lagoons, and bayous
are rich in genera and species. They are all hardy fish,
firm of flesh, and excellent eating.

The Rock Fish, or Striped Bass {Lahrax lineatus), is
" A fish of wonderful beauty and force,
That bites like a steel trap, and pulls like a horse."

^ Some ineffectual attempts have been made to naturalize

it in fresh-water ponds by those who have not taken into

consideration that it is to a great extent an anadromin, and

that to continue its generations in size and perfection, it

must necessarily make yearly migrations to salt water. I

have no doubt it would deteriorate in purely fresh water as

much as the salmon or shad, if this law of its nature was

set aside. Still if it grew to half its accustomed size,

when prevented from going down to salt or brackish

waters, it might bo profitably naturalized in fresh ponds

and lakes. From all I have learned of its habits, it re-

produces in tidal creeks and coves where fresh streams

enter, and not above tide, as the salmon. A friend, whose

statement I consider reliable, informs me that in some of

the shallow waters along our southern coast, he has dipped

I

"%

204

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

up a hand-net full of the fry. They are seldom found —
at least not in large numbers — above the head of tide until
they have attained some size ; and their pushing, predatory
instinct must induce them to ascend so far only for feed.
This species- is rare in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico
or the rivers and bays connecting with it.

The White Perch {Labrax palUdus). — This is a beau-
tiful fish ; silvery bright in tidal rivers, and on open rocky
or sandy bottoms ; of greenish or golden hue where it lives
amongst grass and aquatic weeds; and of darker tint
when it inhabits discolored waters, and muddy or peaty
bottoms. Southward, in tidal streams, it may be enume-
rated with anadromous fishes. In the Middle and Eastern
States it is not unfrequently found in fresh-water lakelets
or ponds having no communication with salt water. At the
south its average size is larger than at the north ; and it is
with surprise that we find northern ichthyologists underrat-
ing it in this particular, and fish commissioners alluding to
it as a fish unworthy of their consideration for culture.

A white perch of twelve inches will weigh nearly a
pound. I have taken them of this size in numbers in the
Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, which in its coui*se occu-
pies a considerable length of an old mill-pond and St.
George's creek. These fish breed here in the coves, and
the canal no doubt receives fresh accessions from the Dela-
ware through the locks* at Delaware City. South of

* A singular fact, I am credibly informed, is noticed here
every spring. Tho alcwives, or herrings, as we term them, collect

NATURALIZATION OF FISHES. 205

Philadelphia as far as Savannah, white perch occupy an
important place amongst " pan fish." They are hardy and
prolific, and much better eating than the yellow or barred
perch. If they could be made to take the place of the
latter in ponds or lakes where these now abound, it would

be a great desideratum.

a.

The Crappie, so called by the habitans of French
extraction in Missouri, and " Sac a lai" by the Creoles of
Louisiana, is the Pomoxis hexacanthus of Cuvier. This is
one of the most beautiful percoids known. It is found in
sluggish waters from the Carolinas southward on the At-
lantic, and in the bayous and lakelets of the Mississippi
Valley, from the Gulf to Minnesota. An excellent en-
graving and a full description of it can be found in the
" American Anglers' Book," p. 111. It exceeds some-
what the white perch in size. It bites freely at a baited
hook, is a good pan fish, and well worthy, if only for its
beauty, of naturalization in the eastern states.

The Black Bass of the Lakes {Grystes nigricans) has
been naturalized in many of the lakelets of New England
and New York, and might be introduced in such waters
further south. These fish, some years back, made their

in largo numbers, apparently with the effort of passing through the
locks into the canal. It is said that a herring fishery might bo
established here that would be worth some thousanda of dollars,
but for its interfering with the passage of the boats. It may be
that some of them pass through the locks and spawn in the canal,
and the fry pass out, thus keepiug up this yearly crowfl of appli-
cants for admission.
18

206

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

way through the Erie Canal into the Hudson. They
appear to prefer the mouths of streams entering this river,
and are but seldom found in the tideway. Professor
Agnel, of West Point, about nine years since, procured a
stock of them from Saratoga Lake, and introduced them
into Wood Lake, a beautiful sheet of water some six miles
west of the Hudson. Here they thrive wonderfully, and
have been taken four or five pounds in weight. The Pro-
fessor, who pitches his tent every summer by his pretty
lake, uses the artificial fly and his trout-rod exclusively in
taking them. — May his shadow never grow less, or the
bass refuse to rise to his red hackle !

On a preceding page I have given an extract, which
shows the progress the Cuttyhunk Club* had made towards

* The Cuttyhunk Club takes its name from the island where it has
been established ; the most westerly of the Elizabeth Islands, off
the coast of Massachusetts. It is about four or five miles long and
half as wide. This association was established here in 1864, its
originators being induced hither by the fine striped bass-fishing to
be found along the shores. Besides the trout and the black bass
pond, the club controls by lease of land and otherwise, the shoot-
ing on the island also. Originally there were twenty-five members,
the number has since been increased to sixty, and the capital of the
club to $25,000 ; each member contributing twenty dollars annually.

The comhaodious and comfortable hotel of the club, with ice house,
fine spring water, and other accessories, is near the beach, and
opposite some of the best stands for striped bass-fishing. A tariff
of hotel prices is fixed every season, and each member is allowed
to invite a friend who is not a member, to accompany him and par-
take of the sport. The club also, at their meeting in the mouth of

NATURALIZATION OF FISHES. 207

Stocking their trout pond. The following is from the same
letter :

'* Our baas-pond of sixty acres, and twenty feet deep in
some places, adjoins that intended to be occupied by the
trout, and is separated from it, by a small embankment
extending across a narrow neck of land, which, in low
water, is sometimes dry. Early in the spring of 1866, we
put into it twenty-nine large black bass, and as many more
during the summer, to make the number exceed one hun-
dred. We think those we put in early spawned the same
season, as a numerous progeny (about one and a half inches
long) were observed by the men who had charge of the
pond. The young bass are readily distinguished from the
perch, which had already occupied it. I can not say how
large the bass have grown by this time. We shall restrict
the fishing to the fly. As regards the perch, we have no
apprehension of the injury they may do the bass, but have
fears that those in the smaller pond will be destructive to
the young trout. We shall therefore try to seine out ^.he
perch from the latter, during the coming summer. As we
do not contemplate feeding the young trout after we put
them in the pond, we will rear them in troughs until
autumn, by which time, we hope they will be large enough
to take care of themselves, and escape any perch that may
be left after dragging the pond with the seine."

It will be seen by the foregoing, to what an extent the

May each year, occasionally extend special invitations to brethren
of the angle. Wholesome regulations prevail, and good order
characterizes the assemblage of the memlx-rs.

208

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

artificial propagation of trout, and the naturalizing of bass
may be made to contribute to the sport of the angler. In
a few years, a pond of sixty acres will afford abundant bass-
fishing, and one of nine acres a fair amount of trout-fish-
ing. As the angling in both will be subjected to whole-
some restrictions, the ponds will not be depleted as those
have been, which are open to all fishers. The example of
this club is worthy of the imitation of other associations of
the kind.

These fish have also been introduced into small artificial
ponds with much success. A few days since (June 15th,
1868) I visited a friend in the neighborhood of Newburg,
N. Y., and found his pond, about three-eighths of an acre
in extent, well stocked with bass, which were a little over
a year old. Although they did not rise well to the fly so
early in the season, we caught enough for a mess, and
found them in excellent condition. These fish had grown
to the size of a half pound in about thirteen months. The
margin of the pond was dotted with numerous broods of
this spring's fry.

The lake bass will grow to the extreme size of seven or
eight pounds, though four pounds is thought to be a large
fish ; one and a half or two pounds may be considered a
good average. They rise at an artificial fly in July and
August. They generally come with a rush, and are taken
also by trolling with a gang of flies or with spinning spoon.
Crickets and minnows are used in fishing at the bottom,
which is generally done after the 1st of September. When
hooked they leap high from the water, shaking their heads

NATURALIZATION OF FISHES. 209

to free themselves, and are plucky and die hard. The last
Massachusetts Fish Commissioners' Keport says :—

^' In 1850, Mr. Samuel T. Tisdale, of East Wareham,
succeeded, after much care, in bringing twenty-seven from
Saratoga Lake, alive, to his place, where he put them in
Flax Pond, close to his house. In 1851, and again in
1852, others were brought, and several of the neighbor-
ing ponds were stocked. The matter was kept secret, and
a 'jubilee' of five years given to the fish; at the end of
which time, they were found to have peopled these ponds,
and to have grown finely. So soon as this fact was known,'
all the neighborhood at once gave its assiduous attention to
poaching, indignant that any one should be so aristocratic
as to try to furnish cheap food to the community. Their
efi-orts were so far successful as much to reduce the num-
ber of the fish.

" During May they come by pairs, and make a spawning-
bed on a sandy bottom in from four to six feet of water.
This they sweep with their tails after the manner of trout,
and the male remains on guard over the spawn, and drives
away the many intruders which hang about, greedy for
this savory food. In June, the young— recognisable by a
black band across the tail— are first observed, and these,
by autumn, have grown to a length of three to four inches.
At one year old, they weigh from } to i pound, and in-
crease about i pound yearly, till they arrive at 6 pounds,
according to food and water. They are in prime condition
in August and September, but in winter are black and lean.
The objection in certain cases to this species, is its great
18* o

210

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

voraciousness. It destroys almost everything before it,
except the perch, and even kills out pickerel by devouring
the young. But in ponds already infested with pickerel
and abounding in 'shiners,' it may be introduced with
much profit, because it replaces bad fish by good. It
should be carefully excluded, however, from all waters that
contain trout, white fish or other valuable species, and from
ponds communicating with such waters, for it is a most
restless and pushing robber, eagerly searching and follow-
ing the inlets and outlets of its pond. Of this propensity
the Brookline r<?servoir gives the most curious instance.
Nine black bass of 2Ho 3 pounds were put there in July
1862. Since then, in the examination of the water-pipes
leading from this reservoir to Long Pond,, these fishes have
been found in considerable numbers and of large size ; and,
moreover, either by their young or their eggs, they have
penetrated the screen at the mouth of the pipe itself!*
So these black bass, apparently impelled by no other feel-
ing than that of restlessness, performed an underground
journey of fifteen miles, in a brick aqueduct whose greatest
diameter was six feet !"f

How easy it would be to introduce these bass into ponds
where pike have exterminated the more valuable trout, or

* Communication from Mr. John H. Thorndike, President of the
Water Board.

t Arrangements have been made with Mr. Tisdale to stock
several other ponds, and the work is already begun . The best time
to move the live fish is in the cool v/eather of late autumn or of
early spring.

NATURALIZATION OP PISHES. £11

Where only yellow perch, bull pouts, and worthless species
are found. The latter would afford food for tlie new
comers.

The Black Bass, of the West and South {Grystes sal
moides). There are several varieties of this fish in the
waters of the Atlantic states, from the Dismal Swamp and
James river to Cape Florida. They abound also in the
nvers and bayous communicating with the Gulf of Mexico
on both sides of the Mississippi, and are found in all of the
waters of the west, thence up to Minnesota with its nu-
merous lakes. In the northern part of that state, lakes in
close proximity are inhabited, one it may be with bass, and
the other with white fish; the former discharging into the
head-waters of the Mississippi, and the latter into streams
flowing north towards Hudson's Bay. Occasionally, though,
the white fish are found on the southern watershed.

This species is a more shapely fish than the bass of our
northern lakes, resembling it, however, in its habits and its
game qualities. The first figure on the engraving at the
.head of this chapter is a correct picture of this fish. The
following account of its introduction into the Potomac was
sent to me by my esteemed friend, Dr. Charles D. Meigs,

of this city, two or three years ago ;

" About thirteen years since, a son of Mr. Stabler, at that
time a conductor on the Baltimore and Ohio Kailroad, hav-
ing caught fifteen or twenty pounds of black bass in Wheel-
ing creek, secured them in a bag-net, and, putting them
into a locomotive tender's tank, carried them safely to Cum-
berland, and turned them into the Potomac, all of whose

212

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

tributaries, down to the Great Falls, are now well stocked
with them. They have multiplied exceedingly, and are
said to grow to from six to eight pounds. M. desires me
to tell you this. By this act of young Mr. Stabler, a region
some 180 miles in length has been abundantly stocked with
a large fish, good for food and sport."

Mr. Charles H. Wight, of Baltimore, who wrote me
about three years ago in reference to stocking the Mono-
cacy and Gunpowder rivers, in Maryland, with this fish,
gave me the following score of catches on the Potomac in
the summer of 1865 : —

2 rods. 8 hours* fishing, 1251bs. Largest fish 4ilbs.

3 " 9 « " 3261bs. '-' " 61bs. lOoz.
I infer, from Mr. Wight's letter, that they were taken

with artificial flies in the neighborhood of Williamsport,
above Harper's Ferry. It is said that this fish does not go
below the Great Falls of the Potomac, which are about
twenty-five miles above Washington. On the Gulf coast
it is sometimes taken on the same feeding-grounds at the
mouths of rivers, in company with the sheep's-head, at-
tracted doubtless by the abundant supply of Crustacea
found there.

The different levels made by damming the Schuylkill
from Keading down to Fairmount could be stocked with
this valuable fish as easily, and in the same manner, as the
Potomac was by Mr. Stabler. The Schuylkill is now des-
titute of any valuable species, except cat-fish ; and our city
authorities could have them transported from Pittsburgh
or the Monongahela to the river bordering on Fairmount

NATURALIZATION OP FISHES. 213

Park, in the same way that they were taken from the Ohio
to Cumberland. A prohibition to catching them for a few
years would make them abundant, and afford angling
where there is none at present.

The southern habitat of this bass makes it more sus-
ceptible of naturalization in this and states south of us,
than the northern species would likely prove. They have
been taken from the James river and naturalized in mill-
ponds in the neighborhood of Fredericksburg and Warren- «
ton, Va. In open, unshaded mill-ponds, they assume a
brighter vesture than their ancestors had at the time of
transplanting them. I have seen fish of four pounds
taken that were quite silvery on their sides.

The small yellow-bellied bass, and the sun-fish {Pomotis
vulgaris), should be introduced into ponds inhabited by the
larger fresh-water bass, as they furnish an infinite source
of amusement to juvenile anglers, and are well worthy of
the frying-pan after the month of June. No species
of bass, or of the perch family, however, should be put
into waters where the more valuable species, as trout,
white-fish, and salmon, are intended to be cultivated. The
smaller perches are as destructive of the ova and fry of
trout as the larger bass would doubtless prove to the young
of white-fish and salmon.

I

w ;'i

SILURIDiE.

This family includes the different catfishes, or bullpouts,
as they are termed in the Eastern States. The larger
species found in the western rivers grow to the size of a

214 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

hundred and fifty pounds. I have seen them cut trans-
versely into steaks and I have heard the music of the fry-
ing-pan, and have smelt them as they were fried, but never
had the curiosity to taste of them ; they are coarse grained
and, it is said, are not palatable.

There is a species, the yellow catfish, found in ponds and
streams not communicating with tidal waters, as well as the
ditches and creeks which do. These are inferior to the
white or blue forked-tail catfish, whose more natural
habitat is tide and brackish water. The latter, however,
if prevented from their run to tidal rivers, become perma-
nent above them, as they have in the Schuylkill above the
Fairmount dam. If these smaller species were not so com-
mon they would be more generally esteemed. These are
far better fish for the pan ; their flesh is firm and sweet,
and resembles that of the trout or the breast of a young
chicken, more than the flesh of any other fish. '' Catfish
and coff'ee/' at the Falls of Schuylkill, was formerly, and,
to some extent, is still an "institution;" and a catfish
supper with et ceteras there, was a thing "not to be
sneezed at."

In Philadelphia they are a favorite dish. The shrill cry
of " buy any catfish," sometimes awakens the slumberer at
early morn -, or the wife, or man of the house, or servant
returns from market with bunches of catfish, denuded and
beheaded. The " catties" arc dipped in raw egg, rolled in
corn-meal or grated cracker, a few turns are given in the
fizzing, spitting lard of the well-heated frying-pan, and in a

NATURALIZATION OP FISHES. 215

trice they are served on hot plates with the accompaniment
of coffee, and one's breakfast is complete.

Much of the gluten and fat which makes fish palatable,
is between the skin and the flesh, and in the skin itself-
thus any fish suffers in edibility by stripping it. There is a
way of cooking catfish, which I think had its origin with
the negroes in lower Virginia and Maryland; it is vastly
superior to a chowder or a "cubrion." The fish are
merely scraped as one would a trout, and not divested of
heads or skins, and are stewed (not too much) with just
enough water to cover them. Flitch of bacon with onions
or pot-herbs are put in for seasoning, and unskimmed milk or
cream is added when the dish is half cooked. Large white
catfish, which sometimes grow to the size of two or three
pounds, thus treated, are very fine.

Persons who have small ponds, or large either, if the
water is too warm for trout, should by all means cultivate
catfish. A pond of half an acre, or even of less size, if well
stocked, will supply two or three messes a week for a good-
sized family. These fish, though mostly herbivorous, will
eat almost anything. A muddy or grassy pond is particu-
larly adapted to them. Although they will take a small
fish if presented as a bait, they are harmless to other spe-
cies, and without detriment to either, can be put into ponds
with bass.

lu transporting catfish they should not be crowded, aa
they are apt to injure each other with their sharp spines.
A better way, if the distance is not over a day's travel, is
to saturate an old carpet, and lay it in the bottom of ^

216

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

spring- wagon, then place on the carpet aa many fish as it
will accommodate without finning each other. They should
then be covered with another carpet or blankets dripping
wet, on which is placed another layer of fish, and so on
until five hundred or even a thousand are so packed. For
the information of those who live near Philadelphia, I
would say, that an old man known as " Toney," and his
partner, young Krumbar, who live in the small street
nearest the Schuylkill between Race and Vine, and at the
corner of a court running towards the river, will supply
live catfish to those who want them. These men keep
them in live boxes and supply them at the moderate price
of a dollar and fifty cents per hundred.

