A

MODERN

FISHCULTURE

IN

FRESH AND SALT WATER

BY-
FRED MATHER

Autkor of "Men I Have Fished With"

FORMERLY ASSISTANT TO THE U. S. FISH COMMISSION, LATE

SUPERINTENDENT OF THE N. Y. STATE HATCHERY

AT COLD SPRING HARBOR, LONG ISLAND,

WITH

A CHAPTER ON WHITEFISH CULTURE BY HON. HERSCHEL
WHITAKER, FISH COMMISSIONER OF MICHIGAN, AND
A CHAPTER ON THE PIKE-PERCH BY JAMES
NEVIN, SUPERINTENDENT OF THE WIS-
CONSIN FISH COMMISSION.

'ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK
FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING COMPANY

1900

COPYRIGHTED 1900,

BY
FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING COMPANY.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE.

Why the Book Was Written 9

A Glance at Fishculture , . . 13

SECTION I.

TROUT BREEDING.

CHAPTER I.

Introduction 22

Water Supply 23

Pollution of Waters „ 24

A Word About Trou^ . , • . e , 30

How Nature Does It. 31

Eggs of Trout . . . . , 34

Marketable Trout 35

CHAPTER II.

In the Hatching House. : 40

Trough for Young Salmonidse 47

Why Do We Use Coal Tar? 48

Hatching Trays 50

Preparing for Hatching 52

CHAPTER III.

Trout Eggs— Distinguishing Sex in Fishes 56

Taking Trout Eggs 60

Spawn from Wild Trout 66

Number of Eggs in Trout 70

Packing Eggs for Shipment 72

239867

2 ;Tajfc df; Contents,

CHAPTER IV. PAGE.

Care of Trout Eggs 78

Tools of the Craft 82

Hatching in Bulk 83

CHAPTER V.
Care of Fry , ... 86

CHAPTER VI.

Feeding Fry 92

How Others Feed Fry 98

Comments on the Methods of Feeding 101

Introducing New Blood 102

Growth of Fry 103

Automatic Feeders 104

Putting Out the Babies 105

CHAPTER VII.

Streams 107

CHAPTER VIII.

Ponds «... 112

Large Single Ponds 115

Ponds in Series e 1 18

Drains 121

Dams , . „ . 123

Screens for Ponds 123

CHAPTER IX.

Temperatures 127

CHAPTER X.

Food for Adult Trout — Mussels „ 128

Soft Clams 129

Horse Meat 130

Beef Lights and Maggots . 130

Fish 131

Haslets 132

Natural Foods 132

. How They Feed in Japan 134

Patent Foods 136

What Others Say About Food. 137

Table of Contents. 3

CHAPTER XI. PAGE.

Planting Fry .,,.... 138

Stock Heavily 141

Time to Plant Fry 141

CHAPTER XII.

Transplanting Adult Fish 144

SECTION II.

OTHER TROUTS AND THE SALMONS.

CHAPTER XIII.

The Salmons . . 147

The Pacific Salmons „ 147

CHAPTER XIV.

Other Trouts — Brown Trout 149

Growth of Brown Trout „ 153

Rainbow Trout 156

The Rainbow in England 158

Lake Trout 166

CHAPTER XV.

Hybrid Fish 169

Shad and Alewife 169

Shad and Striped Bass 170

CHAPTER XVI.
Barren Trout and Annual Spawners 173

SECTION III.

OTHER SALMONID.E.

CHAPTER XVII.
Grayling ;.......,..,. • 175

4 Table of Contents.

CHAPTER XVIII.
Whitefishes 181

CHAPTER XIX.
The Whitefish and Its Culture.. 182

SECTION IV.

OTHER FRESHWATER FISH WITH FREE EGGS.

CHAPTER XX.
Pike, Pickerel and Mascalonge 191

CHAPTER XXI.

Shad 192

Shad Fry Across the Atlantic 198

The Bell and Mather Hatching Cone 199

The Chase Jar 203

The McDonald Jar 204

CHAPTER XXII.
Striped Bass or Rock Fish 204

SECTION V.
ADHESIVE EGGS.

CHAPTER XXIII.
The Adirondack Frostfish 208

CHAPTER XXIV.

Smelt 210

Smelt in New Hampshire 213

Table of Contents. 5

CHAPTER XXV. PAGE.

The Black Basses 213

Small-Mouth 214

Big-Mouth 214

Black Bass Culture 218

CHAPTER XXVI.

The Crappies 221

Small-Mouth Crappie , 221

Big-Mouth Crappie 222

Culture of Crappie 222

Names 224

Value of the Crappie 224

Habits 227

CHAPTER XXVII.
White Perch 228

CHAPTER XXVIII.

The Pike Perch 230

Wall-Eyed Pike 230

The Sauger 232

Hatching Wall-Eyed Pike Eggs 232

CHAPTER XXIX.
Cat Fish 239

CHAPTER XXX.

Carp 241

Castrating Carp 242

CHAPTER XXXI.
The Alewives 243

CHAPTER XXXII.
Sturgeon 245

CHAPTER XXXIII.
Yellow Perch 245

6 Table of Contents.

SECTION VI.

PARASITES, DISEASES AND ENEMIES.

CHAPTER XXXIV. PAGE.

Parasites 250

External Parasites 251

Internal Parasites 254

CHAPTER XXXV.

Diseases 255

A Dead Horse 257

Fish That Die After Spawning 259

An Epidemic 260

CHAPTER XXXVI.

Enemies 267

Fish -. . 268

Reptiles and Batrachians 260

A Plant 278

Insects and Their Larvae 279

Mammals 283

SECTION VII.
SALT-WATER FISH.

CHAPTER XXXVII.
Codfish 292

CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Tomcod 294

CHAPTER XXXIX. .

Lobsters 296

Lobsters are Biennial Spawners 296

Table of Contents. 7

SECTION VIII.

MISCELLANEOUS.

CHAPTER XL. PAGE.