The Acclimatization Society of England have gone to a
large expenditure of time, labor, and money to introduce
into their waters a large species (I believe the orly one of
this family in Europe), silurus giants, or Sheat fish, bring-
ing it over land from the Argisch, a tributary of the
Danube, the distance of eighteen hundred miles. It is
said that this fish has attained the size of fifty-four pounds
in four years, and in extreme cases has weighed as much as
two hundred pounds. A drawing of this fish shows a wide
dissimilarity to our Siluroids; its fins having no sharp spines,
the dorsal, anal, and caudal being continuous and joining,
as is the case with the eel. Mr. Francis Francis, the
piscicultural director of the English Acclimatization So-
ciety, says : " One of the greatest wants felt in this coun-
try (England) has been a good pond or lake fish that
might be turned to actual account, in order that the huge

NATURALIZATION OF FISHES. 217

wastes of water with which cur islands abound might be
turned to actual account. This want the silurus seems
likely to meet." The fish in question is described as
savagely predatory; in view of which fact, and considering
our smaller species of catfish the opposite, as well as excel-
lent eating, and easily naturalized, I have suggested to
Mr. Francis the benefit to be derived from its acclimation
in such waters as the society he represents wishes to bring
into use.

Mr. Francis was so taken with the idea that he commu-
nicated it to the - Field," which published the letter sug-
gesting the introduction of the catfish. The matter has
created some interest with those who are interested in the
acclimatization of new species, and may lead to favorable
results.

CYPRINID^.
Of this family we have many native species, from the
bulky Buffalo fish to the little roach and redfin of our
small brooks j all of them are coarse or insipid, and in this
country are eaten only when other fish cannot be had.
In China, however, they are cultivated as they are in Ger-
many. The English Carp, it is said, unless taken from
lively rivers is not a good fish. What the carp of the
Romans (who grew them to a prodigious size), was as to
edibility, it is hard to infer. They doubtless considered
them a luxury. After a long abstinence from piscine food,
I have on some occasions partaken of broiled suckers with
some relish when taken from cold streams.
19

218

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

ESOCID^.

The various species of the pike family are not herbivo-
rous, insectivorous, or omnivorous, but simply piscivorous,
subsisting entirely on fish with, perhaps, the excep^'^n of
an occasional frog. If one wishes to exterminate the trout
of some pretty mountain lake or a pond let him introduce
any kind of pike. " Verbum sat,"

CULTURE OF EELS.

219

CHAPTER VIII.

CULTURE OF EELS,

Probability of eels being of sufficient importance to be culti-
vated.—General remarks on eels.— Eel culture at Comacchio. •

Owing to the rapid diminution and enhanced price of
the better kinds of fish, it is not improbable that eels may
at some future day be of sufficient importance to be culti-
vated. At present the prejudice existing against them on
account of their serpent-like form, and the, as yet, fair
supply of scale-fish in our markets, cause them to be under-
rated. In Europe they are thought worthy of cultivation,
as is attested by the extensive eel fisheries at Comacchio,
in Italy. In most Roman Catholic countries they form a
large portion of fish-food, which is necessarily consumed
on account of the many fast days. To those who can di-
vest themselves of prejudice, there are few more palatable
or more nutritious fishes than the eel.

As we have no occasion to refer to the family of lam-
preys (Petromyzontidse), or the electric eels {Gymnotidse),
we will take a cursory view of those which are generally
eaten (Mursemdse). These are so abundant in autumn, when
they are taken in all of our streams as they return to hy-
bernate in salt water, as not to be appreciated.

The eel at one time was considered hermaphrodite, be-
cause it is never found with spawn. After the fact was

i

i

220

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

established in natural history that no vertebrate animal
could be hermaphrodite, it was thought, from the absence
of spawn, to be viviparous ; and a doubt still exists whether
it is, or oviparous, as most fishes are. As it reproduces
after its autumnal descent to salt water, it is not probable
that the question will soon be decided. The ova, if it
exists during its stay in frei ■: ■ :^'', is so small that it has
never been observed. Thero ^ be species of Anguilla
inhabiting salt water exclusively, and others ascending
fresh rivers in spring and returning in autumn. Or a large
portion of one species may be migratory, and another por-
tion live entirely in salt water.

The eel fry ascend the rivers of this latitude in April
and May, and by fall have acquired a weight varying from
a quarter to a half pound. Some remain permanently in
fresh water, growing to a very large size, weighing even as
much as ten pounds, and in some cases beyond that weight.
These, it is reasonable to suppose, do not reproduce.

The following account of the eel fisheries at Comacchio,
taken from the " Harvest of the Sea," is given for the
novelty that such an enterprise would be in this country.
It is suggestive of what might be done on suitable parts
of our coast at some future day : —

" Long before the organization of the Dutch fisheries
there existed a quaint colony of Italian fisher people on the
borders of a more poetic water than the Zuyder Zee. I
allude to the eel-breeders of Comacchio, on the Adriatic.
This particular fiishing industry is of very considerable
antiquity, as we have well-authenticated statistics of its

\

CULTURE OF EELS.

221

produce, extending back over three centuries. The lagoons
of Comacchio afford a curious example of what may be
done by design and labor. This place was at one time a
great unproductive swamp, about one hundred and forty
miles in circumference, accessible to the waves of the sea,
where eels, leeches, and the other inhabitants of such
watery regions, sported about unmolested by the hand of
man ; and its inhabitants— the descendants of those who
first populated its various islands— isolated from the sur-
rounding civilization, and devoid of ambition, have long
been contented with their obscure lot, and have even re-
mained to this day without establishing any direct commu-
nication with surrounding countries.

''The precise date at which the great lagoon of Comac-
chio was formed into a fish-pond is not known, but so early
as the year 1229, the inhabitants of the place— a commu-
nity of fishers as quaint, superstitious, and peculiar as those
of IJuckie, on the Moray Firth, or any other ancient Scoi-
tish fishing port— proclaimed Prince Azzo d'Este Lord of
Comacchio; and from the time of this appointment the
place grew in prosperity, and the fisheries from that date
began to assume an organization and design which had not
before that time been their characteristic. The waters of
the lagoon were dyked out from those of the Adriatic, and
a series of canals and pools were formed suitable for the
requirements of the peculiar fishery carried on at the place,
all of which operations were greatly facilitated by the Reno
and Volano mouths of the Po, forming the side boundaries
of the great swamp; and, as a chief feature of the place,

I

222

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

the marvellotts fish labyrinth celebrated by Tasso still
exists. Without being technical, we may state that the
principal entrances to the various divisions of the great
pond — and it is divided into a great many stations — are
from the two rivers. A number of these entrances have
been constructed in the natural embankments which dyke
out the waters of the lagoon. Bridges have also been
built over all these trenches by the munificence of
various popes, and very strong flood-gates, worked by a
crank and screw, are attached to each, so as to regulate
the migration of the fish and the entrance and exit of the
waters. A very minute account of all the varied hydraulic
apparatus of Comacchio would only weary the reader j but
I may state generally, and I speak on the authority of M.
Costo, that these flood-gates place at the service of the fish-
cultivators about twenty currents, which allow the salt
waters of the lagoon to mingle with the fresh waters of the
river. Then, again, the w-aters of the Adriatic are ad-
mitted to the lagoon by means of the Grand Palotta Canal,
which extends from the port of Magnavacca right through
the great body of the watei's, with branches stretching to
the chief fishing-stations which dot the surface of this
inland sea, so that there are about a hundred mouths
always ready to vomit into the lagoon the salt water of
the Adriatic.

" The entire industry of this unique place is founded on
a knowledge of the natural history of the particular fish
which is so largely cultivated there — viz., the eel. Being
a migratory fish, the eel is admirably adapted for cultiva-

CULTURE OP EELS. £23

tion, and being also very prolific and of tolerably rapid
growth, it can be speedily turned into a source of great
profit. About the end of the sixteenth century we know
that the annual income derived from eel-breeding in the
lagoons was close upon ^12,000-a very large sum of
money at that period. No recent statistics have been
made public as to the money derived from the eels of Co-
macchio, but I have reason to know that the sum has not
in any sense diminished during late years.

"The inhabitants of Comacchio seem to have a very
correct idea of the natural history of this rather mysterious
fish. They know exactly the time when the animal breeds,
which, as well as the question how it breeds, has in Britain
been long a source of controversy, as I have already shown ;
and these shrewd people know very well when the fry may
be expected to leave the sea and perform their montee.
They can measure the numbers, or rather estimate the
quantity, of young fish as they ascend into the lagoon, and
consequently are in a position to know what the produce
will eventually be, as also the amount of food necessary to
be provided, for the fish-farmers of Comacchio do not ex-
I»ect to fatten their animals out of nothing. Plowever, they
go about this in a very economic way, for the same water
that grows the fish also grows the food on which they are
fed. This is chiefly the aquadelle, a tiny little fish which
is contained in the lakes in great numbers, and which, in
its turn, finds food in the insect and vegetable world of
the lagoons. Other fish arc bred as well as the eel— viz.,
mullet, plaice, &c. On the 2d day of February the year

224 AMERICAN PISH CULTURE.

oi Comacchio may be said to begin, for at that time the
montee commences, when may be seen ascending up the
Reno and Volano mouths of the Po from the Adriatic a
gre&j series of wisps, apparently composed of threads, but
in rfeality young eels; and as soon as one lot enters, the rest,
with a sheeplike instinct, follow their leader, and hundreds
of thousands pass annually from the sea to the waters of the
lagoon, which can be so jegulated as in places to be either
salt or fresh, a^ required. Various operations connected
with the working of the fisheries keep the people in em-
ployment from the time the entrance-sluices are closed, at
the end of April, till the commencement of the great har-
vest of eel-culture, which lasts from the beginning of
August till Pecember."

CULTURE OP OYSTERS.

225

CHAPTER IX.

CULTURE OP OYSTERS.

The Oyster.—An hermaphrodite.— Its fecundity.— As spawn or
•' spat," and its manner of incubation.— Emission of the spat, and
its destruction by marine animals— Importance of its finding some-
thing to fasten lo.— Places favoj able to its growth— Transportation
of seed oysters to the north.— Growth of the young oyster.— Chief
object in the culture of oysters. Oyster Cilture at Fusaro— Its
antiquity.— Its progress in France at the Bay of St. Brieuc aud the *

Island of Rec— English and French oystars Decrease of oysters

in Eastern States.— Governor Wise's estimate of tho area and
value of oyster-beds in ■Vii2;inia.

The oyster being hermaphrodite, reproduces of itself.
There are different opinions concerning its fecundity.
Some writers state the number of young produced by a
single oyster at half a million, others at three millions. As
the produce of a large oyster is more numerous than a
small one, either may approximate the truth.

On the coast of England the embryonic oysters, in mass,
are termed "spat." The formation commences in the
spring and Ihrough all "the months without an R," the
spat is maturing or being ejected. This, like other bivalves,
incubates its ova or seed within the folds of its mantle and
leaflets of its lungs. The seed are contained in the mu-
cous substance which wo observe when they are in what is
called the "milky state." This mass of spawn loses its

226

AMERICAN PISH CULTURE.

fluidity to a great extent as the time of its emission
approaches, and is ejected for a considerable time during
the summer. The spat comes forth like mist, and is dis-
sipated at once ; each little oyster, although a microscopic
mite, perfect in itself It rises to the surface at first, the
same apparatus by which it attaches itself to anything at a
later p( .d now acting as a little float. After some hours,
its specific gravity increasing, it gradually sinks, being car-
ried ,in the mean time by wind and tide until an opportu-
nity is afforded for attaching itself to something. In this
interim it is devoured by fish and Crustacea, and as it set-
tles to the bottom by its own species and other molluscs.

Quiet creeks and bays, therefore, without strong tides,
and protected from high winds by highlands or forests, are
favorable to the preservation and permanent location of
young oysters. To such places in the Chesapeake and
other southern bays our northern oyster-groweis resort for
seed oysters, which they plant in favorable locations con-
venient to large cities where they are sold. I have seen a
good-sized sloop or schooner, which had anchored at high
tide on a bank of seed oysters in the Curratoma creek, on
the Chesapeake, loaded in a day or two when she was left
high and dry, by shovelling them in.

European writers say that the oyster commences to
reproduce when it is three years old, it may earlier in our
waters. The young on the coast of England when two
weeks old are about the size of mustard seed ; at three
months old as large as peas; at five months the size of one's
little finger nail ; at eight months rather larger than the

CULTURE OF OYSTERS. 227

thumb nail; and at twelve months old the size of a silver
half dollar.

In oyster culture, to arrest the drifting spat is the chief
object; therefore, walls of stone or turf, hurdles of brush,
faggots, and lines or enclosures of posts, are used for the
purpose. When the natural drift does not bring the young
oysters in contact with such appliances, mature oysters
are laid so that their spat may lodge against or on them.

Fifteen years ago there was scarcely an oyster-bed of
native growth in France, all having been so over-dredged
as to exhaust them, when M. Coste, by direction of the
government, set about restoring them and promoting their
culture. In his investigations he visited Lake Fusaro.
The oyster-beds here are of ancient celebrity. In past
centuries the luxurious Italians built their villas by this
lake to enjoy the salt-water bathing and partake of its
bivalves. The Lucrine Lake, in its vicinity, is where
Sergius Grata inaugurated oyster culture. At Fusaro the
same mode of culture has prevailed since the time of that
princely oysterman. The oysters are laid down on mounds
of stone and the surrounding enclosures of posts arrest the
spat. Faggots also are suspended for the same purpose
from chains or strong ropes, which stretch from post to post
in the lake.

Following this mode in France, the old oyster-beds in
the Bay of St. Brieuc were renewed by laying down about
three millions of mature oysters, and sinking faggots and
constructing parallel banks. In less than six months the

I i

228

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

old shells on the beds and the faggots and banks were
covered with minute oysters.

On the Island of Ree this improved mode of culture
was commenced a year before Mr. Coste's experiments
were under way in the Bay of St. Brieuc, and in 1864,
according to Galignani's Messenger, seventy-two millions
of oysters were produced, four thousand parks and claires
being used in growing them. Seven thousand of the
inhabitants, many of them coming from the interior of the
island, were soon engaged in the occupation. The whole
thing on the Island of Ree was initiated by a shrewd
stone-muson, bearing the singular name of Beef Enclos-
ing a small portion of the shore with a rough dyke eighteen
inches in height, and strewing some large stones over the
area, he planted a few bushels of oysters. While attend-
ing to his proper avocation his little oyster farm was pro-
gressing, and he was able to sell thirty dollars worth of the
young from his stock the first year. By doubling the size
of his enclosure he doubled his sales the following season,
and in four years his income from this source amounted to
two hundred dollars. Of course his neighbors were not
slow in profiting by his example. The consequence has
been that the shore, productive in oysters many years
ago, but which had become almost worthless from an accu-
mulation of mud, was made to produce many fold beyond
the yield it had given in its palmy days of old.

On the Island of Jersey and in many places along the
English coast, where oysters had been grown for many
years for the London and other large markets, they are now

CULTURE OF OYSTERS. 229

resortiug to the same mode of securing the spat which the
French have adopted. I have the disposition to pursue
this subject, and would but for the limited space afforded.
It will, however, be seen from this short notice of oyster
culture that any person having command of a small por-
tion of shore on salt water can not only grow oysters, but
stock his beds and keep up a succession of crops without
being under the necessity of procuring seed from a
distance.

A young friend, with whom I was conversing a few
evenings since, gave me an account of his visit to Lake
Fusaro, where he had partaken of its oysters. To procure
them a stake was pulled up by his attendant, and as many
as he wanted taken off and the stake replaced. This lake
is on classic ground, it is the Avernus of Virgil. It occu-
pies the bed of an extinct volcano, and is a mile or so in
extent. The youthful traveller alluded to, says that the
French and English oysters are very small and insipid com-
pared with ours, the size generally not larger than a
Spanish dollar. That the larger ones are generally coppery
in taste. That the average size is small is evident from
their computing fifteen hundred to a bushel; or, as Mr.
Francis Francis lately remarked in a letter, "six to the
mouthful."

Most persons have observed the aptness of the young
oyster to cling to anything with which they come in con-
tact. Th(. wharves of some of the cities of our southern
seaboard, or walls standing in the water, are fre(,uontly
Covered. So also are logs and brush, and oven the nondnnfc
20

230

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

boughs of trees. T xese, however, are generally worthless.
The oyster must be furnished on its beds with the food
required to secure flavor and fatness. Many of the
dwellers on the brackish waters of the south have their
family oyster-beds j a place where fresh water enters is
preferred.

Our cultivation of oysters has extended no further than
planting them in favorable locations, some of which are
known for the rapid growth they give, others for the fine
flavor they impart to the oyster. Many of our fine oyster-
beds in Long Island Sound and to the eastward have been
exhausted, but as yet there is not much apprehension of
the supply being short of the demand. Henry A. Wise,
Esq., when governor of Virginia, in one of his messages,
estimated the area of oyster-beds in that state at 1,680,000
acres, containing about 784,000,000 of bushels. In pro-
posing a tax of three cents on each bushel taken, he esti-
mated the revenue from that source at $480,000. If the
waters of the state of Virginia contain 784,000,000 of
bushels, what must be the total produce of all of our states
bordering on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico ?

)hless.
I food
f the
their
ei^ is

r than
ih are
le fine
)y8ter-
? been
on of
Wise,
usages,
?0,000
n pro-
le esti-
If the
100 of
states

A

OQ

) /

APPENDIX.

I.

NATURAL FOOD OP TROUT.

The following, by Mr. Francis Francis, on the natural
food of trout in ponds, lakes, and streams, offers some valu-
able suggestions to those who have preserved waters : —

" There is not an insect or small reptile that inhabits the
soil beneath us, the air above us, or the waters around us,
that is not food for fishes in a greater or less degree.
Worms of all kinds, flies of all kinds, grubs and larvae
of all kinds, cockchafers, crickets, leeches, snails, humble-
bees, young birds, mice, rats, frogs, bee<:rles, all serve the
turn of one fish or another, and so in turn help to prodrce
food for man. Black beetles, for example, often looked on
as a nuisance in houses, are caviare to the trout; and I
have seen two or three trout devour a panful of them with
the greatest avidity. Nay, I have seen a wary old six-
pound stream trout, that had been tempted with every con-
ceivable variety of bait, succumb to the temptation of a
black beetle. Small frogs, just emerged from tadpoleism,
they rejoice in exceedingly; and I have even seen them
take young toads, though some do repudiate the taste on
the trout's part. Nothing living comes amiss, but doubt-
less some kinds of food agree with then far better than
others. But we know very little on this branch oi ohe

(23 i)

232

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

subject. It is dreamland to us, with a very little ascer-
tained waking reality. What do we know even of the
various breeds of the same species of fish, save the bare
fact of their existence ? What do we know of the food
and conditions most favorable to them? Consider the
trout. Can any fish display greater diversity or variety
of size and value than trout? And how do we account
for it?

" Trout in one stream will be much larger, firmer, red-
der, and better shaped than in others. This may, in a
measure, be owing to the greater abundance of food; but I
have every reason to believe that it proceeds quite as much
from the kind of food that they are enabled to obtain. In
some rivers and lakes we find the trout large, handsome,
red, and vigorous fish ; in others, we find them small and
meagre ; nay, even in the same lake the fish will be in-
fluenced in a strange way by locality, so much so that the
very breed even appears to be different. It would seem
difficult to account for this peculiarity upon any other
hypothesis than that of food and the nature of the water
and soil around them, and yet the fish appear to be a
totally different breed; and it certainly appears possible
that the character of the fish may have changed by de-
grees, through successive generations, and owing to being
bred and fed in a different manner from the other fish. I
have placed trout from one stream into another, and after
years could very easily distinguish them from their com-
peers of the stream, But it is doubtful if their progeny
would show and retain their special characteristics, though
if they interbreed with the fish of the stream, as they
would be pretty sure to, the breed might possibly be im-
proved by the infusion of fresh blood.

" Few experiments of any note have been tried in the
feeding of fish, this being as yet almost untrodden ground;

APPENDIX.

233

but I once heard of an experiment being tried in the
following man-.r: Equal numbers of trout were confined
for a certain time by gratings to three several portions
of the same stream. The fish in one of the divisions were
fed entirely upon flies; in another, upon minnows; and in
the third, upon worms. At the end of a certain period,
those which had been fed on flies were the heaviest and in
the best condition; those fed on minnows occupied the
second place ; while those fed on worms were in much the
worst order of the three. The probability is, that had
another pen been set off", and the fish fed with a mixture
of all three species of food, the fish in it would have far
exceeded any of the others in weight and condition.

"Some rivers notoriously produce larger trout than
others, although the character of the soil they flow through
may to all appearance be very similar. I will instance two,
both of which are tributaries of the Thames— the Chess, a
branch of the Buckinghamshire Colne; and the Wick' a
little stream running through High Wycombe. I select
these two streams, because they are only some ten or twelve
miles from each other, and because they are as nearly as
possible of a size. Now, it is generally supposed that the
very best and most fattening food provided by Nature for
the trout is the may-fly, or green-drake. This fly abounds
in profusion on the Chess; it is rarely if ever seen on the
Wick— in fact, it may be said not to exist there. The min-
now, likewise supposed to be most excellent and nourishing
food for the trout, is also a stranger to the Wick ; or if it
exists there, is not found in any considerable number.
Sticklebacks and miller's thumbs are found in places,
though they do not abound in all parts of the stream. The
caddis, or case grub of the smaller flies, however, is very
abundant; and in some of the hatch-holes there are a
considerable (luantity of leeches.
20*

234

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

" On the Chess a trout of two pounds would be a very
fine one, the fish averaging from half a pound to a pound
and a quarter. On the Wick it would be an ordinary fish j
indeed, they are not considered fair takeable fish under a
pound and a half. They are often caught of four and five
pounds, and I have known them to run up to seven or
eight or even ten pounds ; and this in a small stream, little
more than a good-sized brook, is a most astonishing size ;
for not only do these fish acquire this unusual weight, but
they arrive at it very rapidly indeed. I have had many
opportunities of knowing how they will increase under
favorable circumstances, as one of the fisheries on the
stream belonging to a friend of mine was on one or two
occasions almost destroyed by bleach and tar. water — some
forty or fifty brace of fish being all that were saved : none
of them were over two pounds, and yet, in two years, many
of them had grown to six and seven pounds' weight.*
■ " Taking the Wycombe fish as a breed, I may say that
they are the heaviest and thickest fish, for their length, it
has ever been my lot to see ; while the color of the flesh
of a good fish, instead of the ordinary pale pink of a really
well-conditioned trout, is often of a deep red, much redder,
indeed, than that of salmon. On the other hand, the Chess
fish are not particularly handsome, shapely, or well colored.
Here is a point well worthy the consideration of those who
wish to take up the science of pisciculture. What par-
ticular species of food can it be which not only makes up
for the total absence of the may-fly and minnow, but so
feeds the fish in this admirable little stream, that there is
no river, large or small, which I have ever seen in all Eng-

* Since this was written, I regret to say that again have the whole
of his fish" been destroyed by filth sent down from above. — F. F.,
1861.

APPENDIX.

235

land, can for its size equal it in production ? What, then,
can be the particular food that fattens them so rapidly ?

" My own impression is, that the fresh-water gammari,'
or pulex, to which I have previously referred, have not a
little to do with it, for these insects abound in this stream
even to profusion— to a greater extent, indeed, than I have
ever found them in any other brook. TLe trout feed upon
them voraciously ; and it is a very common thing to find in
the trout a mass of these insects, half digested, and as large
as a filbert. I have seen the trout picking them oflF the
walls, which pen the stream in some places, as rapidly as a
child would pick blackberries from a hedge j and I am in-
duced to think that this insect has, as I have said, much to
do with the fineness of the fish ; and the more so, because,
wherever I have found it to exist in any quantity, I have
invariably observed that the trout are of fine size, and in
unusually good condition.*

* '* These insects of course thrive better in sluggish than in rapid
water, though they do well enough in either when there are weeds.
They are peculiarly well adapted for lakes ; and were I owner of a
lake, I Avould leave no stone unturned to introduce -them in large
numbers. They feed upon almost anything, and are the scavengers
of the wat°,r. They are very fond of the large fresh-water mussel,
and destroy and eat them in large numbers. These, which are
easily introduced, should be as food for the trout food. Where the
streams are too rapid for the plentiful production of the gammari,
it would be by no means a bad plan to make here and there (where
the situation of the soil and the banks suited such a plan) small
shallow ponds, supplied with water by means of a small pipe, and
having an exit to the stream. In these the requisite kind of weeds
might be planted, a stock of these little insects turned in, and some
kind of offal or other food occasionally being cast to them, and the
insects left to thrive and increase. They would of their own accord
make their way into the stream, where they would afford excellent
food for the trout. Other kinds of insects might be also placed in
such food-breeding ponds, where they might propagate and multiply

236

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

*' In lakes, also, it is a very common thing to find the
trout in one lake large, bright, and we'! fed, and in another,
very similar in appearance, and perhaps only a bare half-
mile distant from the other, they will be long, black, and
lean, with heads out of all proportion to the thickness of
the body. In another, probably but a similar distance
from the first two, the trout will be abundant, but very
small, though bright and well colored. These varieties, I
have every reason to believe, are caused partly by a differ-
ence of water, produced by the absence or presence of cer-
tain plants, these of course giving a diflFerence of food. To
exemplify this : I remember some years since, while fishing
in a wild part of Donegal, near the little village of Ardara,
coming upon a cluster of small lakes. The trout in some of
these lakes were small, bright, and very plentiful; in others,
they were of a good size, but not handsome. But in one
of the lakes, a small one — a mere pool, of perhaps a couple
or three acres in extent — my attendant informed me that
the trout, though of a dark color, owing to the peat color
and depth of the water, were large and well-shaped, and
of good flavor, often running up to five and six, and even
seven or eight pounds' weight. But the lake was what is
termed among anglers ' a sulky lake,' that h, the fish very
rarely rose well at the fly, and probably it might be fished
a dozen times without producing a single fish, though ther«)
were times and vlays, if the angler chanced to hit upon
them, when very good fishing might be had, and when the
lake appeared alive with fish. I fished the pool, however,
and had the good fortune, by sinking the fly, to take one

in safety. By such a method as this almost any 8 .nount of the food
best suited to the trout might no doubt easily be produced. For if
we increase the stock of Jish, we must, of course, if their size and
weight is to be kept up, (/row food for them somehow, and this seeuiS
not to be a very difficult plan."

APPENDIX.

237

of the fcrout, a ctrong, well-shaped fish, though somewhat
dark in color, and of two pounds' weight. We also caught
specimens of the fish in the other lakes, and the difference
between the fish I have already mentioned. While fishing
the small lake I accidentally allowed my fly to sink to the
bottom, and on pulling it up again with some difficulty I
brought up a large piece of a thick moss-like green weed,
with which the bottom of the pool appeared to abound.
On examining this weed more closely, I found it swarming
with a variety of insects, chiefly water-snails, the small
Crustacea that inhabit fresh water, and large quantities
of the caddis of some considerable fly. The abundance of
food thus found at the bottom of the lake fully accounted
not only for the large size and good condition of the fi&a,
but also for its being a sulky lake, or for the trout not pay-
ing much attention to the flies upon the surface of the
water. For they had no difficulty in procuring any quan-
tity of food they needed at the bottom, without swimming
hither and thither to seek it, or giving themselves the
trouble to come to the top. Colonel Whyte also mentioned
a fact somewhat of this nature, some time since, in the
* Field.' He related, that wishing to improve the size and
condition of his fish in a small lake, he cast into it a bushel
of the small Crustacea, which are often found on water-
weeds. These increased rapidily, and as they did so his
trout increased in size and improved in condition wonder-
fully: but it is also fair to say, that they became much
shyer of rising to the fly. Probably the reason why the
fish sometimes rise well to flies, and not at others, in lakes
like those of Donegal (which are by no means few), is
owing to the fact that the abundance of caddis at the bot-
tom may be undergoing some transformation, into flies per-
haps, which ascend rapidly to the top of the water, and the
trout are thus led in pursuit of them to the top of the water,

238

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

where the insects rest, and are easily captured. If anglers,
being aware of this fact, made some little study of ento-
mology, so far as to know about the time when these insects
undergo their transformations, they might not be induced
to seek such lakes so often in vain. In the instance I have
noted the lake is deep, and the water dark ; and the fish at
the bottom, engaged with ground food, do not see the flies
at the top.

*' In the great Irish lakes, as Lough Erne, Lough Arrow,
the Westmeath lakes, and others, the large trout which in-
habit these lakes never come to the surface in any number,
save at the rise of the may -fly. In a good fly season they
rise with great freedom, and wonderful takes are made ; at
other times they can only, save at rare intervals, be picked
up by spinning. Of course I am not referring to the small
things that get on the shallows, but to the sly old fellows
who scorn a midge-fly. On 'Ae 1 hames, also, the large
Thames trout are always more upon the rise and on the
lookout for flies when the big stone-fly (which is a perfect
monster on the Thames), puts in an appearance in April,
or when the few green drakes that are found in it show
themselves. It is not to be supposed that these large fish
will take notice of anything but large flies, because it would
take myriads of the smaller ones to make a meal for them ;
and therefore it should be the aim of the pisciculturist to
increase, by every means in his power, by the importation
of larvae, &c., the larger flies, if he desires to improve the
fly-fishing in any lake or river.

" Again, I will instance the fish in Loch Leven, which
grow to a fine size, and are almost always in superb con-
dition. The bottom of the lake, in places, is grown over
with a peculiar weed ; in this is found a great variety of
insects, chiefly Crustacea, as small snails of various sorts :
the lake also abounds in the more minute entomostraceae.

APPENDIX.

m

Large quantities of both are often found in the stomachs
of the trout when taken. Here sport with the fly is gener-
ally good, because the lake is shallow and clear, and thd
fish see the fly well. In other lakes again, where these
species of weeds, which form the harbor and subsistence
of these insects, are wanting, it will usually be found that
the trout are small, or, if large, ill-fed and meagre. I
know also a small lake in Wales, where the fish never take
a fly until after dark, when fish from two to three pounds'
weight (an unusual size for Wales) rnay be taken. This
lake abounds in leeches, and the trout are very fine in it.
A quarter of a mile oflF is a similar lake, in which trout do
not thrive at all, and, indeed, are seldom found; while
about a mile from it are one or two small lakes, in which
the trout do not average three ounces. And yet the char-
acter of the lakes, and the soil in and about all of them,
are apparently precisely similar.

" Yet one more instance I must select, to show the
changeable and contrary habits of fish. In a large mill-
pool, belonging to a friend at Alton, are some wonderfully
fine trout, the trout running from two to twelve pounds.
To take trout of five and six pounds with the fly, and to
hook them of even larger size, is not at all uncommon.
Last season (the summer of '64) I took four fish in two
evenings, which together weighed close upon seventeen
pounds, and magnificent fish they were. Yet the fish in
the stream that feeds the pool seldom get beyond two
pounds, or thereabouts, in weight; of course there is a
great deal of food in the pool, mainly consisting of water-
snails and sticklebacks. Some years the fish run very
freely at the minnow, and do not notice the fly much, but
in other years the minnow is at a discount, and the fly at a
premium. I have never seen any very large flies in the
pool, yet the flies the fish take are usually large palmers—

240

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

like nothing, I should think, which they can be in the
habit of seeing. This case differs entirely from any I have
remarked elsewhere, and it is to me as yet, I confess, a
piscatorial puzzle. A close analysis of the contents of the
pond, as concerns insects and weeds, would no doubt throw
some light on this interesting fact, which I hope some day
to be able to make, as it appears to combine the best sport
and the largest fish — which is precisely the point we desire
to arrive at.

" It cannot be doubted that the condition and size of
trout, as well c.s other fish, depend almost wholly upon the
supply of food, and I think I have shown that the particu-
lar kinds of food are also a great desideratum. Now, it
being known that particular kinds of weed are favorable
to the production ^X certain species of insects, what can
be easier — when the soil is favorable to such a measure —
than to transplant a sufficient quantity of these weeds, and
the larvae of the insects which will almost always be found
to abound in them, from one lake and from one stream to
another? For example, with respect to the gammari so
often noted, what could be easier than to transplant weed ?
This would serve as food for the large fresh-water mussel
found in almost all waters, and it would serve as food for
the gammari, which in turn would serve as food for the
fishes. It may be said, with regard to some lakes and
streams, that they are so gravelly and rocky, that the weeds
would hardly thrive in them ; but it is seldom indeed that
soniu nooks and corners do not exist, in or about the banks
of lakes and streams, where there may be found sufficient
8oil, which, with a slight admixture ot the natural spil, and a
judicious planting of these weeds, may not be made to grow
them to some small extent ; and the weeds, once introduced,
will gradually increase year by year, forming their own soil,
and naturally producing those requsites which are the most

APPENDIX.

241

favorable to their production. Of course judgment must
be exercised in carrying out such experiments, quite as
much as would be exercised in the introduction or culti-
vation of a new food-producing plant in agriculture. We
acclipiatize every species of agricultural plant, and examine
Its qualities and capabilities, for cattle, or for ourselves;
we study the soil and manure suited to it, &c., &c. ; we
have shows and prizes for the best specimens of agricul-
tural productions, and thousands of persons assemble to note
and study them ; but who ever thinks of accHmatizing an
apparently worthless water-weed V

n.

MESSRS. MARTIN AND GILLONE'S SYSTEM OP HATCHING
AND REARING YOUNG SALMON.*

In addition to the group of salmon-breeding ponds at
Stormontfield, a very successful suite of breeding-boxes has
been laid down on the river Dee, in the Stewartry of Kirk-
cudbright, by Messrs. Martin and Gillone, the lessees of
the river Dee salmon-fisheries. Mr. Gillone, who is an
adept in the art of fish culture, was one of the earliest to
experiment on the salmon, and so long ago as 1830 had
arrived at the conclusion that parr were young salmon, and
that that tiny animal changed at a given period into a
smolt, and in time became a valuable table-fish. These
early experiments of Mr. Gillone's were not in any sense
commercial; they were conducted solely with a view to
solve what was then a curious problem in salmon-growth
In later years Mr. Gillone and his partner have entered
upon salmon breeding as an adjunct of their fisheries on
the river Doe, for which, as tacksmen, they pay a rental of

- 21

* From the " Harvest of the Sea."

I

242

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

l\

upwards of £1200 per annum. The breeding-boxes of
Messrs. Martin and Gillone have been fitted up on a very
picturesque part of the river at Tongueland, and the num-
ber of eggs last brought to maturity is considerably over
100,000. The present series of hatchings for comm^cial
purposes was begun in 1862-3 with 25,000 eggs, followed
in the succeeding year by a laying down of nearly double
that number. The hatchings of these seasons were very
unsuccessful, the loss from many causes bei'-'» very great,
for the manipulation of fish eggs dui-ing the time of their
artificial extraction and impregnation requires great care —
a little maladroitness being sufficient to spoil thousands.

The last hatching (spring 1865) has been most suc-
cessfully dealt with. Messrs. Martin and Gillone's breed-
ing-boxes are all under cover, being placed in a large
lumber store connected with a biscuit manufactory. This
chamber is severity feet long, and there is a double row of
boxes extending the whole length of the place. These
recept":les for the eggs are made of wood ; they are three
feet long, one foot wide, and four inches deep, and into the
whole series a range of frames has been fitted containing
glass troughs on which to lay the eggs. The edges of the
glass are ground off, and they are fitted angularly across
the current in the shape of a V. The eggs are laid down
on, or rather sown into, these troughs, from a store bottle,
on to which is fitted a tapering funnel. The flow of water,
which is derived from the river, and is filtered to prevent
the admission of any impurity, is very gentle, being at the
rate of about fifteen feet per minute, and is kept perfectly
retrular. The boxes are all fitted with lids, in order to
prevent the eggs from being devoured, as is often done, by
ruts and other vermin, and also to assimilate the condi-
tions of artificial hatching as much as possible to those of
the natural breeding-beds — where, of course, the eggs are

APPENDIX.

243

IZkneJ^ ^^^^ g'-^^^J ^"d are hatched in comparative

It may be of some use, particularly to those who are
interested in pisciculture, to note a few details Connected
with the capturing of the gravid fish and the plan of
exuding the ova practised at Tongueland. The river Dee
^s tolerably well stocked with fish, as may be surmised from
the rent I have named as being paid for the right of fish-

'"^\« , r ^'""""^ ^^°P^' ^^^ P^^"' ^-^^ aJ«o in use at Stor-
montfield, of capturing his fish in good time-in fact, as a

general rule, before the eggs are ripe-and of confining
them in his mill-race till they are thoroughlv ready for
manipulation Last season-/. .., in Novemb;r and De-
cember 1864, and January 1865-as many as thirty-six
female fish were taken for their roe, the number of milters
being twenty-five, ^he total weight of the lot being 454 lbs
or, on the average, six and a half pounds each fish Ac-
cording to rule, the weight of the female fish taken having
been 283 lbs, these ought to have yielded 283,000 e<'L^s
but as several of the fish were about ripe at the time tW
were caught, they spawned naturally in the mill-race
where the eggs in due time came to life. The plan of
spawning pursued at Tongueland is as follows :-Whenever
the fish are supposed to be ripe for that process, the water
IS shut out of the dam, and the animal is first placed in a
box filled with water in order to its examination; if ready
to be operated upon, it is then transferred to a trough filled
w.th water about three feet and a half long, seven inches
m breadth, and of corresponding depth, and the roe ,.r
m.lt is pressed out of the fish just in the position in which
It swims. As soon as the eggs are secured, a portion of
the water is poured out of the wooden vessel, and the male
hsh .8 then similarly treated. The milt and roe are mixed

244

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

by hand stirring, and the eggs then being washed are dis-
tributed into the boxes.