Frog Culture 301

A Great Transformation 303

Marketing of Frogs : 304

CHAPTER XLI.
Terrapins 306

CHAPTER XLII.

Number of Eggs in Different Fish 309

Table of Number of Eggs in Various Fishes 310

CHAPTER. XLIII.
The Working or Blooming of Ponds 311

CHAPTER XLIV.
Fishways T 318

CHAPTER XLV.
Fishes Which Guard Their Young 320

CHAPTER XLVI.
How Fish Find Their Own Rivers 322

CHAPTER XLVII.
Dynamiting a Lake 324

*

CHAPTER XLVIII.
To Measure the Flow of Water 325

WHY THE BOOK WAS WRITTEN.

When I began fishculture in 1868, by buying a farm
near Honeoye Falls, Monroe County, N. Y., to begin
raising trout, there was little available literature on
the subject. The only book I knew of was a book
entitled "American Fishculture, embracing all the de-
tails of artificial breeding and rearing of trout, the cul-
ture of salmon, shad and other fishes," by Thaddeus
Norris. It was published that same year and gave
what was then known of the subject, and by its feeble
light I began work, but found that I had it all to learn.

Fifteen miles west of me a man was breeding trout,
but he did not approve of what he considered an in-
vasion of his particular domain, and no information
could be had in that quarter ; so I learned my lesson by
many expensive experiments and mistakes.

The sale of eggs and fry was the most profitable part
of trout farming then, and Mr. A. S. Collins, Dr. J. H.
Slack and I called a meeting to agree upon a scale of
prices. The preliminary meeting was held in New
York in 1870, but the following year we met in Albany
and organized The American Fishculturists" Associa-
tion, with some twenty members. Papers on fishcul-
ture were read, but the sale of eggs and fry did not
come up; we took a broader course. Massachusetts,
New York, Connecticut and other States had organ-
ized Fish Commissions, and we adopted a resolution
that the general Government should have something of
the kind, and appointed Mr. George Shepard Page a

io Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

committee of one to go to Washington and lay the mat-
ter before Congress. He did this, after consulting
Prof. Spencer F. Baird, then Assistant Secretary of
the Smithsonian Institution. To avoid all struggle for
the office, Prof. Baird had a clause inserted that the
Commissioner should serve without salary, and he was
appointed to be Fish Commissioner in 1871.

Prof. Baird called me to assist in the shad hatching
on the Hudson and the Connecticut rivers, and in 1874
sent me to Germany with 100,000 young shad. I was
again sent to Germany with eggs of quinnat salmon in
1877, and also in 1879. I had devised a refrigerating
box for salmon eggs which was a success ; but, like my
conical apparatus for hatching shad eggs in bulk, it
was not patented.

In 1880 Prof. Baird appointed me to the charge of
the American exhibit of angling and fishcultural ap-
paratus at the International Fisheries Exposition held
in Berlin, Prof. G. Brown Goode representing the
Commissioner.

When Mr. Eugene G. Blackford was made one of
the Fish Commissioners of the State of New York he
wanted a hatchery on Long Island. Seth Green, the
Superintendent of the Commission, opposed it and said
there was no fit place on the Island. Mr. Blackford
engaged me to examine the waters and to report. I
reported that at Cold Spring Harbor was a fine place
for both fresh and salt water fishculture, and I secured
the place for the Commission from its owner, Mr. John
D. Jones, without cost to the State. This was in 1882,
and that winter I began hatching salmon for the Hud-
son, for the United States Fish Commission at Roslyn,
Long Island, and Green sent a man to put troughs in
an old building at Cold Spring Harbor, but soon re-

Why the Book Was Written. n

called him. Mr. Blackford then asked me to take
charge of it, which I did on January I, 1883, and four
years later planned and built the present hatchery,
which is not only the best, but is also the most impor-
tant one in the State. There I learned how to hatch
over 70 per cent, of the adhesive eggs of the smelt, and
in the hatching of lobsters discovered that they spawn
o;ily once in two years. Changes in the Commission
threwr me out in 1895.

These things are mentioned merely to show that 1
have some right to opinions on fishculture after an ex-
perience of thirty years, and, there being no modern
book on general fishculture, outside of the Government
publications, such a book has been asked for; but as
trout breeding is not only the parent of fishculture, but
the most popular form of it, a large portion of the book-
is devoted to that branch, and I hope that the novice
may profit by it and avoid many failures which fell to
the lot of those who were the pioneers in this work.

On methods where fishculturists differ about details
I have given the opinions of some of the best informed
men in America, and in the culture of whitefish and
wall-eyed pike, where my own experience has been
little or nothing, I have asked well-known men of ex-
perience to write these chapters in order that the book
may be as nearly perfect as possible. Fishculturists
may differ with me on some small matters, but that is
to be expected, and will not affect the general result.

The book has been many years in preparation in the
way of gathering material, circulars having been sent
to fishculturists in jSgi concerning the feeding of fry
in troughs and of the diseases of adult trout, the an-
swers to which will be found under those heads.

Naturally, reference is frequently made to my own

12 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

work and experience, but this is the only work on fish-
culture in any language which gives the experience of
others, although one or two of the older ones occasion-
ally hint that there were some dabblers in the art at the
time they were writing.

As this book is intended to be original, I have re-
frained during the past five years from looking into
any fishcultural work, outside the Government publica-
tions, for fear that I might unconsciously quote the
author. When the opinions of others seemed to be
needed on mooted points, they were written to and their
answers are given.

Last, but not least, the book was written because the
publishers have been flooded with demands for such a
work, and, outside of Government publications, there
is no book which covers the whole ground since Norris
published "American Fishculture," in 1868, now long
out of print.

These seem to be good and sufficient reasons for the
existence of a book on Modern Fishculture.

F. M.

April 20, 1899.

A GLANCE AT FISH CULTURE.

Hundreds, and perhaps thousands of years ago, the
Chinese placed twigs in the water to catch the adhesive
spawn of some species of fish. This is the extent of the
work done by them, only this and nothing more. The
eggs were placed in other waters and left to hatch. As
ir has been claimed that they were far ahead of us in
fishculture, I made inquiry of learned Chinamen at the
Fisheries Exposition in Berlin in 1880, and know that
their fishculturalworkis of the crudest sort, and has not
improved. In the United States the work has made the
greatest strides and has been prosecuted on a scale not
equalled elsewhere. Then come Canada, Germany,
Norway, Sweden and other countries, but England has
done nothing in a public way; fishculture there is en-
tirely in private hands and is confined to private waters,
largely on the estates of wealthy gentlemen.

The question is often asked, ''Will it pay to raise
trout?" So much depends upon local conditions that
only a general answer can be made. If the water sup-
ply is large and not too warm; if food can be had in
plenty at a very low price and there is a good market
near, then it will pay to raise trout for market, if you can
do it on a sufficiently large scale ; or, if there are anglers
near who will pay for what they catch, they form the
best market. There are places where trout can be
grown for food in limited numbers without expense,
and the price received is nearly all profit. If the waters
are too warm for trout they can be made to produce
other fish, such a's black bass or perch ; or if not these,

13

14 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

then carp, which I do not look upon with favor. All
these subjects will be treated at length under their re-
spective heads.

Fishculture — and I always prefer this word to the
Latin, pisciculture, as I do the good English word eggs
to ova — is a paying investment for the government and
for such States as have suitable waters. If New York
had not hatched shad in the Hudson each year since
1869 there would be few or none there now. The in-
crease of population, and above all the facilities for
transportation, are so great that the drain on the river
would be more than it could stand. North River,
another name for the Hudson, shad are now sent to Chi-
cago, and beyond, and the number of fishermen has in-
creased with the demand for shad. This is why shad
do not become cheaper when so many more millions are
hatched. They seldom sell for less than $10 per hun-
dred at the nets. As proof of the assertion that shad
would be nearly extinct in the Hudson but for artificial
hatching, I will cite the case of the Connecticut River,
once so famous for the number as well as the quality of
its shad. Years ago there was an arrangement to share
the expense 0* shad hatching by the States of Massachu-
setts and Connecticut, and they turned out many fish.
Then the commissioners quarreled; the men of Mas-
sachusetts complained that they did not get their share
of the shad, because the pounds at the mouth of the
river took the bulk of the fish. The hatching stopped
some twenty years ago, and now the Connecticut fur-
nishes very few shad, so few that it does not pay to
fish for them above the mouth of the river. There
was a similar dispute about the salmon in the Rhine;
Germany hatched them and Holland caught them,
reaping the benefit without any expense.

A Glance at Fishculture. 15

Shad only come to the rivers to breed. Those caught
for food when ripe are lost for that purpose unless the
fishculturist saver them, and he hatches millions which
would otherwise be lost.

Again the Connecticut River. It was once a famous
salmon river. My grandfather has told me of seeing
his father, Joseph Mather, who rah a ferry from Lyme
to Saybrook, at the mouth of the river, over 125 years
ago, take so many salmon in his net that he could not
land them for fear of tearing the net, and part had to
be released. In the late 70*3 the salmon had not been
seen in the river for over a quarter of a century, and
the States above mentioned, in connection with Ver-
mont, New Hampshire and the United States, shared
the expense of restocking the river with salmon fry
from the Penobscot. The salmon fishery was restored
and in a few years Connecticut salmon were common
in the markets of New York, Boston and other cities.
Then came the old trouble about the nets at the mouth
of the river and the stocking ceased. The run of fish
kept up for two or three years afterward and Con-
necticut salmon were no longer caught.

It is difficult to tell the results of fishculture in waters
where the fish which are bred have always existed, but
when a species is placed in water where it is not a na-
tive, and thrives there, the fishculturist can point to it
with pride. Shad and striped bass were unknown on
the Pacific coast until planted there over twenty years
ago, and now they are not only plenty in the Sacra-
mento River, where the plants were made, but shad
have strayed north and stocked waters as high up as
Puget Sound. Not only that, but Mr. Blackford has
seen shad in California which weighed as high as 16
pounds, while one of half that size is a monster on the

1 6 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Waicr.

Atlantic coast. Striped bass are also common there.
The salmon and the brown trout have been introduced
into Australia, the rainbow trout into England and Ger-
many with marked success, and if more examples are
required I would refer to the introduction of the brown
trout of Europe into America ; but these are enough to
show that the so-called artificial breeding of fish is a
valuable industry if carried on intelligently.

The broad, unqualified assertion that "an acre of
water is more valuable than an acre of land," started by
some enthusiastic fishculturist years ago, is liable to
hurt the cause of fishculture if used seriously. There
can be no such comparison. Land and water a're val-
uable for what they will produce ; some land is worth-
less and so is some water, yet we must admit that the
latter might produce more food than it does, for out-
side of Great Salt Lake I do not know of any American
waters, unless alkaline ones, which will not produce
food of some kind fit for the use of man, while I do
know of barren sands that would not grow an ounce of
food. The fact is that some acres of water are worth
more than some acres of land, and vice versa. There is
no fixed rule or ratio of values. I know of a spot where
springs well up on about 40 acres of swamp land within
as many miles of New York City, and make a splendid
trout stream, which I would prefer to an equal amount
of the best farming land in the State ; but that is an ex-
ception. The Great Lakes do not yield as valuable prod-
ucts as an equal area of the best farming land. But then
the Great Lakes are in a state of nature, the fishes in
them are not selected, and worthless species prey upon
the more valuable ones. Perhaps that's not a fair com-
parison, and I wish to be fair. Take the mill-pond of 20
acres, Here the water may be drawn off and in some