Mr. Grillone carries on all his operations with the
greatest possible precision. He has a large clear glass
bottle marked oflF in divisions, each of which contains 800
eggs, and he numbers the divisions allotted to each par-
ticular fish, which are sown into a similarly numbered
division in his box, so that by referring to his index-book
he can trace out any peculiarity in the eggs, etc.

III.

CULTURE OF CARP.*

In ancient times there used to be immense ponds filled
with carp in Prussia, Saxony, Bohemia, Mecklenburg, ar.d
Holstein, and the fish was bred and brought to market with
as much regularity as if it had been a fruit or a vegetable.
The carp yields its spawn in great quantities, no fewer than
700,000 eggs having been fonnd in a fish of moderate
weight (ten pounds) ; and, being a hardy fish, it is easily
cultivated, so that it would be profitable to breed in ponds
for the fishmarkets of populous places, and the fish-sales-
men assure us that there would be a large demand for good
fresh carp. It is necessary, according to the best autho-
rities, to have the ponds in suites of three — viz., a spawn-
ing-pond, a nursery, and a receptacle for the largo fish —
and to regulate the numbers of breeding fish according to
the surface of woter. It is not my intention to go minutely
into the construction of carp-ponds ; but I may be allowed
to say that it is always best to select such a spot for their
site as will give the engineer as little trouble as possible.

* From the '« Harvest of the Sea."

APPENDIX.

245

Twe ve acres of water divided into three parts would allow
a splendjd senes of ponds-the first to be three acres in
extent, the second an acre more, and the third to be five

Is withT . '' •' ""^ ^' '^"" '^'''"'^ ^^^^ ^i^h water
as with land, a given space can only yield a given amount

of produce, therefore the ponds must not be overstocked

with brood. Two hundred carp, twenty tench, and twenty

jack per acre ,s an ample stock to begin breeding with. A

very profitable annual return would be obtained from these

twelve acres of water; and, as many country gentlemen

have even arger .heets than twelve acres, /re'commL

this plan of stocking them with carp to their attention.

Ihere is only the expense of construction to look to, as an

under-keeper or gardener could do all that was necessary in

lookin, after the fish. A gentleman having a large estate n

Saxony^^on which were situated no less than twenty pond

TsVck o'T/^'rr '' r-*^-— es, fou'nd' :S

his stock of fish added greatly to his income. Some of the
carp weighed fifty pounds each, and upon the occasion f
draining one of his ponds, a supply of fish weighing five
thousand ponds was taken out; and for good carp it tvould
be no exaggeration to say that six pence per pound wei.^ht
ecu d easily be obtained, which, for a quantity like C
sterlin' ""'" S^'^'^^"^^'^' ^^^^^ amount to the sum ol" £125

ig-

IV.

DISCOVERY or ARTIFICIAL FECUNDATION BY JACORI..

of nJJ^f; f''n'' "J''"*'"'"' ^" '^' «"^^" principality
f Lippe-Detmoldt, first announced, in the pages of the

Hannover Magazin," a periodical published in the i.wn

* FronyVgrkultural Report, 1866. By Tlieodorc Gill, M. D.

T

246

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

indicated by its title, the results of experiments, conducted
for about thirty years, on the artificial fecundation of the
salmon and trout, and this memoir, in its entirety or in ab-
stracts, was published in Berlin and Paris, and the discovery
directly communicated to several of the prominent natural-
ists of the day, especially Buffon. Jacobi even received
from the English government a pension, in appreciation
of the importance of his discovery. Artificial fecundation,
soon afterwards practised on a larger scale at Noterlem,
also in the kingdom of Hanover, yielded favorable results.
Jacobi having recognised the nature of the sexual relations
of the fishes, and that the female, when spawning, was fol-
• lowed by the male, who dropped his milt over the ova of his
companion, and thus fertilized them, inferred that nature
may b'^ imitated and assisted by man. He therefore took a
clean wooden bucket or shallow tub, and emptied into it a
pint of clear water. Taking then a female salmon whose ova
were mature, he expressed them by a gentle pressure of the
hand down the abdomen, and treated a male fish in the
same manner, discharging his milt over the ova.

The ova, thus fercilized, were then placed in a box made
for the purpose, and which is thus described by Jacobi, as
translated by Fry : —

" The box may be constructed of any suitable size : for
example, eleven feet long, a foot and a half wide, and six
inches high. At one extremity should be left an opening
six inches square, covered by a grating of iron or brass
wire, the wires not being more than four lines apart. At
the other extremity, on the side of the box, should be made
a sinular opening, six inches wide by four inches high,
similarly grated. This one will serve for the escape of the
water, the other for its entranfo, and the grating will pre-
vent water-rats or any destructive insects from reaching the
eggs. The top of the box should be t^Iu&ely shut for the

APPENDIX.

247

same reason; but a grated opening, similar to the rest, six
inches square, may be left to give light to the young fish,
liiis, however, is not absolutely necessary.

" A suitable place should then be chosen for the box
near a rivulet, or what is still better, near a pond supplied
with running water, from which may be drawn, by a little
canal, a stream, say an inch thick, which should be made
to pass continually through the gratings and through the

^ "Lastly the bottom of the box, to the thickness of an
inch should be covered with sand or gravel, and over this
should be spread a bed oT stones of the size of nuts or
acorns; th,.s will be made a little artificial brook running
over a gravelly bottom." . ^

The fecundated oggs are spread " in one of the boxes so
placed, and the water of the little rivulet passes over them
care being taken that it does not run with such rapidity as
to displace and carry away with it the eggs, for it is neces-
sary they should remain undisturbed between the pebbles "
Care must be taken to remove, from time to time, the
dirt which IS carried by the water and deposited on these
eggs; this can be done by stirring about the water with a
quill leather.

Using such precautions, and profiting by the experience
gained in the course of his experiments, Jacobi perfectly
succeeded ^„ his attempts, and to him belongs, unquestion-
ably, the merit of first artificially fecundating the eggs of
fishes, or at least, the first publication of the principles
of the art and of the results which would logically flow

248 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

V.

ARTIFICIAL SPAWNING-BEDS.*

While artificial fecundation apparently fulfils the chief
requisites for the propagation of some fishes, such as the
salmonids, there are others for which it cannot be employed
with equal advantage. Nature has, in such cases, been
assisted by the preparation of places suitable for the deposit
of the ova and milt of the fishes which it is desired to pro-
pagpfce, and by the preparation for such of beds which will
be instinctively resorted to by them. This practice has
been especially employed in France, and has been very
recently advocated by the celebrated academician, M. E.
Blanchard, professor at the museum of natural history, &c.,
in an excellent work on the fresh-water fishes of France.
The obvious advantages resulting from the exposition of an
author's own. words, induce the writer to submit a transla-
tion from M, Blan chard's work : —

*' In view of the present condition of the rivers and canals
of France, the idea of artificial spawning-beds would appear
to be a most happy one. M. Millet, before the Society of
Acclimatization, has insisted, with great earnestness, on the
preference to be given, in many oases, to artifi' ial spawning-
beds over artificial fecundation. M. Coste has justly re-
marked that artificial fecundation is not all-suflScic^t, and
yet a contrary opinion is generally prevalent. No one has
forgotten the marvellou'- results which we were to obtain
by means of artificial fecundation ; fishes, left to themselves,
could not thrive and have a numerous progeny. Their
duties should be assumed by us, and the advantages would
be incalculable. More than fifteen years have elapsed since

* From Agricultural Report, 1866.

APPENDIX.

249

these seductive announcements were made, without having
yet furnished briliant results. j ,

Among fishes, some, as the salmon, deposit their ova in
slight excavations, in gravel, or in the interstices between
stones; others, as the perches, and cyprinids (carp, bream,
roach, &c.), attach their ova, agglutinated together by
means of a viscid matter, to aquatic plants, stones, or any
bodies to which their eggs can be fixed. It is especially
for the last that artificial spawning-beds migh^ sometimes
be advantageously prepared.

" The construction of an artificial spawning-bed is a very
simple matter. A framework of sticks or laths should be
made, and to such framework, boughs, furze, and aquatic
plants should be fastened by cords, in such a way as to
form irregular structures. It is also easy to give to struc-
tures of this kind a 9ircular form, by taking hoops for
frameworks. The form, and especially the size to be given
to these spawning-beds, would necessarily vary, according
to the character or the size of the body of water in which
they are to be immersed. They should be held to the bot-
tom of the water by stones, and fastened to a stake or post
on the bank. When kept in place in this way they can be
easily drawn out of the water, if it becomes necessary to
do so.

'' It will be readily understood that these artificial spawn-
ing-beds will be especially serviceable in those streams and
canals which are so clear as to be devoid of any natural
spawning-beds.

" For the salmonids, which spawn on a gravelly bottom,
and whose ova remain free, artificial spawning-places are
very simple and readily prepared. It is only requisite to
cover in certain places the beds of rather shallow and rapid
streams, near the bank or the bottom of rivulets, with a
thick layer of gravel or pebbles, and to prepare slight ex-

250

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

cavations or furrows, like those made by the salmon or
trout, to deposit their eggs in. M. Millet also recommends
that smf-.i i' !:ip!* '"'> pebbles should be raised at the edges
of thcrio ftiri'v-i. By means of tLese contrivances, trout,
especially, would often be attracted, an^ be content to stop
and spawn in places which they would not otherwise fre-
quent, and where it would be convenient to keep them/

VT.

THE GOURAML— ITS HABITAT, OR NATIVE COUNTRY.*

Among foreign fishes, none has excited so much interest,
in an economical point of view, or has been the subject of so
many attempts at acclimatization among the French, as the
celebrated gourami — the Osphromenus gonrami of natural-
ists.•]" A somewhat extended notice of its peculiarities and
relations to other fishes, its habits, and of ilio attempts
made to a'iclimatize it in France and her colonies will,
therefore, doubtless be acceptable.

The native home of the gourami is the fresh waters of
the Malaccan islands — Java, Madura, Sumatra, and Bor-
neo ; and froin the inhabitants of those islands we derive
the name as well as the fish itself | It has been attributed
as a native to China, but erroneously. It has been intro-
duced into China, however, us well as into Pinang, Ma-
lacca, Mauritius, Keunion or Bourbon, Martinique, and
Cayenne. The gourami attains a very large size, and
reaches, it is said, five or even six feet in length, and a

\rrom Agricultural Report, 1866. By Theodore Gill, M. D.
t This species is also known as the Osphromenus olfax, but the
prior name is that here adopted.

X The proper prouunciation would b'i best indicated by gurahmee.

APPENDIX.

251

weight of more than 110 pounds. It may be readily
understood, however, that it attains these large dimensions
only under very favorable circumstances, and fish of 20
pounds weight are not very common.

The gourami belongs to a family of fishes which has
always provoked interest by the singular adaptations for
holding supplies of water in peculiar reservoirs or organs
developed from the first of the gill arches, and which has
obtained for the family the name of fishes with labyrinthi-
torm pharyngeals," or Lahyrinthici. Like other bony
fishe., the gourami and its kindred have four cartilaginous
arches, and each of these bears on the external or convex
edge a gill which is double, or composed of two leaflets;
behind these arches are two somewhat flattened bones, con-
tiguous at their internal edges, and bearing minute teeth,
called the lower pharyngeal bones, and above, connected
with the ends of the posterior gill arches, are other flat
teeth-bearing bones, known as the upper pharyngeals-
hese, too, are shared with most fishes; but, in addLn to
these a peculiar superbranchial organ is developed from
the third or terminal portion, or articulation of the first
branchial or gill arch; this organ is composed of thin
more or less expanded lamina, or leaflets, which form more
or less complicated chambers or cavities. These chambers
receive and contain a supply of water which furnishes
sufficient to moisten the gills and enable them to perform
their functions of aerating the blood long after the fish has
been isolated from the water ; this structure is also asso-
rted with contracted branchial apertures or giU-holes,
while the gill-eove.s are closely appressed to the shoulders
and the fish is thus enabled still better to eke out its sup-
ply of water. As a consequence of this beneficent pro-
vision, we find that the fishes of this family are enabled
in an extraordinary degree, to sustain deprivation of water'

252 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

and that some at least can leave the waters, or the places
now dried up which they have inhabited, and travel on
land for some distance, to seek more favorable resorts. It
is to this family that the celebrated climbing fish of the
East Indies (Anabas scandens) belongs ; and to this same
family equally belongs the Pla Kat of Siam (^Betta j)ug-
nax), which is raised by the Siamese for game purposes,
individuals of the species being pitted against each other,
and fighting with as much vim and animosity as their
warm-blooded rivals, the game-cocks. Still another species
(the Macropodus viridi auratus) is said to be reared for
ornamental purposes by the Chinese, like the goldfish, and
its beauty is sufiicient to entitle it to such a distinction.

In form these fishes somewhat resemble the Centrachids,
or sunfishes, of our streams and ponds. They differ ex-
tremely among themselves in the development of the fins j
this is especially the case with respect to the dorsal or back
fin, for in some it occupies the whole length of the back,
while in others, as the Pla Kat, it is confined to a short
space near the middle j the anal and ventral fins are little
less variable, but it would lead us too far to detail such
modifications.

Characteristics.— The gourami may be said, in general
terms, to somewhat resemble a rock-bass or sunfish, but
having a smaller head and a still smaller mouth compara-
tively, a very long anal fin reaching from the breast nearly
to the base of the caudal fin, and the ventral fins inserted
nearly on a line with the pectoral, the first soft ray being
very long, lash-like, and almost or quite equalling the
whole length of the fish. There are from eleven to thir-
teen spines, and an equal number of soft, jointed rays in
the dorsal fin, while the anal has from nine to twelve
spines, and from nineteen to twenty-one soft rays ; the ven-
tral fin has a spine and five rays, the first of which is the

APPENDIX.

253

elongated one already referred to ; the others are short and
snmll. The color of the old is a nearly uniform dark olive
green or brown, but the young is ornamented by seven to
nine slightly oblique blackish bands crossing the body • at
the base of the pectoral fin there is a distinct black spot
and another roundish spot exists on the side of the caudal
peduncle in front of the fin and abbve the lateral line
ihe jaws are armed with a band of fine teeth; the roof
of the mouth is smooth.

The gourami, in its native country, has always been
esteemed for the delicacy of its flesh, and Commerson. the
traveller, to whom we are indebted for our first precise de-
scription of the fish, has in rapture exclaimed that he never
tasted, among either salt or fresh water fishes, one more ex-
quisite in flavor than the gourami-" r^iM inter phccs turn
marinos turn fluviatiles exquisitius unquam degmtavi" In
such esteem is it held, that the Dutch colonists at Batavia
are said to keep them in very large earthen jars, removing,
the water daily, and feeding it with aquatic plants or herbs'"
and especially the one called Pistia natam, a species be'
longing to the Aracese or Arum family.
^ In a state of freedom, the gourami lives, by preference
m warm, still, or stagnant and somewhat muddy waters It
It very sensitive to changes of temperature, and even in
the island of Bourbon retreats in the winter toward the
bottom of the ponds where the water is warmest, and bury-
ing itself in the mud, if present, seems to remain "in a
torpid state while the cold lasts. The greatest heat appar-
ently does not incommode it, and in summer it ascends to
the surface of the water, basking in the sun, and, often
protruding its mouth above the water, swallows the atmo-
spheric air.

While^ the gourami is essentially a vegetarian, and its
diet .s^^dicated by the extremely elongated intestinal

£54

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

canal, which is many times folded on itself, it does not
confine itself to any special plants, nor, indeed, to the vege-
table kingdom, for its sn.pply of food, and on account of its
miscellaneous feeding has obtained from the French the
epithet of water pi(j, or Pore des rivieres. Besides the
leaves of the Pistia, already mentioned, and all other
species of araceae which it seeks with avidity, it will eat
cabbage, radish, carrot, turnip and beet leaves, lettuce, and
most of the wild plants which grow in the water, nor does
it refuse earth-worms, frogs, or even cooked meats.

In its movements, the gourami is usually slow, swimming
leisurely and majestically along, and takes its time in mak-
ing its meal ; it is, however, capable of rapid movements,
and when frightened or disturbed, will dart away with
great swiftness ; when first confined in narrow quarters, it
will also attempt to escape by leaping out of the water.
It will take the hook baitod with worms.

In its sexual relations, and the care which it takes of its
eggs, it somewhat resembles the sunfishes of temperate
North America and the Cichlids of the warmer portions
of the continent and of Africa. In spawning-time, the
males and females pair, and each pair select a suitable
place and construct a rude nest. " Like all intelligent
animals, it will only propagate when it is insured a suitable
temperature for its eggs and young — a fit retreat wherein
to build its nest, with vegetation and mud to make h, and
the aquatic plants suitable for the food oi the young. The
bottom must be muddy, and the depth variable; in one
place at least a yard, or metre, and convenient to it, several
metres deep. It prefers to make its nest in tufts of the
grass called Pdnicum Jumentornm, which grow on the sur-
face of the water, and whose floating roots, which rise and
fall with the tide, form natural galleries, under which the
fish may conceal itself." In one of the corners of the

APPENDIX.

255

ponds, among the plants which grow there, the gourarai
attaches a spherical nest, composed of plants and mud, and
resembling in form those of certain birds.

Each nest is about fourteen centimetres, or between
five and six inches in length; the male and female labor
assidously in its construction, and continue their toils till
it is completed. In five or six days, or a week at furthest,
it is finished. This aptitude of the gourami to make a
nest is facilitated, when the pairing-seasor ha^s arrived, by
placing in the water, almost at the surface, a large branch
of bamboo (Bamhma arundinacea, Wild.), to which are
attached bundles of fine dog's-tooth grass. The gouri.mi
takes this grass and forms with it its nest in the branches
of the submerged bamboo, in the same way that the silk-
worm avails itself of the branch which is presented for it
to make its nest on. Toward the end of the months of
September and of March, in the island of Bourbon, propa-
gation takes place. The nest made, the female deposits its
eggs, of which there from about 800 to 1000. After the
eggs have been depodted, and while they are becoming
matured, the parents remain near the nest, prepared to
drive away intruders.