A Glance at FishcultuM. 1 7

cases the worthless species can be killed. Then it is a
question of temperature, location and other things
which will determine its value with an equal area of
land. There is no fixed value for either land or water,
therefore the assertion quoted*is absurd and misleading.
The rearing of some fishes is attended with more care
than that of others ; for instance, the trout may be raised
in several different ways involving more or less care and
expense in the preparation of ponds, hatching appa-
ratus, etc., according to the system adopted, which is de-
pendent upon the amount of flow, extent of ponds and
the inclination of the owner — and here let me say that in
the culture of fishes there are none which require as
much care as the trout. It is very particular about the
temperature in which it will live, anything above 75 de-
grees Fahrenheit, except in swiftly running water, be-
ing fatal ; therefore its culture is prohibited in all waters
where the bottom temperature rises above that figure.
Few fish eggs are easier to care for and hatch than those
of the trout, coming as they do from October to March,
as any running stream is then cold enough, even though
its summer temperature would be fatal to the young
fish, and the eggs will endure any degree of cold short
of freezing solid, even if surrounded by ice. As an off-
set to this, the young are delicate if kept in confined
quarters, as they are likely to be if hatched in great
numbers, and not turned into a stream or pond well sup-
plied with natural food, but kept to be fed by hand ; and
although 90 per cent, of the eggs may easily be hatched
and the greater portion of them may live during the
embryonic period in which they are subsisting upon the
yolk sac, which remains attached to the abdomen for a
period of forty to fifty days before they need food, they
are then apt, as before stated, to die very rapidly, and if

i8 Modern Pishculturetin Fresh and Salt WaieY.

75 or 80 per cent, of the young are kept through the
month of May, it is, in my opinion, a good average, and
much more than I did in my first three years of trout
culture. In those days there was no one to give the re-
sults of experience, at least none who would do so, and
we had to blunder through and profit the next season by
the dearly-bought experience of the last. A young trout
which is safely brought through the month of May has
passed all infantile dangers and is almost as good as
raised.

The culture of the carnivorous fishes is attended with
more dangers than that of others, as in addition to the
number of enemies they will devour their own kind ;
and the trout is a truly carnivorous fish, notwithstand-
ing the fact that it has been starved into eating corn
bread and other vegetarian diet. This habit necessi-
tates the keeping of the different sizes apart, if small
ponds are used, and increases the care and trouble.

Of our other carnivorous, or perhaps piscivorous
fishes, there are few or none which are worth the atten-
tion of the farmer, or which could be made a source of
much food or any profit. Waters are stocked with the
black bass for the sport of catching them ; but they pro-
duce but little food, while the pike or pickerel (Esox)
which are caught for sport are so fearfully destructive
that anglers protest against their introduction into any
waters not inhabited by them. In order to bring the
habits of fishes and their different characters more plain-
ly before the minds of those who have never studied
them closely, they might be compared, in respect to their
food, to certain well-known quadrupeds, in a general
sort of way, first stating that there are no fishes which
are so strictly vegetarians as some mammals are. We
may then compare the pike, bass, and perch to the car-

A Glance at Fishculture. ig

hivorous cats, as the pike eats nothing but fish, while
the other two vary their diet with an occasional worm
or fly; the trout, when wild, may be also classed with
those fishes, but under domestication its appetite, like
that of the domestic dog, can be changed into one nearly
resembling that of the omnivorous hog. This, however,
requires to be received with some caution, as, .although
trout have been kept on corn bread and "dog biscuit,"
and are reported, by apparently good authority, as thriv-
ing upon that diet, yet it remains to be proved that they
will breed freely under those conditions. If so, then,
and not until then, it can be claimed that trout have been
turned into vegetarians. Still this fish is not so much of
a fish eater as those named above until it reaches a
weight of over a pound, when it needs a more sub-
stantial meal than flies and worms, although it still takes
them as entrees.

Perhaps those of our native fishes which more nearly
resemble the herbivora — at least in their gregarious
habits, if not entirely in diet — are included in the fami-
lies known to scientists as the Cyprinidce and Catostom-
idce, which may be said to include all the toothless
fishes of our fresh waters which have only one dorsal
fin, composed entirely of soft rays, excepting the her-
ring-like forms. The largest of these are the sucker
tribes, which, in the tributaries of the Mississippi, often
reach a weight of eight to ten pounds in the species lo-
cally known as "buffalo" and "red horse." But they
are not worth raising, for the carp is in the sahie class,
is a better table fish and is easily raised, but it is of little
value in the cool waters of the North and will be con-
sidered later.

Fishes are as susceptible to the influences of domesti-
cation as any other animals, and perhaps our brook trout

20 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

may a century from this begin to show changes in favor
of early maturity, hardihood, and freedom from early
death by the continued breeding from the strongest, if
our breeders will not resort to the practice of introduc-
ing wild stock into their ponds, thereby neutralizing
all their efforts in this direction. Mr. Stone talks of
"Domesticated Trout," and why not ? The carp intro-
duced from Germany shows what can be done in this
line. It is a great improvement over the English carp.
The Germans produced a quick-growing fish, and by
selection bred the scales off from it.

The carp is not the only fish which shows signs of im-
provement under domestication. The Chinese and Ja-
panese have for centuries bred the gold fish for orna-
mental purposes, and have produced results that are
singular in their "telescope fish," that have projecting
eyes which seem almost to be placed on stalks; some
of these which were in the writer's possession had eyes
fully a quarter of an inch out from the head, a position
in which they would be so liable to injury in a state of
nature that the fish could not live. Another form is
with the long, drooping, soft tail of the kingio, which
was loaned by Mr. Gill, of Baltimore, to the old New
York Aquarium, and for which he was said to have re-
fused $2,000.

Such abnormal fishes are produced by continued se-
lection, in the same manner as our improved breeds of
cattle are ; but American fishculturists have never paid
any attention to the ornamental part of their business,
being engaged in trying to produce food fishes, or those
which may be called "angler's fishes," all of which are
of more or less value for the table.

In a private way there are a few who have made trout
culture for market moderately profitable, and these have

A Glance at Fishculture. 2i

had exceptional facilities in the manner of a supply of
water and cheap and abundant food for them ; yet there
is a chance, even with the smallest of streams, of so cul-
tivating the water, which is now a waste so far as the
production of food is concerned, that it will at least fur-
nish the family table with a welcome variety of whole-
some food at a small outlay. The fact has been demon-
strated that intelligent fishculture is one of our indus-
tries that those who have facilities for it are unwise to
neglect.

SECTION i.

TROUT BREEDING.

'" * • --

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

The breeding of trout was the beginning of fishcul-
ture, and this was first practised in 1741 by Stephan
Ludwig Jacobi, a lieutenant in the German Army, liv-
ing at Hoenhausen, a small town in Westphalia. The
claim that the monk, Dom Pinchon, bred trout in the
fifteenth century is not well supported. Jacobi reported
his discovery some years after to the great naturalist,
Buffon, and the British Government granted him a pen-
sion. In 1837 Mr. John Shaw, of Drumlaurig, hatched
salmon from eggs taken by hand in Great Britain. The
first work of the kind in America was done by Dr. Theo-
datus Garlick and his partner, Prof. Ackley, in 1853 ;
but at that time it was regarded as merely a curious ex-
periment, having no bearing on the question of pro-
ducing food. Public attention was first called to fishcul-
ture in America in 1856 by an "act of the Massachusetts
Legislature appointing three commissioners to report
such facts concerning the artificial propagation of fish as
might tend to show the practicability and expediency of
introducing the same into the Commonwealth under the

protection of law. In 1859 Mr. Stephen H. Ainsworth,

22

Trout Breeding. 2$

of West Bloomfield, N. Y., bred trout successfully in a
stream which in a dry time was hardly larger than a lead
pencil , but his pond was beneath his hatchery and was
completely shaded. Naturally he bred but few trout,
but he demonstrated what could be done. Then Green,
Stone, myself and others started at the work.

WATER SUPPLY.

Upon the volume and temperature of the water de-
pends the success of the venture in trout breeding. That
taken from near the fountain-head is best for hatching
purposes if it be well aerated by falling a short distance
through the air, or spread out into a thin sheet as it en-
ters the trough. By taking it from a pool, or reservoir,
near the springs, we get less sediment and more even
temperatures and are not disturbed by rains or thaws ;
and by taking from a reservoir it has a chance to get
colder in winter and so retard the hatching, an ad-
vantage which we will consider under the head of hatch-
ing. A certain amount of fall to the water into the
hatching house is a necessity, and it should be at least
ten inches ; while a foot is needed between ponds, if they
are small and in a series. Select your water supply in
the driest time of the year and note its temperature at
2 P. M. on the warmest day. See that no freshet can
sweep down a ravine to clog your screens and carry off
the results of your labor. A sudden thaw with rain on
a frozen ground may destroy the work of years.

Above all do not dam a ravine and make your ponds
in the bottom of it. This is the first plan which sug-
gests itself to the man who has given no thought to the
subject. There is always some fall in a ravine, and if

24 Modern Pishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

you put a dam across it, tap it at one side and make the
ponds on that side, well guarded by a ditch, so that no
surface water can get into the ponds or increase their
flow.

As the "shells" of fish eggs do not contain lime, soft
water is as good as hard for their culture.

THE POLLUTION OF WATERS.

Ordinary house sewage does not seem to affect, fish
either in health or flavor. The Hudson River is one
vast sewer for such large cities as Troy, Albany, Hud-
son, Poughkeepsie, Newburg, Sing Sing, Peekskill,
Yonkers an$ New York, as well as of hundreds of
smaller places, yet the shad and salmon run to the dam
at Troy and are as healthy and fine flavored there as
those caught below. It is difficult to poison a great river
like the Hudson. I don't mean to say that these fish
would live in the sewers ; far from it ; but the fact is that
the sewage comes in at the sides of the river, is soon di-
luted, precipitated and rendered harmless. This is not
the case with many chemicals, nor with sawdust.

Sawdust. There is a popular idea that sawdust kills
off the trout in a stream by clogging the gills of the fish.
Such a thing might have happened, but a trout is not
killed by sand in its gills. The great harm that saw-
dust does is by smothering the spawning beds, more or
less, and in impregnating the water with turpentine
from pine and tannin from oak, which destroy the trout
while in the egg. See the chapter on hatching troughs
and the impossibility of hatching trout in troughs of
raw, new wood.

Chemicals of many kinds will kill any and all fish if

Trout Breeding. 25

they run into them. Lime from paper mills, the chlo-
ride, I believe, used for bleaching, is deadly on the side
of the river in which it flows. The paper mills which
make their stock from wood pulp do not use one-tenth
the lime for bleaching which the other mills require.

The Massachusetts Commissioners of Fisheries, in
their report for 1866, say :

"To state in a comprehensive way what is the effect
of certain impurities in water, is by no means easy.
Even supposing the mixtures thus made (refuse from
factories) to be constant and stable (which they are not),
their effect upon different animal and vegetable organ-
isms would be quite variable. Chemical analysis is no
such great helper in the difficulty as might be supposed.
A science that is still so imperfect as to call starch and
sugar the same thing, and that cannot tell a good wine
from bad, is hardly a reliable support in testing the fine
questions of animal likes and dislikes. . . . The
sole way, therefore, of arriving at any result is, to make
a great number of experiments upon the animals, and
under the conditions required. To make such a series
of experiments did not lie within the power of the Com-
missioners, but, to establish some main facts, a few cases
were tested, as follows :

EXPERIMENT A. A young bream (Pomotis vulgaris)
put in a glass of water, to which 1-200 in bulk of sul-
phuric acid was added, died in four minutes.

EXPERIMENT B. The same species, in a similar glass
of water, to which i-ioo in bulk of concentrated solu-
tion of soap was added, died in two minutes.

EXPERIMENT C. A young shiner (Leuciscus cry so-
leucas) in a glass of water, to which 1-500 in bulk of
chloride of lime was added, was distressed, but did not
die for seven minutes.

26 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

EXPERIMENT D. A full grown shad (Alosa pr&sta-
bilis) in a large tub of water, to which 1-400 in bulk of
sulphuric acid was added, died almost immediately.