The eggs are soon hatched, and the young then find in
their nest "a refuge where they are free from a thousand
dangers which would threaten them for the first days of
their life. Uesides, they find in the macerated vegetable
matter, which partly composes tiieir nest, their earliest
food, and which is most suitable for their delicate con-
dition. Soon afterwards they make short excursions from
the nest under the guidance of the mother fish, who ^r^ pre-
pared to give them aid in case of need. They do not dis-
perse, but keep together in bands. The young still retain
the yelk-bags, which trail behind like two long appendages

256

AMERICAN FISH CULTURR.

I

from below the anterior portion of the belly, and seem to
assist them in maintaining their equilibrium/'

The rate of growth is not rapid, and at the age of three
years, the fish is only about nine inches, or twenty-two cen-
timetres, long ; but at that age it is said to be able to pro-
pagate its race. Those kept in vases or small ponds are
still slower in their growth, which is even arrested at a
comparatively small size. The small fishes are most es-
teemed as food. Their flesh, it may be added, is firm, and
of a pale straw or yellowish color.

Attempts to acclimatize the ffouramt. — In such esteem
has this Jsh been held that nom . save the goldfish, has
been the subject of more exertions to acclimatize in differ-
ent countries, and if we literally accept the word exertion,
even the goldfish cannot be excepted, for, although it is
true that that species has been more generally introduced
into foreign waters, little or no exertion seems to have
been necessary to eff'ect that object. The history of the
attempts and success in the acclimatization of the gourami
may not only be useful with reference to eventual eff'orts
to introduce it into the United States, but the experience
gained may bo of advantage in the treatment of others. A
somewhat extended narrative, compiled from the writings
of Cuvier, Rufz de Lavison, Auguste Vinson, and others,
is therefore submitted.

As already remarked, the gourami is now found in south-
ern China, but has been probably introduced into that
country, although the date and circumstances of its accli-
matization are unknown to us. It has likewise been intro-
duced into some of the islands of the same archipelago and
near those of which it is a native. IJut the history of its
introduction into the dominions of the FriMjch in different
quarters of the world is better known and of greater lu-
te roust.

I

APPENDIX.

257

The first effort on the part of the French of which we
have knowledge was made in 1761, when several nav.x offi-
cers-chief of whom were Captains De SurviUe, Joannis;
and De Magny— took some fishes to the Isle of France or
Mauritius, but, it is said, rather for the gratification of the
sight and for exhibition in vases than with reference to its
eventual naturalization in the island. M. De C6v6, who
has been accredited with the introduction of the goldfish
into France, and who was at the time mentioned com-
mander of the French troops in the island, also interested
himself in the introduction of the species. Individual fish
placed in ponds propagated; some escaped into the con-
tiguous streams, and the species had become already domi-
c.hr.ted in the island when Commerson, the naturalist
traveller, visited it in 1770.

The gourami was next introduced into the neighborino-
island of Bourbon or Reunion in 1795, at first throu-h the
efforts of 31. Desmanieres, a resident of the island, an"d who
nnported specimens fro-i. iMauritius ; but his example was
soon followed by others. His experience has been given
by Mr. Vinson, and, on account of its important bearin-
on the subject of its acclimatization in <»ther lands, is re"^
peated in his own words. M. Desmani^Mcs had, "on his
estate of IJellevue, situated on the upland of the quarter
Samte-Suzanne, a magnificent natural body of water with
two islets abouuding in a(iuatic plants. Evorythin.^ -.p
pearod to be propitious for the raising of the gourami^ but
the low temperature of this part of the island had not been
taken into consideration. The fishes lived, but did not
propagate. M. Desmanieres at first thought that the lar-e
size of the pond might be the cause of this, and ho had
made two vivaria, which may yet be seen, and which were
supplied by the large pond. In these vivaria the ifourumis
were placed, but th(^ result was no more fortunate Ho

258

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

received from the Isle of France additional fishes, but still
had no succes3. Finally, having transferred his fishes into
a vivarium near the seashore, he succeeded in inducing
propagation. This experiment had, however, taken thirty
years, and during this time, success in propagating the
species in the island had become despaired of. As has
been seen, acclimatization often depends on causes very
simple in appearance, but which are only discovered after
a long time. Since the period named, the fish has been
widely spread through the island," and is now abundant.

The next earnest attempt to introduce the species into a
distant country was made at the instance of M. Moreau de
Jonnes, who, in 1818, induced the " minister of marine"
of France to order the transportation of specimens to the
French possessions in the West Indies. Accordingly, in
April, 1819, a hundred small fishes were intrusted to the
care of M. De Mackau, captain r^a store-ship — JjC Golo —
and the interest and zealour c >■ nifested by that officer
were rewarded by the comparatively slight loss of only
twenty-three fishes during the entire voyage to the West
Indies ; and when it is recalled that a slight blow, an ubra-
Hion of the sides, or loss of a scale may ^^ausc death, and the
difficulty of adjusting the supply of fresh water, kc, to
their necesHitief* is tjiken into consideration, the small per-
centage of the lost must be considered as remarkable.
Of the 8eventy-«even which remained alive, twenty-six
wet* distributed Wj the islands of Martinique and Guade-
loupe sev«n-ully, audi twenty-five to the colony of Cayenne.
The fortunes of the strangers in their new places of abode
were various. Cuvier and Valenciennes, in the seventh
volume of their " Histoire Naturelle des Poissons," pub-
lished in 1881, acknowledge the reception of one of the
fishes originally taken from Isle-de-France to Cayenne.
The belief that their acclimatization in America had sue-

11

APPENDIX.

259

in

ceeded has even found utterance in the statement as a fact
which has obtained currency in several publications Al-
though the fishes introa.ced conUnued to live, none seemed
to be fruitful m their new quarters, and there is no pub-
ished evidence that any individuals of the species are now
living in America. We have the fullest and most authen-
tic details concerning its fate in Martinique.

The little fishes, on their arrival at Martinique, were
placed in a large basin of fresh water; the largest of them
was only about three French inches long. Some months
after, they were transferred to a small pond in the botanic
garden of Saint Pierre; all were still alive and healthy
arid had attained a length of from ten to twelve .'nches^
Iheir subsequent increase was, however, much less rapid
and nearly six years were required to little more than
double thai, length, for in 1827 the largest had only gain.d
a length of from twenty-four to twenty^seven inches. The
subsequent rate of increase was still less rapid, as mi.^ht
naturally be supposed ; and the last survivor of the original
twenty-six, which was served on the table in 1846, twenty-
seven years after its arrival at Martinique, measured about
a metre or somewhat more than thirty-nine inches in
length. None of these fishes had been able to propa-ute
their race in the island during all this time. Five years
after their introduction, a formal announcement was, in-
deed, made that numerous young gourami had made tlieir
appearance in two broods, at intervals of only six months
but it was soon discovered that the supposed young gourami
were native fishes that had gained entrance into the pre-
serves of the.gourami. The sudden revulsion from ^l,,
Mm uk^ high expectations to which the appare.it sn , .sh
h^.d^;.ven rise, to chagnn and despair, unhappily re.cted
on the poor fishes, and was doubtless enhanced by the ridi-
cule which the exposure of the nature of the discovery

260

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

I 1

t

entailed on the historian of that discovery, and which en-
gendered a proverbial expression in the island. The pros-
pect of propagating the gourami appearing hopeless, one
after another was caught and served up on the table of the
governor when a distinguished guest was to be entertained,
and thus was the last disposed of in 1846. Although
equally full details have not been published concerning
those introduced into Guadeloupe and Cayenne, no greater
success appears to have rewarded the attempts to propa-
gate the species. As to the latter, it has recently been
stated that tl e fish known as connani is the same as the
fTourami, and occurs abundantly in the rivers of Guiana,
but the connani is evidently an entirely different fish, and
even a member of a very distinct family.

RepvH^'-id attempts have been made in recent years to
introduce the gourami into France, Algiers, and Egypt,
but the fishes have either died on their way to their re-
spective destinations, or have survived for but a short time
their introduction into the new waters ; a sudden diminu-
tion of the temperature has proved disastrous in its results
to them, and the greatest care and precaution are necessary
to protect thom from the changes of the weather. The
last attempt to introduce the gourami into France which
has come to the knowledge of the compiler was made in
the ppiing of 1865. Nineteen young fishes, in a glass
vase, were consigned to the steamer running betweeq
Mauritius and Suez, which left the former place on the
20th of March. All survived the perils of the voyage as
far as Alexandria; but on the route from that place to
Marseilles, where a comparatively low and unequal tem-
perature prevailed, eight of them died. Of the eleven that
arrived in safety, one other died the following night; but
the fate of the rest has not been recorded in the PVench
periodicals yet received at Washington.

1,

APPENDIX.

261

Eleven young gouramis were also safely transported, in
the autumn of 1864, from the island of Mauritius to Al-
geria, but their fate is likewise unknown. Attempts have
been made to introduce the species into Egypt ; but the
results, so far as known, have not proved favorable.

The interest excited in the gourami, and the attempts to
acclimijtize it, have not been confined to the French. The
English settlers of Australia and Tasmania have endeavored
to introduce the species into their waters, and individuals
have survived the voyage to those distant countries. At
Victoria, Melbourne, and Hobartstown, there are acclima-
tization societies which have undertaken the introduction,
into their respective districts, of desirable plants and ani-
mals ; and of the fishes, the gourami has been one of the
most sought for. Individuals of that species were secured
for Victoria, through the exertions of a merchant of the "
town, but the history of the undertaking is unknown. At
Melbourne, after unsuccessful efforts, the Society of Accli-
matization finally received, from Mauritius, eighteen living
fish, out of a total of thirty that were embarked for that
place. No accessible record exists of its introduction into
Tasmania.

The impracticohlh'Uj of naturaUzing it in cold countries.
—Such is the hist^^ry of ;1 more prominent attempts to
introduce the gourami into foreign waters. The narrati-e
will readily demonstrate that its acclimatization in even
warm temperate countries is by no mQmm easy ; aad the
natural inference, resulting from a study of the fate <tf
those efforts, is that it will be useless to ttttempt its domi-
ciliation in countries where the temperature in winter is
sufficiently low to allow ice to form on the streams. If,
therefore, it is desired to introduce the fish in the Ameri-
can waters, the attempt must be made in the Southern
States, and in warm or protected pools or ponds. It will

262

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

be doubtful whether it can be propagated even there at
first, and the habits of the species must be still more closely
studied in order to ascertain why it should have proven
sterile in the West Indian islands and Cayenne. It cannot
have been on account of want of suflficient heat, for the
mean temperature is not very different from that of Mauri-
tius; nor can it be due to the difference in time of the sea-
sons, for the species has been successfully acclimatized in
China, which is north of the tropics, as well as in Mauri-
tius and Reunion. The cause of sterility is, therefore, at
present inexplicable j but when it is known, it may perhaps
be counteracted. It would appear to be extremely doubt-
ful whether the species can be introduced and reared in
France ; but yet it must be remembered that so eminently
experienced and scientific a man as M. Coste, the acade-
' mician, has pronounced the opinion that it can be effected,
and he has published instructions to guide those to whom
carriage of specimens may be intrusted. Possibly by per-
sistence of effort, and by selection of hardy individuals for
stock, success may eventually be attained ; and if such can
be had for France, there seems to be no reason why like
fortune should not be expected in the United States, as far
north as the latitude of Virginia. Doubtless, the fish
would be a very valuable acquisition if it could be reared,
and the more so as it is herbivorous, while the most es-
teemed fishes, found in the more temperate regions of the
United States, are more or less carnivorous.

Rules for transportation and introduction. — As to the
introduction, it would, probably, be more readily effected by
the transportation of nests with the ova, than by that of
the fishes themselves, and such a course would at least re-
quire less care and attention, and would have the additional
advantage of furnishing so many more individuals to select

APPENDIX.

263

from. If, for any reasons, it is preferred to experiment
with the young, the smallest should be chosen, and they
should be placed in wooden or earthenware vessels ; the
latter would be preferable, and those having a capacity of
from ten to fifteen gallons would perhaps be best, but tubs
or casks, when perfectly clean, may be used. The recep-
tacle, whatever it may be, should be suspended, in order to
avoid the disturbance of its contents by the incessant roll-
ing of the vessel, such motion being prejudicial to the
welfare of the fishes. The fishes shovld also be fed, and a
supply of suitable plants should, therefore, accompany
them. I may conclude with a translation of the specific
instructions of M. Coste, from whom, indeed, T have de-
rived the hints above offered :—

"1. Very young fishes should be selected.

" 2. These fishet should be distributed among several
receptacles.

" 3. Care should "je taken not to crowd too many together
in one receptacle.

" 4. The water should be renewed partially or entirely
whenever it becomes necessary

" 5. It should also be aerated from time to time.

" 6. The fishes should be fed whenever they shall seem
to require it.

" 7. The remains from the food which has been given to
the fishes should be carefully taken up from the bottom of
the receptacle, and removed within eight hours after feed-
ing; the dejections and other impurities which would in-
jure the water should also be removed.

" 8. Finally, the several receptacles should be kept in
different places, and under various conditions."

.cdBfl^ ^tieS,'i^.i'.

264

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

VII.

COLD SPRING TROUT-PONDS. v

The following account of these ponds, and matters con-
nected with them, has been written out by the pi'oprietor,
Rev. Livingston Stone, at my own request, for this book.
It was not until I had completed the chapters on trout-
breeding, that I received any communication from Mr.
Stone. Having occasion co write him in regard to the
salmon ova placed under his charge by the New Hampshire
Fish Commission, I found from his letters in reply, that
his establishment was more extensive, and embraced the
cultivation of a greater variety, than I had supposed. It
will be seen that he fully endorses in its many bearings, all
that I have said as to the importance of fish culture. His
remarks on the necessity, when one rears them in large
numbers, of having young trout in a defined space where
they can be fed and attended to, in substance, correspond
with the directions I have given. Though neither of us
was aware of the other having engaged in this line of
business, we have from similar experience and experiments,
arrived at the same conclusions on the most important
points connected with it. Mr. Stone's rearing-box, a model
of which he sent me a few weeks since, is the most complete
contrivance of the kind I have seen, and is particularly
adapted to the wants of those who wish to raise a few
thousand young trout. With the accompanying directions,
the proper requisites, and with ordinary care, one can
scarcely go wrong.

APPENDIX.

265

The Cold Spring Trout Ponds are situated in Charles-
town, N. H., which is. a town on the Connecticut river
about 40 miles north of the Massachusetts line The
ponds and hatching-works are built on two streams the
smaller of which, with a hatching capacity of about five
millions, IS used chiefly for hatching purposes. On the
arger stream are the spawning-beds and the ponds for the
.reeding trout. The hatching-houses are located at the
head of the smaller stream, just where the springs issue
from the ground. The springs are peculiarly well adapted
to their purpose, being very large and of even temperature
standing at about 47° Fahrenheit from the first of
December to the first of May. As is the case with other
springs running at a considerable depth below the surface
they are a trifle warmer on the first of December than on
the first of May. The success which has been met with
in these hatching-works is of the most encouraging kind
In some of the most favorably situated boxes, containing
trout spawn, the loss was almost nothing, hardly three per
cent., while in the salmon beds it was even less, being
under one per cent.

The whole amount hatched this season was between one
hundred and fifty thousand, and two 'hundred thousand
trout, and ninety-nine per cent, of the impregnated salmon
eggs deposited here by the New Hampshire Commission-
ers. The water, however, on this stream is rather too cold
for growing trout well, so after they are hatched and be-in
to feed, they are taken down to the larger stream, also fed
by perennial springs, but warmer in the summer, where
they are kept in rearing-boxes until winter. There is now
a large stock of breeders on this stream, which will be
increased by the next spawning season to thirty thousand
some of them varying from a half a pound in weight, to a

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266

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

pound and upwards. It is expected that a very large supply
of spawn will be taken from them this fall.

There is connected with the Cold Spring Ponds, a farm
of five hundred or six hundred acres, situate on a spur of
Monadnock Mountain, sixteen hundred feet above the level
of the sea. Through this farm, runs one of the finest
streams for growing trout that can be found in New England.
It is the outlet of Monadnock Lake ; famous for the extra-
ordinary clearness of its waters, and the superior size and
quality of its trout, and not being exposed to freshets, but
supplied wholly by springs, it never rises nor falls the year
round. This last circumstance makes the stream a safe
one for trout growing, while its great size makes it capable
of sustaining an almost unlimited stock of fish. The
object of having this place connected with the Cold Spring
Ponds at Charlestown, is to try the experiment on a large
scale of raising trout as an article of food. All the condi-
tions here are favorable to the experiment, and no pai>is
will be spared to give it a fair trial. If trout cannot be
raised here successfully on a large scale, it seems safe to
say that they cannot be raised anywhere successfully.
There is a small stock of fifty thousand trout on the stream
at present, which it is hoped will be increased by an addi-
tion each spring of a quarter of a million and upwards.
They will be kept till the first of December in learing-
boxcs, when they will be transferred to ponds built for
them. More than usual interest is felt in this branch of
the establishment, from the fact that no attempt to raise
trout in large numbers from the eggs, has ever yet suc-
ceeded. Here let us say a word about the use of a rearing-
box in growing trout. It is the firm conviction of the
writer, that a rea.ing-box is indispensable to the culture
of trout in largo numbers. As all know, who have had
any experience in raising trout— • when the young fry are

APPENDIX.

2'^7

thrown promiscuously into a pond, there is an inexplicabio
but constant waste going on all the time, and the greater
the number of fish, compared with the size of the pond,
the greater the waste becomes. Then, again, the streams
which are generally used for growing trout are too small
to supply natural food to any large number of fish, while
at the same time the ponds built on them, are too large to
allow of systematic artificial feeding. The consequence is
that the young trout above a certain numerical limit die
of starvation. It is therefore very desirable — indispensable
we may say — to confine them where the waste just men-
tioned may be prevented or at least observed and accounted
for, and where they can be held well in hand, for the pur-
poses of artificial feeding. It is with these objects in view
that the rearing-box is construcled, and it is thought that
it will revolutionize the system of trout raising, as from
60 to 80 per cent, of young fry can now be raised, even
when millions are experimented with, while by the old
method of pond growing, it was difficult to rear any con-
siderable percentage in so limited a number even as ten
thousand. The rearing-box now in u?e at the Cold Spring
Ponds, seems to combine all the requisite points, and is
recommended to all, who prefer to adopt this method of
rearing trout or salmon.