EXPERIMENT E. A similar fish, in a tub of water, to
which 1-200 of concentrated solution of soap was added,
became uneasy, and turned several times on its side, but
at the end of five minutes was still alive and tolerably
active. Compare the effect of soap on the bream.

EXPERIMENT F. A similar fish, in a tub of water, to
which i -200 in bulk of dry chloride of lime was added,
became violently excited, then exhausted, and at the end
of three minutes from the beginning, died from a rup-
ture of the gill vessels.

"In these experiments large proportions of the pois<
ons were used, in order to show plainly the effect ol:
each. What the effects would have been on salmon we
cannot infer, except that we know, in general, that the
trouts are more fastidious than fish like the shad, and
are more easily destroyed. A shovelful of powdered
quicklime thrown on the water over a shoal of trout,
will bring a number of them dead to the surface within
ten minutes. Many trout brooks in England have been
depopulated by drains from copper mines emptying into
them; the insoluble sulphurets sink to the bottom of
the brook, where they decompose, giving off free sul-
phuric acid, which is very destructive. Sawdust is no-
toriously pernicious. Its effect is mechanical, by get-
ting into the gills and producing suffocation. Lime is
as deadly to salmon as to trout ; gas-works, too, are bad,
and the arseniates thrown out from dye-houses are high-
ly injurious. City sewage, unless in great quantities,
will not drive them away, as is shown by salmon going
up the Dee, and past the city of Chester, whose sewers
empty into the river. The effect of gas-works depends,

Trout Breeding. 27

perhaps, on the details of the manufacture. In great
cities, where gas is made in large quantities, the sec-
ondary products of the distillation, such as tar, coal oils,
ammonia, etc., are saved and sold. But in small towns
these products are allowed to run off in a drain, and are
then very deleterious to fish. The Lawrence gas-house
is reputed to have destroyed a shad fishery hard by, and
that opposite Holyoke is said to have driven the small
fish from the neighborhood. Whereas the dock into
which empties the drain of the Boston north-end gas-
works, is noted as a good place to catch smelts (Os-
merus viridescens)/'

The Commissioners then, thirty-three years ago, be-
lieved in the theory that the effect of sawdust on trout is
mechanical, a belief which I do not share. In the re-
port of the Ohio Fish Commission for 1873 they say :

"Deleterious substances prevent the increase of fishes.
The habit of throwing all the offal and waste material
from factories into the river, not only prevents the in-
crease, but actually destroys myriads of fishes annually.
The waste discharged into the -river from distilleries
often destroys millions of fish; the waste discharges
from paper mills consist of lime and other alkalies;
from woolen mills the waste is mostly refuse dye stuffs,
containing acids in various chemical combinations;
from tanneries, acids, etc. The gas tar from gas estab-
lishments, while not absolutely poisonous, most ef-
fectually destroys the flavor of the fish and unfits them
for table use. The gas works in the city of Colurribus
discharges the gas tar into the Scioto. What effect this
has up on 'scale' fish we do not know, not having heard
any complaint from the fishermen. During the winter
of 1872-73, a large quantity of cat-fish were observed
stranded on the 'riffles' several miles south of the city.

28 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

A Mr. Fisher picked up a 'two-horse load' of them and
brought them into the city, and sold them within a very
few hours. When cooked and brought upon the table
they were found to be exceedingly unpalatable, tasting
and smelling as though they had been thoroughly sat-
urated with coal tar."

Under the head of " Sewerage Reform'' the New
York Tribune lately said :

"We have had occasion now and then to comment
upon and to commend the action of the Connecticut
courts in awarding damages to persons who complained
that their use of brooks and rivers had been prevented
or impaired by the pollution of those streams with sew-
age. Sentences have been passed, if we remember cor-
rectly, upon several individuals or corporations, and
upon at least one municipality, for such pollution, and
various other concerns and places have been impelled
to mend their ways. All this was, as we have hitherto
said, exceedingly gratifying. We believe that a similar
spirit of self-defence on the part of aggrieved persons
the land over would wrork a veritable revolution in be-
half of health and cleanliness.

"But Connecticut has not been content with that. A
State Commission was appointed to investigate the sub-
ject and report thereon. It has done so, and its report
is instructive and suggestive. It states that all the towns
and cities of the State which have sewer systems, ex-
cepting four or five, discharge their sewage into run-
ning streams or tidal harbors. The results are that the
water is contaminated, the health of the people endan-
gered, fish are destroyed, ice is made unfit for use,
streams are made unsightly, and serious loss is inflicted
upon the owners of riparian lands. All that was known
pretty well before. It has been urged by the Tribune

Trout Breeding. 29

for. years, in season and out of season. It is, however,
gratifying to have it formally and in detail affirmed by
official authority.

"The Commission does more than merely to report.
It makes recommendations. One of these is that the
pouring of foul sewage into streams be absolutely for-
bidden by law, and another is that all cities and towns
be similarly compelled to purify their sewage, in accord-
ance with State rules and to a State standard. Those
are both perfectly reasonable and sound, and it is to be
hoped they will speedily be enacted into law. Then, we
have no doubt, the law will be enforced, as they have a
habit of doing in Connecticut, and what is now an abom-
inable nuisance will be abated.

"The same evils exist elsewhere. They are due to the
same causes. They ought to be dealt with in the same
way. The same law that governs Piper's Brook should
be applied to the Passaic River and to every river and
brook in the land. There is no more precious gift of
nature than pure water. It is abundantly given in this
part of the world in springs and streams. It is intol-
erable that men should defile and destroy it simply
through laziness or shiftlessness or through pecuniary
meanness. Every community and every individual es-
tablishment should be compelled to dispose of its un-
clean refuse in a manner not injurious to its neighbors.
Connecticut is proceeding on exactly the right lines. It
would be a blessed good thing if every other State in the
Union would follow her example."

The time has come when manufacturers, whether of
lumber, paper, coal-oil or other things which are in-
jurious to fish, should be required to take care of their
refuse. It may cost them something, but that is no con-
cern of ours, who believe that the rights of the public

30 Modern Fishcultiire in Fresh and Salt Water.

should be considered before the convenience of a few
manufacturers.