Another branch of the Cold Spring Ponds is the black
bass department. The stock of black bass breeders at the
ponds is nut extensive, but large numbers of this fish have
been caught, and are now confined in ponds in the state
of New York, and in the northern part of Vermont, for
use during the spawning season, which contrary to the
usual statements in books, is for that latitude, during the
month of June, instead of April and May.* From these

*In tlic chnptcr on naturnlization, I mentioned tlic? sixo of basa
at a year old in u poiui near Newburgh, and rcnuirked ulso that I

268

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

Bpawners a large number of ova will be taken, and trans-
ferred to the beds at Charlestown to be hatched ; but as
bass hatching has not yet been reduced to a science like
trout and salmon hatching, no such results are expected as
have been obtained with these latter named fisii. The
hatching-beds for the bass are built on the lower stream
of the Cold Spring Ponds, the other being too cold in the
summer to answer the purpose.

There is still another branch of this fish-breeding estab-
lishment, and without doubt the most important one, viz, ;
the salmon breeding ponds on the Miramichi river in New
Brunswick. Here a salmon fishery has been secured, and
everything put under way, for carrying on large salmon-
breeding works, on the same principle but on a larger scale
as the trout-breeding ponds at Charlestown. A large
quantity of salmon ova and young salmon will be taken
here this fall, and it is hoped that those who arc interested
in restocking the American rivers with salmon, will not be
slow to avail themselves of this opportunity of obtaining
the ova or young fish.

It is very gratifying to see the daily increasing interest
in the community, in having our barren and profitless
streams and ponds replenished with fish. People seem to
be waking up to a sense of the value of water, as a food-
producing agent, and all are beginning to understand, that
in our lakes and rivers are to be found a source of revenue
too promising to be neglected. Indeed a fish-raising fever

saw numoroTis fry of this season near the margin of the pond. These
young lish were not less than an inch long on the 12th of June, and
consc(iuently must have come from spawn deposited the latter part
of April or in May. I do not mention this fact in opposition to the
rfhovo remark, that bass spawn t.i June in New Hampshire ; a few
degrees of latitude will make a great difference in the time of lish
that spawn in the spring or early summer. — T. N.

APPENDIX.

269

is springing up in this oountry, and people are as eager to
procure fish to rear, as ever they were to obtain fancy stock
in sheep, or horses, or poultry. This fever will have its
rise, culmination and decline without doubt like others
similar, but unless the signs of the present are very delu-
sive, its results will be of a vastly more important and sub-
stantial.

Suppose for instance that the original conditions favor-
able to tlie existence of salmon and shad, were restored in
a river like the Hudson. Who can estimate the immense
.value which that river would assume in three or four years ?
Millions of dollars would hardly buy the millions of fish
that could be taken from its waters.

There is nothing to prevent these original conditions*
being restored in many at least of our rivers. The food of
the salmon and shad L ound in the sea. Here they get
their growth and vigor, and until the illimitable stores of
the sea begin to fail in their supply of food, there will exist
no necessary obstacles to the restoration of their former
fruitfulness to our great rivers. It is the same in our lakes
and ponds. Where a mere bagatelle of sunfish, and pouts,*
and small perch are now caught, thousands of dollars worth
of black bass might be reared. It is hoped that all who
have the time and opportunity will spare no pains to do
their part in replenishing the waters which lie within their
'reach. The fi^h-raising fever may have a similar run to
many others, but it is one which every one should encour-
age, inasmuch as in its consequences, it will react in the
most beneficial manner upon all members of the community,
both rich and poor, but especially upon the poor.

The great desideratum which is now sought, is, to brino-
fish culture out of the province of mere fancy work, where

* Catfish.

23

270

AMERICAN PISH CULTURE.

'I

I

it is only the amusement and recreation of a few wealthy
men, and to make it an every-day practical thing with every
one who has the water facilities for engaging in it. What
we want, is, to have poor men earn their living or a part
of their living by fish culture. If this end can be reached,
then the new fish-raising movement, is worthy the attention
and encouragement of every public-spirited man.

All that is needed to effect this end, in the opinion of
the writer, is, care, study, and perseverance in the work.
Nature supplies, in the countless numbers of ova in fish,
boundless resources to start from. All that man has to do,
is to provide the conditions requisite Id avail himself of
nature's vast supplies. It seems as if he might do this, as
yet no insuperable obstacle has presented itself. Every-
thing conspires to confirm the most ardent faith in favora-
ble results. Let every one who is interested in this move-
ment give what time and effort he can spare, and in less
time than we suppose, a complete revolution may be effected
in our American waters, and our barren rivers and profit-
less ponds be made the repositories of great wealth.
• The Salmon for the Connecticut River. — The salmon
spawn sent to the Cold Spring Trout Ponds by the N. H.
Commissioners in the fall of 1867 to be hatched for the
Connecticut river, arrived at their destination on the even-
ing of the 22d of November^ They were taken in the
Miramichi river, on the 10th, 18th and 22d of October, by
Dr. Fletcher, of Concord, N. H., by whom they were care-
fully packed in wet moss, enclosed in champagne baskets.
On their arrival at Charlestown they w^re unpacked as
speedily as possible, and .after being thoroughly separated
from the m^oss, were deposited in the hatching-beds pre-
pared for them. Large, round, plump, and of a beautiful
salmon color, they looked very prettily resting on the clean
gravel, in the clear running water. But a more gratifying

APPENDIX.

271

Bight still, was the egg by itself, when held up to the light
and examined; for there within the thin transparent shell,
could be seen the curled body of the young embryo, and
the two distinct black specks which were to be its 'eyes.
It turned out, however, that only about twenty-five per cent,
of the ova were impregnated. This, however, experience
has shown to be as large a percentage as could be expected
from fish caught with a spear, as Dr. Fletcher was obliged
to take them. The unimpregnated eggs gradually became
opaque and were removed from the beds, although some
remained unturned long after the good eggs were hatched,
and could be clearly seen then, as all along previously, to
be perfectly empty. The impregnated eggs did remarkably
well; almost all of them lived, and hatched considerably
over ninety-nine per cent. The newly hatched salmon
were very lively, and the loss by death, while the yolk
sac remained, was very small, even less than when in the
egg state. After the sac disappeared there was a sli<rht
mortality among the young fish for a few days. Since
then they have been very healthy, and are now doing finely.
They were transferred, a short time after becoming fully
formed fish, from the hatching-beds to the rearing-box of
the Cold Spring Ponds, where they are still kept.

It is the plan of the commissioners to have them retained
and reared artificially, until they are ready to go to the sea
which will be next spring for one-half of them, and the
succeeding spring for the other half.

The number which was obtained this year for the Con-
necticut river, is .wholly inadequate to the requirements of
a river of such magnitude, and the movement made this
year for stocking it with salmon, is to be regarded as
experimental merely. The few thousand smolts that come
from this batch of egg,s will hardly be heard from again
in so large a river, but it is hoped that hereafter when the

272

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

plans for the purpose become moro matured, the young
salmon will be put in the river by the hundred thousand
instead of by the thousand. Then we shall without doubt
have returns, which well correspond in some more adequate
measure to the great opportunities which are presented to

*

us.

VIII.

CLOVE SPRING TROUT PONDS.

Mr. Christie takes his supply from two springs of unvary-
ing temperature, discharging seven hundred gallons a
minute. They are situated on the brow of a pretty hill,
shaded by fine old oaks and wide-spreading sugar maples,
about twenty-five feet above the level of the meadow below.
Although flowing through strata of limestone, the water is
of the kind termed '* soft." Before the door of the dwell-
ing-house he is erecting in the grove, and on the slope of
the hill, stretch the two larger ponds parallel with each
other, and divided by embankments ten feet wide. The
upper, which he calls pond No. 2, is about two hundred r.ud
twenty-five feet long by twenty wide, the depth averaging
something over four feet. The lower, which is pond No. 3,
is of the same length, thirty feet wide, and varying in depth
from five to twelve feet. Each pond has an outlet in the
bottom to draw it ofi", should it be necessary to do so at any
future time.

* A short time after the salmon began to be hatched at the Cold
Spring Ponds, they received a visit from Theodore Lyman, Esq ,
the secretary of the New England commissioners, who carried spe-
cimens of the embryos of both eggs and young fry to Prof. Agassiz,
by wliom very accurate drawings were taken of tlic embryos in dif-
ferent stages of development. Tlie eggs and young fsh themselves
were preserved in alcohol, and can now be seen on the shelves of
the Museum of Coiiipurative Zoology at Cambridge.

APPENDIX.

273

The smaller of the two springs which is five feet higher
up the hill than the larger, is led off to one side to supplv
the hatchmg-house and nursery. After which the water
unites with that from the large spring, and flows through
two rearing-races into pond No. 1, and then through spawn-
mg-races into ponds No. 2 and No. 3. .The young trout
are kept from the time they leave the nursery and rearing-
races until they are ahout twenty-one months old in pond
No. 1. After this age they are to occupy pond No 2 for
a year, and then pond No. 3, from which they are to be
taken for market.

The hatching-house, forty-four feet long and sixteen feet
wide occupies, in part, an excavation made in the side of
the hill, and extends out on a sloping lawn.

The fall from the upper spring is suflScient to allow of
the hatching-troughs being elevated three feet above the
level of the floor. Thereby saving a great deal of laborious
stooping during the hatching-season. The nurseries or
reanng-troughs are also elevated, and discharge by minia-
ture fish-ways into the rearing-races supplying pond No 1
which extends on the lawn between the hatching-house and
No. ^ The hatching-house is planned for eight troughs
each thirty-two feet long, in case he should require as many
Each trough being divided into twenty nests, and each
nest holding four or five thousand eggs, he will be able, if
he should find sale for them, to lay down from six to eight
hundred thousand eggs every season.

In the meadow below and 'in full view from his dwellincr.
house, Mr. Christie will have a pond or miniature lake of
SIX or eight acres, into which he will discharge all his trout
from pond No. 3 that may be unsold at the end of each
season, as well as the young fish he may not find sale for
Here, by the time the pond is stocked there will be a great
deal of natural food. He will introduce chub, shiners,

274

AMERICAN FISH CULTUKB.

killies and other harmless species, to increase the amount
of food. This pond he will keep as a preserve for angling.

The hatching-house and ponds are in accordance with
plans furnished by the writer; the former having been
enlarged and improved in some of its details by the owner.

Mr. Christie commenced his ponds in the summer of
1867 ; not being completed in time, he erected a temporary
hatching-house last fall, and succeeded, with the assistance
of the writer, beyond his anticipations ; having no place for
his young fish, he sold thera in the neighborhood, and
supplied persons at a distance with eggs. Out of eight
thousand sold to Mr. Comfort, on the Norristown railroad,
only seven or eight imperfect eggs were found on delivery.
He has a goodly supply at present, and by the spawning-
season, has a fair prospect of increasing his number of brood-
trout to three thousand. He has offers from persons in
his neighborhood, who have facility for rearing trout, but
none for hatching them, to take his surplus fry and grow
them for market, eacji party to participate in the profits.
His address is P. H. Christie, Clove, Dutchess county,
New York.

IX.

CULTIVATION OF FUR-BEARING ANi'maLS.
Since fish culture has been introduced in this country,
many persons have become convinced that the high price
which the finer furs command, will justify the domestica-
tion of animals from which they are taken. A fine mink
skin, for instance, will bring from six to ten dollars when
sold to the furrier. As this newer branch of industry is
attracting some attention, I may appropriately give the
following from a Montreal paper.

APPENDIX.

275

BREEDING THE MINK.

« T 1, . Casadaga, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., Jan. 21.
1 have just availed myself of an opportunity to fulfil
your desire that I should visit the ' Minkery' at this place
concerning which a few brief paragraphs have floated
through the newspapers, and give to the readers of the
^ Express ' some description of the very novel and interest-
ing experiment undertaken by Messrs. Phillips & Wood-
cock, m breeding and domesticating the Mink. I found
their ' peculiar institution' as curious as I had been led to
expect and as well worth an examination. It possesses
not only the interest which naturalists would find in it
from the remarkable opportunity it aflFords for studyin^^
the habits of a singular and little known animal, but it
represents one of the beginnings of a new branch of animal
propagation and domestic culture, which is destined, I have
no doubt at all, to assume great importance hereafter.
When we consider, on the one hand, how constantly a
demand for the finer furs is increasing from year to year,
while the supply still more rapidly diminishes, as the ani-
mals furnishing such furs are exterminated in their wild
state by the encroachment of civilization upon their haunts
we can see very well that the question whether these fur-
bearing animals are capable of domestic propagation or not
IS a serious one, and that to determine by experiment that
they are, IS to found a description of business which can
hardly fail to grow extensive and important. If the wealthy
society of northern climates has no recourse but to the
trapper for its furs, it will soon have to dispense with that
elegant luxury; for the wild domain of nature is being so
rapidly narrowed on both continents, that the trapper will
at no distant day, have his hunting field limited to the
polar circle.

" But here, at this juncture, when the prospect of an

276

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

exhausted fur trade begins to be made pressing by enormous
prices, comes up the idea of these gentlemen in this region
of country who have undertaken, with thoroughly Yankee
shrewdness, to propagate one of the most valuable of the
fur-bearing animals, the mink, in a state of semi- domestica-
tion or confinement ; and the fact that their experiment is
so far promising nothing but successful results, is a fact to
be announced as one of public interest and importance.

" Messrs. Phillips & Woodcock, whose ' Minkery' I
have visited, are not, I believe, the pioneers of the business,
but entered upon it with some guidance from the experience
of others who, during late years, have been testing the
domestication of the mink. They commenced their under-
taking in December, 1866, with seven pairs of spring
' kittens,' as they call them, from which they expected
no increase the following spring — last year. They were
agreeably (disappointed, however, by obtaining young from
six of the females, altogether to the number of twenty-six.
The product was from one to seven each, showing a remark-
able variation. It is said by those experienced that the
prolificness of the mink at the age at which this increase
was obtained, may be considered as its minimum, as it is
common for them in later periods to bear from six to nine
annually; so that the seven original pairs may be expected
to largely increase their progeny next spring, while the
young ' kittens' of last spring will at the same time become
fruitful. Another year, therefore, is likely to multiply the
present stock of the breeders several times.

" The ' Minkery/ designed to acbommodate one hundred
minks for breeding, consists, first, of an enclosure aboutrforty
feet square, made by digging a trench one foot deep, laying a
plank at the bottom, and from the outer edge starting the
wall, which consists of boards four feet high, with a board
to cap the top, projecting inward eight or ten inches to

APPENDIX.

277

prevent their climbing over. Within this enclosure is a
building fourteen by twenty.four, supplied with running
water, from which the mink catch living fish, that are often
furnished, with the greatest delight. The building is cou-
8t;'ucted with an alley three feet wide around its entire cir-
cumference. Within, are two rows of cells four feet deep,
and from t\70 and two and a half wide, each having a door
ventilated at the top and bottom with wire screens, as is
also the outer wall opposite the cell. There is also at the
front entrance what the proprietors call the ante-rooms,
four by four feet, which must be fastened within every time
the building is entered to prevent the escape of the impri-
soned animals. On entering the main hall, which the
minks have access to (when not rearing their young>, they
present a very playful group. The person feeding them is
often mounted for their food, and their tenacity of hold is
so strong that they niiiy be drawn about or lifted without
releasing their hold upon the food. The nest of the female
is very peculiarly constructed of grass, leaves, or straw,
with a lining of her own fur so firmly compacted together
as to be with difficulty torn in pieces. The aperture lead-
ing to the nest is a round opening just sufficient to admit
the dam, and is provided with a deflected curtain, which
covers the entrance and effectually secures her against all
invasion when she is within. About the middle of March
the females are separated from the males until the young
are reared. The necessity of this arises from the fact that
the male seems inclined to brood the young almost as
much as the dam, when both are permitted to remain
together.

" The expense of feeding the animals is almost nominal,

being supplied pretty much entirely from the usual offal of

the farm-yard, with occasional woodchucks and game in

general. They eat this food with equal avidity afV«r

24

278

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

decomposition has taken place, devouring every particle of
flesh, cartilages, and the softer bcnes. The flesh and bones
entire of the woodchuck are consumed often at a single
meal. While the expense of keeping is thus trivial, the
profitable yield of ^Le animal is immense, it being consi-
dered a moderate estimate to claim that one mink with her
increase will equal the avails of a cow. Should this calcu-
lation hold good when the propagit'on of the mink is
carried to a large scale, the business will become one of the
most profitable in the world.

" So far, the experience of these gentlemen with the
undomest5c{>ted mink has not been satisfactory, as their
shyness cannot be overcome, and they have never obtained
any increase from the animals in their wild state. They
had tc bci taken when young and domesticated.

" Casadftga, the scene of this novel experiment, is a
pretty village very pleasantly situated v.pou the shore of
Casadaga Lake, which is three miles long, abounding with
fish, and its waters supplied entirely by springs. It is the
very dividing ridge of waters between the great courses of
the north and south. Thj town will be reached one year
hence, probably, by the Dunkirk, Warren, and Pittsburgh
llailroad, now distant ten miles from Dunkirk. It has a
population of a few hundred, does some manufacturing,
has two dry-goods stores, two groceries, and good fishing, us
many a Butfalonian can attest'

. i>

X.

AMERICAN FISH FOR ENGLISH WAIERS.

In a chapte; on the naturalization of fishes, I have alluded
to a suggestion which I made to Mr. Fnvncis. joncerning
the advantages of acclimating the smaller epeces of catfish

APPENDIX.

279

in the waste waters of England. As it may be a matter of
interest to some persons to know what other fishes are
recommended, I give my letter as published in " The Field"
with some few corrections, as well as Mr. Francis's very
sensible remarks prefacing it. I also give some extracts
from Mr. Francis's letter in reply to mine, which I regret
to say, does not show that the acclimation of fresh water
species is making the progress we had hoped for.