A WORD ABOUT TROUT.

As there are "many men of many minds/' so there are
many trouts of many kinds, and I use the word "trouts"
in the plural because they are entitled to be so spoken of.
On the Atlantic coast of America we have the native
brook and lake trouts and the introduced brown trout
of Europe, the rainbow trout and the "cut-throat trout"
from the West, the latter so called from a red mark on
its throat ; while on the Pacific slope there is a number of
trouts : two species discovered by Admiral Beardslee
last year — but I might get in a muddle if I, tried to name
them all.

To begin with, our brook and lake trout, the lat-
ter miscalled "salmon trout," are not trout at all. Some
twenty years or more ago when we sent our revered
brook trout to England, our American anglers were in-
dignant at being told thatjt was not a trout but a char.
They had never heard of a char and within a year or so
afterward, when they had learned that a char was a
higher form of trout, with finer scales and requiring
colder water, they cooled down and accepted the dictum
of the anglers and scientists who live on the other side
of the great damp spot.

The fact is that the true trouts have the dentition of
the salmon and comparatively coarse scales. The brown
trout, rainbow trout, and probably all the black-spotted
trout of the Pacific coast are true trouts, and are in-
cluded in the genus Sahno, while our two eastern brook
and lake species and the red-spotted "Dolly Varden"
trout of the West are chars and in the genus Sahelinus,

Trout Breeding. 31

/

which is Germanized latin for "little salmon." A name
is not a little thing, even if a rose by any other name
would smell as sweet. We should have only one name
for one fish, but with our great wealth of fishes I know
of but three which bear the same name from Maine to
California and from Minnesota to Texas, and those are
the eel, the shad and the sturgeon.

There is a fish in England known as a salmon-trout.
There is no fish in America of that species and conse-
quently none entitled to the name. The lake trout is
miscalled "salmon trout" in the Adirondacks, and,
worse yet, the last part of the name is dropped and the
fish is called "salmon." This is almost as much of a
barbarism as applying the name "salmon" to the pike-
perch in the Susquehanna, and "trout" to the black bass
in the South.

The lake trout, properly so called, is known as
"lunge," "togue," and perhaps by other names in New
England, from Maine to Connecticut, but those names
will die out in time. What is here said of trout breed-
ing will be applicable for brook trout, rainbow and
brown trout, lake trout and salmon. The other Salmon-
ides, whitefish, smelts, etc., will be treated of under the
proper headings.

HOW NATURE DOES IT.

As soon as the waters begin to feel the first chill of au-
tumn some trout leave the deeper waters and start up
stream to find the gravel beds. Usually the males are
at the spawning place a week or more in advance of the
females, for pairing has not yet taken place. Something
tells the young trout of last spring's hatch, which will

32 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

not breed until another year, to go to th^ spawning
grounds also, to feed upon that most delicious piscine
delicacy, the eggs of trout.

When the females arrive the pairing begins, and our
male char, which we have always called a trout, and al-
ways will, although we know better but have a love for
the name, in his full war paint, his belly now nearly
black, with bright crimson on his lower sides and his
back beginning to change from oliva green to buff, his
lower jaw — if he is over two years old — with a fleshy
tip which prevents his mouth from entirely closing, is
now ready to do battle with any rival. The use of the
hooked lower jaw of the male trout and salmon is not
fully understood. Some one has said that it was for
grasping the female in order to help her to extrude the
eggs, but he does no such thing. Many days I have
lain on the loose boards covering the spawning races of
my trout ponds in western New York in order to see
the spawn actually cast and impregnated, and I watched
one pair of trout eleven mornings before my curiosity
was gratified, and I afterward saw the operation four
times without such weary watching, for I knew that
courtship and nest-making preceded spawning by many
days. In no case did the male assist her delivery in any
way.

This is what I saw. The female seemed indifferent
to the attentions of her mate. He chose her and drove
off all others, fighting savagely at times and biting the
sides of his rivals so that the scratches of his teeth could
be seen, and several males died from the fungus which
attacked the wounds. He would not allow another fe-
male to come too near the nest. He took no part in mak-
ing the nest, but kept his place in the stream by her side
when she was quiet, usually with his head alongside her

Trout Breeding. 33

middle. Suddenly she would start, turn on her side
and whip the gravel with her tail until her exertions
moved her forward of the nest, and in this way a clean
spot was made a foot in diameter and about five inches
deep. After each sweeping of the gravel, and at other
times, her mate would move forward and rub his side
against her nose, all the time quivering with excitement.
After several days of nest-making, the moment came —
she bent her body into the nest and seemed to rub for-
ward on the gravel, and discharged some eggs. He
was at her side and fertilized them at the moment. I
could plainly see the milt. Young trout got the scent
of the eggs and crowded up to feast on them, but the
old fellow was on guard, while she whipped some gravel
over her treasures. Some two hours later the same pair
repeated the performance and deposited more eggs, but
I watched them the next morning without seeing more
spawning and do not know whether she laid all her eggs
in two batches or not. The nest was covered up and
the fish remained about it for two or three days.

When this takes place in a stream, the eggs are im-
perfectly covered. The mother cannot see that some
eggs are fanned away by the action of her tail.
Another pair of trout may come and choose the same
spot for a nest and whip the eggs out, to be devoured
by the yearling trout, chubs, dace or other fishes, for the
spawning season is from October to March. A freshet
may come and smother the eggs with sediment ; ducks,
eels and rats will dig in the gravel for them, and fungus
from a few dead eggs may kill the lot. Nature pro-
vides for this loss by giving the trout many eggs, not as
many as most fishes have, but enough to keep up the
stock under favorable circumstances, so that if each pair
succeed in having a pair reach maturity it is all that na-

34 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

ture requires. In such an operation as I have described
not over ten per cent, of the eggs are fertilized, because
the milt fails to reach them, and not two per cent, hatch
and live until they are ready to take food.