Sir,— The accompanying letter from a gentleman in the
United States contains so much which cannot fail to be
exceedingly interesting to a large portion of the readers of
" The Fiold," that I have no hesitation in making it public
merely suppressing the name of the writer. The question
of whether salmon can propagate when cut off from the sea
receives here a very valuable reply ; for although we can-
not of course be certain that the fish noted by T. N. really
were true salmon originally, there is a great air of proba-
bility in the surmise ; and it seems difficult to understand
what particular effect upon the constitution or organs of
generation of fishes the salt water can have, that any par-
ticular fish which breeds in fresh water should be inca-
pacitated from procreation by the want of a trip to the sea.
My own theory is, that it is sin.ply the want of that profuse
nourishment which the sea affords which is felt by the fish ;
and until the experiment suggested by me some time since,
of confining some kelts* and feeding them abundantly, is
tried with a view to see how far the fish can be restored to
condition without a visit to trhe salt w.itcr, we can form but
a m( re conjectural opinion on the subject, which is of little
value^ No doubt the fi«h noted by T. N. here, are the

^' This term in applied to salmon which have recently spawned

X • IN*

280

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

I

same as those mentioned a few weeks since by your corres-
pendent " A Wandering Naturalist," who speaks of a fish
which he calls "the silvery salmon trout" of the Schoodic
Lakes and the St. Croix.

As regards the introduction of American fish, there are
undoubtedly many which would be of great value to us;
and, if we had any piscatorial society in this country!
iinmense benefits might be conferred upon our rivers and
akes by means of it. One or two attempts have been made
to introduce American fish, but they have failed, for the
want of the commonest care. Ho^e is an account, from
another correspondent of mine in the States, of the failure
of an attempt to bring over the bass :

« f, ^.^^ ^ misfortune before he left here. He got a letter

of mtroductjon to a person in , who had black bass for sale,

and he employed mechanics, who constructed a water tank* for
transporting his fish in, and started after the bass. The gentleman
who owns the bass ponds entertained him hospitably, made his men
draw a pond for bass, and presented the bass to _-, who started
with them for this c.ty. After three hours' travel by rail the fish
appeared sound and healthy ; and, being then on board a steamer
which would reach here the next morning, he did not think it neces-
sary to change the water, add more, or vivify it by an air pump
The result was, that when he arrived here the next morning Cs'i;
were all dca.1, and his water tank, which cost forty dollars, a dead
loss. Myohagrmor regret hardly prevented me from character-

i..ng the affair as it deserved. But, '« /a«x pas notwithstand-

ing, I can send back bass to England."

Comment upon such a wretched failure is scarcely neces-
sary. The worst of these failures is, that they deter others
from attempting again a thing which, after all, with the

*Fi6h with sharp spines should have twice as much room in
transporfng ti.em as soft finned fish, as they are apt to wound
each other if too closely confined.— T.N.

APPENDIX.

281

commonest care, may be comparatively easy. The stocking
of the Potomac with salmon bass is an instance, on the
other side, of what a little shrewdness and readiness in
resource may do.

Many of these American fishes, as the bass, shad, &c
would be particularly valuable to us as estuary fish, and
there are very few of our rivers which they would not suit;
and, after being naturalized in one or two, they would
spread to others of their own accord. Unfortunately, how-
ever, if they get on but slowly in the progress of piscicul-
ture in the United States, we do not get on at all. In
fact, if we are doing anything, we are going back. This is
most unfortunate, as there really is a splendid field of opera-
tions in this country, if there were any means of directing,
assisting, and encouraging those operations.

. Francis Francis.

Dear Sir,— In the second edition of your valuable work
on fish culture, page 21, you speak of a species of salmon
above the Falls of Niagara, in the great lakes, visiting the
vicinity of Salt Springs, &c. I refer you to the passage.

In accordance with the wish you express, I would nay
there are no salmon above the falls alluded to; that they
were never known there. The only species of salmo
attammg the size of the salmon are Salmo naymarush and
another lately detected by Professor Agas^^iz— I forget the
scientific name just now, but previously it was confounded
with ,S'. nni/macuh. Both of these species grow to the
weight of 801b., and have been known larger. They are
inferior fish, both in beauty and flavor, compared with the
anadromous salmon. In habits, and in fact in appearance,
they are very like your Salmo fcmr of Scotland.

Now ,18 to a salmon wo have, which does not <jo to sen.

It is found in the Schoodic Lakes, which are drained bv

24* •'

I

I

282

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

and connect with the St. Croix, which river divides the
state of Maine from the British province of New Bruos-
wich. Agassiz says there is no doubt of there being land-
locked salmon, having all the specific characteristics of
Salmo salar. It is supposed that in past centuries, perhaps
ages ago, some obstruction was interposed, and, not being
able to go to sea, they eventually propagated their species,
and remained, producing dwarf salmon ; and, though having
free access to the ocean since, have been so modified as to
lose their anadromous instinct, and do not attempt to
migrate. They are much like grilse in the sport they
afford, leap often and high when hooked, and not less plucky
for their size, which averages about Ulb., though some-
times they attain 41b. or 51b., and in rare cases 71b. Great
catches are made every summer by anglers on both sides
of the border. Capt. C, R. A., stationed at Fredericktown,
N. B., is very successful in taking them. The sport is
only with the fly, of course, large trout flies being generally
used. This fish would do splendidly in your Scottish rivers
and lakes, particularly where the latter are connected by
the former.

In reading your account of the introduction of Silunis
glanis into England, the thought occurred to me that the
smaller species of our catfish, of which there are two, the
white and yellow, would be a great acquisition to your slug-
gish and fat waters. They are exceeding fine pan fish, the
heads being taken off when so cooked, and they make an
excellent stew with the heads on. In the former case they
are skinned as eels; in the latter only scraped and cleansed,
the skin and head remaining, contributing to the gluten,'
which adds to the richness of the stew. There are some
gigantic species of this fish in streams of the Mississippi
valley, but they are coarse, tough, and distasteful. They
are exceedingly hardy, and occupy suoh habitat as eels

APPENDIX.

283

generally do. They can hardly be called predacious, but
herbiverous, as carp are, and therefore not destructive to
the fry of finer species. Although fond of muddy streams
and still waters, they will thrive in any water, and would
perhaps improve on the condition of the Thames below
London, which is so detrimental to other fish. They are
found all spring, summer, and autumn, in our Philadelphia
market, tied in bunches, unhided and decapitated, and
hawked about the streets by fish women. The texture of
the meat is something like trout, and they are next to that
fish in excellence for the pan.

Another fish I have for some time thought of bringing
to your notice— you have made slight allusion to it— the
black bass. There are two species : Grystes nigricans, the
lake bass; and Gri/stes salmoides, the bass of the western
and southern waters (by west I mean west of the Allegheny
mountains). They are predacious rascals, though, and
would play havoc with salmon fry, and therefore shpuld
not be introduced into such streams; the G. nigricans,
however, would seldom if ever go out of the lakes, especially
into such water as salmon spawn in, though the other
species might.

Both of these species are very easily naturalized in any
new habitat. Many of our lakelets, ponds, and millponds
have become productive of G. nigricans. The other fish,
G. salmoides, has been introduced into tlie Potomac, and
become abundant there. Three rods have made a catch
in a day of 3261b. This fish was unknown in the Potomac
until about fourteen years since, when an engineer on the
Baltimore and Ohio railroad, as he was about starting east-
ward, put twenty of them into a bag-net and soused them
into the water tank of the locomotive. When he arrived
at CumberirP'l, a town on the eastern side of the moun-
tains, he let it i fish loose into the Potomac, a diminutive

284

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

Stream there, and the consequence is they have multiplied
m all the tributaries of that river (and now aflFord fine
sport, as they rise beautifully at the fly, and are excellent
eating) as far down as the Great Falls, about twenty-fivo
miles above Washington. Not being anadromous, they
show no disposition to shoot the falls and make their escape
to tide water.

I would say further of the catfish, that any merci^ntile
house at Philadelphia or Baltimore, in connection with
London or Liverpool, could easily procure a few score of
them and send them over. They are so hardy that the
steward of a steamer or sailing vessel, for a small fee, would
take charge of them, and land them with little or no loss in
numbers.

^ In conclusion of this letter, I must thank you for the
instruction I have derived from your book on fish culture
as well as that on angling; and, further, would ask the
favor of your sending me any further information in a
printed form that has appeared on the stocking of salmon
rivers in Great Britain, the progress of the Thames /^ngling
Preservation Society, &c. We are making but slow pro-
gress in pisciculture here, but are beginning to open our
eyes to its advantages in bringing back salmon and shad to
the rivers from which we have banished them, and are
doing something at least to this end.

By the way, if you could introduce our shad into your
rivers, it would be a great acquisition; its average size is
3ilbs. to 41bs., and it grows to 71bs. All of your country-
men who have eaten of it hero can testify as to its juicy,
delicate flavor. It also smokes and salts down well. Fur'
ther in its favor, it is a sea fish, paying only one annual
visit to our rivers, and that for the purpose of spawning;
deriving all its growth from its feeding-grounds at sea, like
the salmon, but, unlike that fish, increasing in fresh water,

APPENDIX.

285

up to the time of its spawning, in both flesh and flavor.
No food, however, has been at any time found in its
stomach after entering our rivers. There may be one
obstacle, however, to its introduction into European rivers ;
this is, that its spawn hatches out in the incredibly short
time of fifty-two hours. It was so proved on the Connecti-
cut river last summer, when forty millions of young shad
were produced by aitificial impregnation and incubation
and turned loose in that river. The young shad migrates t!i
sea the first summer. m ^

Francis Francis, Esq., Twickenham.

The following b Mr. Francis's letter on receipt of the
author's.

The Furs, Twickenham, Middlesex.
^ Dear Sib,— Very many thanks for your most interest-
ing letter, which was so interesting to me that I took the
hberty of publishing it in « The Field," and herewith I send
you a copy of the paper with a few remarks of my own
introductory. I hope you will not think I have taken an
undue liberty; but I thought as I did not publish the name,
that I might do so. Singularly enough, the publication
of It with my remarks has turned up a prospect of some-
thing useful resulting. For the Earl of Breadalbane, who
IS an old acquaintance of mine, wrote to me this morning
upon the subject, and said if I would start a piscicultural
society he would make a commencement, and put his name
down for £100 and a yearly subscription of £10 or £20 as
the case might require. Since the acclimatization society
broke up my fish cultural establishment, we have been at a
standstill. Indeed, we have been going back, and nothing
practical has been done in pisciculture or even attempted
*********
A g-eat fuss has been made about stocking the Thames
with salmon. Hundreds of pounds have been spent, and

286

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

hundreds of thousands of fry have been wasted. For in
its present state no salmon fry can pass through the London
filth to the sea. I told them that it was impossible from
the first. Mr. Ffennel, our late inspector, and every person
really acquainted with the salmon, said the same thing.
Yet, have they gone on with this insane experiment for six
or seven years in succession, and never a single grilse has
been seen above London, nor will any be seen until the
sewerage, which is terribly poisoned with gas, refuse, and
many other matters fatal to fish, can be disposed of, when
the thing may be practicable. As regards the young trout
put into the river, they are picked up by the perch and pike
to a large extent, and those that are l^ft, as they rise freely
to the fly, are caught in a considerable number before they
get to a pound weight, so that very few ever increase to bene-
fit in any way the stock of the river. I greatly fear that the
whole thing is little better than a complete failure. Last
season almost the whole of the fry were stolen by one of
the men about them, and sold surreptitiously, as they are
worth money. There is really no piscicultural news at all
beyond this. I wish there was— and such being the state
of things, I am sorely tempted to try my hand again by
Lord Breadalbane's offer, if it were not for the immense
amount of trouble and expense which such work entails
without any prospect of paying even in the long run. Lord
B. was much struck with your remarks on the catfish,* &c.,

* It will be seen on page 216 how these fish can be transported in
wet cloths ; last spring a few of them were quite lively when shaken
from a blanket after the wagon had returned to the city, when they
had been out of water for twelve hours. I have no doubt that with
some care they could be eent to England by steamer in the same
way. Keeping the cloths saturated with water not over ten degrees
above freezing point, and a daily examination to take out any that
might die, I think would insure the transportation of at least half
of them. The experiment would cost but a trifle.

APPENDIX.

287

80 probably I may have to trouble you again for further
information.

XI.

DR. J. H. SLACK'S TROUT-BREEDING ESTABLISHMENT.
The three illustrations, " Trout Dale Spring," " Trout
Dale Hatching-house," and ''Trout Dale Fish Ponds,"
appeared originally in the June number of "Harper's
Weekly." The publishers of this book purchased the
plates, which, with some little alteration have been made
to contribute to the ornate appearance of this appendix.

This establishment is in Warren county, New Jersey,
near the Musconetcong creek, about a mile and a half from
Valley station, on the Central Railroad of New Jersey.
It is nine miles east of the town of Easton, Pennsylvania,
and sixty-five miles west of New York. It was commenced
by the writer in May 1866, and sold in an uncompleted
condition to Dr. J. H. Slack, in September 1867.

The spring discharges something over a thousand gallons
per minute; which is about one-third the flow of the Ingham
spring, where the writer is about to construct another Lut
factory. The water is uniformly at 50° winter and summer.
The hatching-house is in accordance with the plan in
the third chapter of this book. So, also, are the ponds
(which lay parallel to each other in front of the hatching,
house) such in their proportions, as I have recommended.
Dr. Slack's success, as well as that of others who engage
in the business, will depend much on that careful attention
to details which I have so strongly urged.

288

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

N

XII.

STEPHEN H. AINSAVORTH'S NEW HATCHING-RACE, FOR
NATURAL PROPAGATION,

On a preceding page I have alluded to the loss of ova
which the trout culturist sustains by fish spawning in the
race at night, or between the stated times of driving them
down into the trap for the purpose of manipulating them.
Persons who are not thoroughly acquainted with the indi-
cations of ripeness of trout, also take many immature egj^s,
and from lack of experience do not fecundate all they obtain.
To obviate such loss, Mr. Ainsworth has invented the
hatching-race described below. It is unnecessary to say
that he would submit no plan without giving it much
deliberate thought; that he is thoroughly practical, as
can be judged from his success in matters belonging to his
several avocations : i. e. nurseryman, farmer, and stock-
raiser. The description of the hatching-race are his own
words.

" First build the race three or four feet wide, the sides
of plank, and bottom of plank or stone nicely paved, so as
to have the bottom perfectly clean at all times. Cover the
whole bottom of the race with wire screens of zinc or of iron
painted, about ten or twelve wires to Is iuch. so as to hold
all the spawn that falls on them. Pbe^t these screei-^ on
half inch strips of wood so as to huld tu^m a/id the spawn
half an inch above the pavement. Nail these screens on to
a one inch frame> and place them side by side the whole
length of the race ; which may be from ten to fifty feet
long, according to the number of spawning trout.

Il

APPENDIX.

289

"Then make another set of wire screens, of about three

wires to the inch, so that the spawn will fall through with

ease, and nail these on to a frame one by two inches.

Have handles on all of them, so as to take them up easily!

Place these over the fine ones, which will give a space of

one inch between the top and bottom screens. Now sift

gravel through a sieve of two wires to the inch, so as to be

sure to get out all the gravel that would pass through the

upper screen. Wash this coarse gravel clean, and put it

about two inches thick on the upper screens. Then make

small nests, within every foot or eighteen inches of each

other, by digging nearly down to the wire of the upper

screen.

" The female trout will whip the gravel in these nests clear
down to the wire and deposit their spawn, wffich will mostly
fall through to the lower screen, and be plainly in sight.
The male will eject his milt as usual upon them, with the
whip of his tail to agitate the water, and thus impregnate
them all. The female will now cover them up, and likely
sift all the spawn that has lodged in the gravel, through
the upper screen on to the lower one, and thus in time
deposit all her spawn in perfection and perfectly imprcff-
nated. J t b

" The water should be from ten to twelve inches deep over

the gravel in the race, with a gentle current. Should any

spawn remain in the graVel, they will be very likely to fall

down by raising the upper screens up and down a few

times in the water, or with a little sifting at most, so that

nearly all will find their way on to the under screen. I

would take out all the screens in from one to six days, and

place the spawn in my form of hatching box.

" Firstly, this method will always ensure perfect impreo-.
nation ; '^

" Secondly, it will save three-fourths of the time at least ;

£90

AMERICAN FISH CULTVJRE.

" Thirdly, it will save all the parent trout in health,
whereas, in artificial impregnation it kills some by constant
handling ;

" Fourthly, the young will be more perfect, stronger, and
healthier, from the perfectly mature spawn ;

" Fifthly, the trout cannot get at the spawn to eat them ;

" Sixthly, it saves a world of cave and watching.

" These screens can be placed in any stream, and the
spawn i.s taken in perfection. They will handle best the
width of the wire cloth, and the length the width of tho
race, with handles at the ends."

M

XIII.

CRUSTACEA.

The following extracts from " The Harvest of the Sea,"
will give some idea of the immense number of Crustacea
consumed by the people of London, as well as an insight
of the natural history of some of the members of this class
of animals. I am not aware of any statistical information
having been furnished of the amount of this kind of food,
in the Unitod States, but the number of lobsters consumed
east of New- York must be immense.

Crabs are more commonly eaten south of that city along
the whole extent of our coast, and are generally considered
a delicacy, soft crabs particularly so. Crabs are found in
immense numbers in the shoal waters of the southern sea-
board states. In some of the creeks on the Chesapeake
Bay, I have seen them so numerous that some thousands
might have been counted on the area of a single rod of the

II

ei

8(

1!
APPENDIX. 291

bottom. There is no doubt, that where they are so abun-
dant, enclosures might be made of hurdles, and hard crabs
collected and kept until the time of shedding. Soft crabs, as
they would then be, command a high price in our city
markete, varying from seventy-five cents to a dollar and a
half per dozen.

Shell-fish is the popular name bestowed by unscientific
peisons on the Crustacea and mollusca, and no other desig-
nation could so well cover the multitudinous variety of
forms which are embraced in these extensive divisions of
the animal kingdom. Fanciful disquisitions on shell-fish
and on marine zoology have been intruded on the public
of late till they have become somewhat tiresome ; but as
our knowledge of the natural history of all kinds of sea
animals, and particularly of oysters, lobsters, crabs, etc., is
decidedly on the increase, there is yet room for all that T
have to say on the subject of these dainties ; and there are
still unexplored wonders of animal life in the fathomless sea
that deserve the deepest study.

The economic and productive phases of our shell-fish
fisheries have never yet, in my opinion, been sufficiently
discussed, and when I state that the power of multiplica-
tion possessed by all kinds of crustacea and mollusca is even
greater, if that be possible, than that possessed by finned
fishes, it will bo obvious that there is much in their natural
history that must prove interesting even to the most general
reader. Each oyster, as we have seen, gives birth to almost
incredible quantities of young. Lobsters also have an
amazing fecundity, and yield an immense number of eggs-
each female ])roduoing from twelve to twenty thousand in a
season; and the crab is likewise most prolific. I lately
purchased a crab weighing within au ounce of two pounds,

202

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

and it contained a mass of minute eggs equal in size to a
man's hand j these were so minute that a very small por-
tion of them, picked oflf with the point of a pin, when
placed on a bit of glass, and counted by the aid of a power-
ful microscope, numbered over sixty, each appearing of the
size of a red currant, and no* at all unlike that fruit : so
far as I could guess the eggs were not nearly ripe. I also
examined about the same time a quantity of shrimp eggs ;
and it is curious that, while there are the cock and hen
lobster, I never saw any difference in the sex of the
shrimps : all that I handled, amounting to hundreds, were
females, and all of them were laden with spawn, the eggs
being so minute as to resemble grains of the finest sand.

Although the crustacean family counts its varieties by
thousands, and contains members of all sizes, from minute
animalcuiae to gigantic American crabs and lobsters, and
ranges from the simplest to the most complex forms, yet
the edible varieties are not at all numerous. The largest
of these are the lobster (Astacus marinus) and the crab
{Cancer pagurus) j and river and sea cray-fish may also be
seen in considerable quantities in London shell-fish shops j
and as for common shrimps ( Crangon vulgaris) and prawns
{Palsemon serratis), they are eaten in myriads. The violet
or marching crab of the West Indies, and the robber crab
common to the islands of the Pacific, are also esteemed as
great delicacies of the table, but are unknown in this
country except by reputation.

Mr. Cancer pagurm is watched as he bustles out for his
evening promenade, and, on being deftly pitched upon his
back by means of a poie, he indignantly seizes upon it with
all his might, and the stick being shaken a little has the
desirable effect of causing Mr. Crab to cling thereto with
great tenacity, which is, of course, the very thing desired

APPENDIX.

293

by the grinning " human" at the other end, as whenever he
feels his prey secure he dexterously hauls him on board,
unhooks the crusty gentleman with a jerk, and adds him to
the accumulating heap at the bottom of the old boat. The
monkeys in the West Indies are, however, still more inge-
nious than the " fisher loons" of Arran or Skye. Those
wise animals, when they take a notion of dining on a crab,
proceed to the rocks, and slyly insinuating their tail into
one of the holes where the Crustacea take refuge, that
appendage is at once seized upon by tiio orab, who is thereby
drawn from his hiding-place, and, being speedily dafehed to
pieces on the hard stone, aflFords a fine feast to his captor.
*********

The west and north-west coasts of Ireland abound with
fine lobsters, and welled vessels bring thence supplies for
the London market, and it is said that a supply of 10,000 a
week can easily be obtained. Immense quantities are also
procured on the west coast of Scotland. A year or two ago
I saw on board the Mesman steamboat at Greenock a cargo
of 30,000 lobsters, obtained chiefly on the coasts of Lewis
and Skye. The value of these to the captors would be
upwards of £1000, and in the English fishmarkets the lot
would bring at least four times that sum. As showing how
enormous the food wealth of the sea still is, notwithstanding
the quantity taken out of it, I may cite here a few brief
particulars of a little experiment of a charitable nature
which was tried by a gentleman who took a warm interest
in the Highland fishermen, and the results of which ho
himself lately made public. Commiserating the wretched-
ness which he hud witnessed among many, who, although
anxious to labor, wore unable to procure work, and at the
same time feeling that the usual method of assisting them
was based on a mistaken principle, this gentleman under-
took the establishment of a fishery upon a small scale at

294

AMERICAN Fl^fl CULTURE.

his own expense. He therefore expended a sum of £600,
with which he procured eight boats, completely equipped,
and a small smack of sixteen tons. The crews, consisting
of thirty men, he furnished with all the necessary fishing
materials, paying the men weekly wages ranging from nine
to thirteen shillings, part of the sum being in meal. The
result of this experiment was, that these eight boats sent
to the London market in a few months as many lobsters as
reimbursed the original cost of the fishing plant. The men
and their families were thus rescued from a state of semi-
starvation, and are now living in comfort, with plenty sur-
rounding their dwellings ; and have, besides, the satisfaction
of knowing that their present independent condition has
been achieved principally by means of their own well-sus-
tained industry.

A very large share of our lobsters is derived from Nor-
way, as many as 30,000 sometimes arriving from the fjords
in a single day. The Norway lobsters are much esteemed,
and we pay the Norwegians something like £20,000 a year
for this one article of commerce. They are brought over
in welled st-^am-vessels, and are kept in the wooden reser-
voirs already alluded to, some of which may be seen at Hole
Haven, on the Essex side of the Thames. Once upon a
time, some forty years ago, one of these wooden lobster-
stores was run into by a Kussian frigate, whereby some
20,000 lobsters were set adrift to sprawl in the muddy waters
of the Thames. In order that the great mass of animals
confined in these places may bo kept upon their best beha-
vior, a species of cruelty has to be perpetrated to prevent
their tearing each other to pieces : the great claw is, there-
fore, rendered paralytic by means of a wooden peg being
driven into a lower joint.

I have no intention of describing the whole members of
the Crustacea; they are much too numerous to admit of

APPENDIX.

/

295

that, ranging as they do from the comparatively giant-like
crab and lobster down to the millions of minute insects
which at some places confer a phosphorescent appearance
on the waters of the sea. My limits will necessarily confine
me to a few of the principal members of the family— the
edible Crustacea, in fact; and these I shall endeavor to
speak about ia such plain language as I think my readers
will understand, leaving out as much of the fashionable
" scientific slang" as I possibly can.

The more we study the varied Crustacea of the British
shores, the more we are struck with their wonderful forma-
tion, and the peculiar habits of their members. I once
heard a clergyman at a lecture describe a lobster in brief
but fitting terms as a standing romance of the sea— an
animal whose clothing is a shell, which it casts away once
a year in order that it may put on a larger suit-an animal
whose flesh is in its tail and legs, and whose hair is in the
inside of its breast, whose stomach is in its head, and which
is changed every year for a new one, and which new one
begins Its life by devouring the old ! an animal which car-
ries Its eggs within its body till they become fruitful and
then carries them outwardly under its tail ; an animal which
can throw oflF its legs when they become troublesome, and
can m a brief time replace them with others; and lastly
an animal with very sharp eyes placed in movable horns'
The picture is not at all overdrawn. It is a wondrous crea-
ture this lobster, and I may be allowed a brief space in
which to describe the curious provision of nature which
allows for an increase of growth, or provides for the renewal
of a broken limb, and which applies generally to the edible
Crustacea.

The habits of the principal Crustacea are now pretty well
understood, and their m.,.lo of growth is so peculiar as to
render a clo^o inspection of their habits a most iuteresting

296

AMERICAN FISH CULTURE.

Study. As has been stated, a good-sized lobster will yield
about 20,000 eggs, and these are hatched, being so nearly
ripe before they are abandoned by the mother, with great
rapidity — it is vsaid in forty-eight hours — and grow quickly,
although the young lobster passes through manj changes
before it is fit to be presented at table. During the early
periods of growth it casts its shell frequeutly. This won-
derful provision for an increase of size in the lobster has
been minutely studied during its period of moulting. Mr.
Jonathan Couch says the additional size which is gained
at each period of exuviation is perfectly surprising, and it
is wonderful to see the complete covering of the animal
cast off like a suit of old clothes, while it hides, naked and
soft, in a convenient hole, awaiting the growth of its new
crust. In fact, it is difficult to believe that the great soft
animal ever inhabited the cast-off habitation which is lying
beside it, because the lobster looks, and really is, so much
larger. The lobster, crab, etc., change their shells about
every six weeks during the first year of their age, every
two months during the second year, and then the changing
of the shell becomes less frequent, being reduced to four
times a year. It is supposed that this animal becomes
reproductive at the age of five years.

When the female Crustacea retire in order to undergo
their exuviation they are watched, or rather guarded, by
the males ; and if one male be taken away, in A short time
another will be found to have taken his place. I do not
think there is any particular season for moulting; the
period differs in different places, according to the tempera-
ture of the water and other circumstances, so that we
might have shell-fish (and white-fish too) all the year round
were a little attention paid to the different seasons of exuvia-
tion and egg-laying.

APPENDIX.

297

The mode in which a hen lobster lays her eggs is curious :
she lodges a quantity of them under her tail, and bears
them about for a considerable period; indeed, till they are
so nearly hatched as only to require a very brief time to
mature them * When the eggs are .%st exuded from the
ovary they are very small, but before they are committed
to the sand or water they increase considerably in size, and
become as large as good sized shot. Lobsters may be found
with eggs, or '' in berry" as it is called, all the year round ;
and when the hen is in process of depositing her eggs she
IS not good for food, the flesh being poor, watery, and desti-
tute of flavor.

XIV.

SALMON HATCHING ESTABLISHMENT ON THE
MIRAMICHI.

Just before going to press, I have received the following
additional information from Rev. Livingston Stone con-
cerning this project. It will be seen from his remarks,
that all the difficulties which have heretofore existed in the
transportation of salmon ova to the United States, are soon
to be surmounted. AH of the Atlantic states north of the
Chesapeake bay may therefore have an opportunity, at but
small expense, of restoring exhausted rivers, and trying the
experiment of naturalizing salmon in those which were not
its natural habitat.

'' The salmon breeding establishment on the Miramichi
was started^by^yself, and is owned nominally by myself,

* Lobsters collect in large numbers'rti^^^ii^irth^^^'^l^^
ow water along the sandy shores of the bay of Chaleurs, to deposit
their eggs. Such a place is called by the habitans "a lobster
cumpa

298

AMERICAN FISH CULTUKB.

although others will be interested in it to some extent.
The object of it is, to supply salmon spawn and young sal-
mon for stocking the American rivers. The present plan
IS to collect just before the spawning season, as many live
salmon as possible, in a large enclosure provided with arti-
ficial spawning-beds, and to take the spawn from the parent
fish, after the manner that trout spawn are taken.

"The eggs will be kept at the Miramichi until old
enough for transportation, when they will be brought to
headquarters at Charlestown, and placed in the hatching-
beds, there to be hatched.

"There are at present thirty-two troughs, each twenty
feet in length, prepared to receive the salmon ova, with
provision for more if needed. These hatching-troughs are
in a building made for the purpose, sixty feet by twenty,
seven wide. The troughs will be able to receive 2000 ova
to the foot. The spawn will be ready to transport from the
Miramichi about twenty days after being taken, and will be
ready for the second transportation any time after that."

St

INDEX

Alewife

• • •

Great haul of .
j^merican fish for English waters
Appendix . . . ,

Bass, Striped .
Black bass of the Lakes .
Naturalization of —
By Cuttyhunk Club
Prof. Agnel
Samuel T. Tisdale .
Introduction into the Hudson
Black bass of the South and West
Introduction into the Potomac
Catch of, in summer of 1865
Brook trout — Naturalization of .

Carp ....

Culture of . . ,

Catfish . .

Transportation of
Clove Spring Trout Ponds
Cold Spring Trout Ponds
Comacchio . . ,

Crappie
Culture of the shad

salmon

eels
Cuttyhunk Club .
Cyprinidae

Eel culture
Esocidse

PAOB

176
177

278
231

203
205

207
206
20U
206
211
211
212
184

217
244
213
215
272
264
219
205
141
102
219
185, 206
217

. 219

218

Kzj'jj

300

INDEX.

Filterers . . .

PAGE

49

Fish culture .....

. ■ 13

What it is .

14

Its advantage over natural propagation

14, 15

Object of . . . . .

16

Its antiquity . . . . ,

16, 17

Of the Chinese ....

16

Of the Romans ....

17

Practised by Dom Pinchon . , .

17

bj Jacobi . .

18

by Young

19

by Shaw

19

by Hogg

19

in Norway

19

in France

19

by Joseph Remy

20

A new science ....

20

Importance of .

25

Its utility in stocking rivers .

16

Food, allowance for a given number of trout

76

For adult trout

73

For young trout

68

Natural . . . . ,

76, 231

Frozen salmon spawn . . .

108

Fur-bearing animals, cultivation of . .

.274

Gourami . . . . , ,

250

Adaptations for living out of water .

. 261

Habitat .....

250

Characteristics ....

. 252

A fighting fish ....

252

Grayling .....

. 196

New species of . . .

196

Hatching, time of ....

15

Time occupied in . , , ,

16

EflFect of temperature on . , ,

29

Spring water necessary for , . ,

29

Apparatus, French . ...

42

American , . , ,

43

In-door . , .

45

Hatching-house, plan for . ,

. 46, 47, 48

Hatching-troughs ....

49

Herring ......

176

Huningue, account of . , , ,

85

Hybrids, remarks on . , , .

183

INDEX.

Incubation ....

Instruments used in

Time of, with salmon spawn

Time of, with trout spawn at different temperature 'of water
Introductory remarks ...

Jacobi, discovery of artificial propagation

Lake Fusaro . ,

Lake trout
Lucrine Lake

Maggot factory

Maggots as trout food

Manipulation of salmon

of trout . ,

Manner of feeding young trout

Martin & Gillone's establishment

Mink — Cultivation of

• • •

Naturalization of fishes

of brook trout .

of lake trout

of Schoodio and Sebago salmon

of sea trout of Canada

of grayling

of whitefish

of Oswego bass .

of smelt

of rockfish, or striped bass .

of white perch

of crappie

of black bass of the Lakes

" " West

of catfish
of carp .

of pike

Osmerus . , .

Otsego bass

Ova— Consequence if all of them produced fish

Of whom the, can bo procured

Packing and transportation of

Placing them in troughs

Manner of removing them from troughs for

How to examine them

Appearance of during incubation

26

transportation

301

PAQB

42
50
107
64
13

245

227
186
227

75
74
109, 122
52
69
241
275

178

184

186

188

193

196

197

200

200

203

204

205

205

211

213

217

218

200
200

16

41

58

56

60

60

61

"^i

302

INDEX.

PAOB

Oyster culture

. 225

An hermaphrodite

• •

226

Fecundity of . ,

.V 22e

Manner of incubating

• •

225

Growth of .

. 220

Chief object in culture of

• •

227

Culture at Fusaro

227, 229

at Isle of Ree

• •

228

at Bay of St. Bruio

. 228

English and French

• •

229

Decrease of in Eastern States

. 380

Value of in Virginia

• •

230

Percidae

. 208

Pike . . . .

• •

218

Ponds— Their shape

41

Series of

• •

33, 34

Method of shading

31

Depth and size of .

• •

87

Transfer of trout from one to another

85

Of Jeremiah Comfort

• •

87

Of Peter Christie

. 272

Of Dr. J. H. Slack

• •

287

Of Rev. L. Stone

204

Seth Green's . .

• •

96

Stephen H. Ainsworth's

91

Protection of from muskrats

• •

. 32

Stocking of . ,

. 89

Profits of trout-breeding

• •

79

Replenishing Weatern waters .

. 179

Rockfish

t •

308

Salmon — Culture of

. 102

Instiiict

• •

. 102, 103

Of different rivers . .

. 104

Former abundance of ,

• t

105

Inward migration of .

. 105

Marking

• •

100

Long time of incubation in American

waters

.108

Growth of fry of . .

•

• •

110

Of the Dunulw

•

. m

Naturalization of in rivers of Middle

States ,

115

Fishwaya for

•

. 120

Early fecundity of males

•

• •

111

Statistics

•

. 137, 138, 139

Hatching of the ova on the MiramichI

•

195

INDEX.

803

PAOB

225
225
225
225
226
227
7, 229
228
228
229
230
230

203

218

41

83,34

31

37

35

37

272

287

264

96

91

32

39

79

179
203

102
2, 103
104
105
105
106
108
110
113
116
120
111
J, 139
195

Salmon culture in the United States

PAGE
. 113

Worthy of government patronage

116

Salmon fishing on the Qoodbout

•

. 117

on the Nipis8i|,ait

•

118

Salmon rivers of Maine .

•

. 118

Salmon breeding at Stormontfield

•

121

at Tongueland on

the Dee

. 124

on the Galtray

*

124

at Ballisodare .

•

. 127

on the Doohulla

•

132

in Australia

•

. 185

on the Miramiohi,

N.B.

195

Salmonidse

•

. 184

Salmo Canadensis . .

•

193

Schoodio salmon . . .

••

. 184

Sebago salmon . .

•

188

Sea trout ....

•

. 193

Qreat abundance of .

•

194

Sea trout of Canada . .

•

. 193

Shad— Culture of

•

141

Instinct

•

. 144

Analogous to salmon .

•

142

Former abundance of

•

. 143

Incubation of its ova f

•

153

Introduction of into Gulf of Mexico

. 150

Ascent over dam of Susquehanna Canal Co. .

172

Reports of Colonel Worrall on

fishways for .

164, 172

Two varieties of . .

*

141

Migrations of . l

■

. 142

Food of .

•

142

Advantages of artificial propagation of

. 146

Growth of .

. 162,148

Hatching of at Holyoke ,

. 153

Fecundity of

158

Size and expansion of ova .

. 167

Embryonic development of

168

Hatohing-box for . .

. 164

Siluridaa . . ■.

218

Smelt . • . .

. 200

Striped basi . . .

JOS

Taking spawn

. 61

Taking trout from spawniug-raoe

62

Thymallns . . ,

. 188

Trout— The

26

Its adaptability to (niKure .

29

Its season of spawning .

26

'^^

304

INDEX.

Trout— *

Appearance of sexes at time of spawning

Habits ...

Subsequent recuperation ,

Transportation of ,

Growth of . , ^

Enemies of . , '

Natural food of
Trout fry— Treatment of

Feeding of .

Disposition to escape

Transferring them to nurseries
Transportation of
Naturalization of
Trout-breeding

A branch of farming
Will it pay . . ■ ,

Importance of . ,

Trout Dale Spring Hatching-House and Ponds

White perch , , , ,

Whiteflsh

PAQI

28
27

^ 28
89
88
86

231
67
68

7a

71

72

184

26

72

82,79

100

287

204
197

Ml
gn
uni
aut
J
the

THE END.

PAOI

28
27
28
39
83
85

231
67
68
70
71
72

184
26
72
79

100

287

lU
197

ERRATA.

The plate facing page 141, is taken from the first Report of the
Massachusetts Fish Commissioners, and represents the successive
growth of the young shad from the age of two or three weeks
until the time of migration to sea late in the summer, or in early'
autumn. ''

Page 48, line 17, for ..bey„„d to the middle," read ..beyond
the middle."