We beat nature in hatching fish as we do in growing
corn or cotton. We impregnate 95 per cent, of the eggs
and raise about 80 per cent, of the hatch, because we
protect both eggs and young from all enemies.

In order to make up for infant mortality the cod, the
eel and some other fishes lay many millions of eggs,
seemingly to provide food for other aquatic life, just as
plants provide seeds for birds and mice and still enough
escape to keep up the species. The fewer the casualties
to which a race is exposed the smaller the number of
eggs or young which it needs to produce in order to
cover the necessary losses. In fish generally it takes at
least a hundred thousand eggs each year to keep up the
average of the species. In frogs and other amphibians,
a few hundred are amply sufficient. Reptiles oftenilay
only a much smaller number. In birds, which hatch
their own eggs and feed their young, from ten to two
eggs per annum are quite sufficient to replenish the
earth. Among mammals, three or four at a birth is a
rare number, and many of the larger sorts produce one
calf or foal at a time only. In the human race at large,
a total of five or six children for each married couple
during a whole lifetime makes up sufficiently for infant
mortality and all other sources of loss, though among
utter savages a far higher rate is usually necessary.

EGGS OF TROUT.

Eggs of the trout are comparatively few in number
and of large size. They vary more than the eggs of any

Trout Breeding. 35

fish that I know of, ranging from five to ten to the
linear inch, which would make a difference of from 125
to i ,000 in a cubic inch if they could be arranged in
layers ; but as they would lie closer, like shot, the differ-
ence would be greater. To get the number of eggs
taken from several trout it was my custom to measure
one ounce in a graduating glass and count them and
then measure the rest and multiply. A trout will spawn
at 1 8 months old ; it may then be from four to ten inches
long and its eggs will be in proportion and vary from
fifty to a hundred or more. A year later it may yield
over a thousand, dependent on its growth and condition.
I have taken nearly 5,000 eggs from a trout which might
have weighed four pounds, so that the old formula of
"a thousand eggs to the pound" is not a rule. From a
four-pound codfish I should" expect 400,000 eggs. The
small eggs naturally produce small fish, but abnormally
large eggs do not seem to produce any better fish than
those of moderate size. For good, strong fry a trout at
its second spawning, when two and a half years old, is
my choice, and I would never voluntarily keep a trout
above that age. I say "voluntarily" because when in
charge of 'a State hatchery the Commissioners and the
people wanted to see big trout, and I had them up to
five pounds, and over, but they were of little use as
breeders and ate their heads off every month, and their
eggs were almost worthless.

MARKETABLE TROUT.

There is another reason why I would not keep any
trout after it had spawned the second time and recov-
ered the next spring, and that is this : It is too big for

36 Modern Fishcultitre in Fresh and Salt Water,

market. An angler likes to capture a big trout to show,
but he prefers to eat the smaller ones. Many years of at-
tendance at Blackford's annual "trout openings" in Ful-
ton Market on the first day of the legal trout season has
shown that the desirable sizes are from three to five to
the pound. These are fried or boiled with the head left
on and are served whole to a guest. If a little larger
they would have to be cut and served in portions, while
those over two pounds should be boiled ; and that is not
what the epicure wants, because if his fish is to be boiled
he would prefer cod, salmon, lake trout or many other
fishes, for the idea of having brook trout served other-
wise than fried or broiled never occurs to him, and he
likes them whole.

For some years Mr. Gilbert, of the Old Colony Trout
Ponds, and Mr. Hoxsie, of Rhode Island, have agitated
the question of selling the trout raised by breeders at
such season as they may choose. In the report of the
American Fisheries Society for 1895, page 80, Mr.
Hoxsie said : ' . . . Is there not some way in
which the man who makes a business of raising trout,
for what little money there is in it, can be allowed to ship
them into New York to the market whenever they are
fit for it? The law seems a little unjust. If I were in
Rhode Island and raised chickens and turkeys I could
send them at any time, but cannot send trout to New
York, it being the market for what I produce. One
year New York passed a law that we should not get
fish [there] until the first day of May. I am not doing
a large business, but that year we did not pay our ex-
penses by about $1,500. We have shipped already this
season over six tons of brook trout. The price has been
low, but we cannot govern that if we don't get fish there
until April i6th. I would rather have February, March

Trout Breeding, 37

and April ; I can then sell all I can raise, but later in the
season people have gone out of town for the sum-
mer."

Hon. Herschel Whitaker, of the Michigan Fish Com-
mission, voiced the sentiment of those present when he
said : "A close season for fish is for their protection
during the period of reproduction, and that is the only
interpretation to be given to it. It may work hardship
for those engaged in raising and selling fish, if the law
precludes them from following their occupation. It is
to the interest of the whole people that the close season
should be established for the protection of fish during
the season of reproduction, and the interest of the indi-
vidual should be subservient to the larger interest."

I agree with Mr. Whitaker. I am a fishculturist by
profession and an angler from choice. The opening of
our markets to pond-bred trout would open the gates to
all the poachers of trout streams in the country, and it
would be impossible to keep their illegal catch from the
markets. The raising of chickens and turkeys is not a
parallel case, for they do not exist in a wild state in the
East.

I have listened to these arguments year after year,
but have taken little part in them. Here are my heretical
views : The brook trout ranks as a first-class table fish
in cities removed from the salt water. In New York,
Boston and other seaboard cities it has a sentimental
value and sells for 30 cents to $i per pound. The sale is
mainly to city anglers who fish for the trout at the
opening season, if they can get away, and who buy
the fish to revive old camp memories more than
anything else. They have them cooked at the club or
take them home and try to make their wives enthuse
over them, just as I buy venison chops every year and

38 Modern Fishculture in Fresh ana Salt Water.

recall camp scenes without getting my family to enj-oy
them as 1 do. I don't believe that any amount of trout
worth considering could be sold in New York a week
before the legal opening, for reasons given above.

As I have said, the demand for brook trout in sea-
board cities is largely a sentimental one, based on the
long trip into the wilderness, the return to the half-sav-
age life of primitive man and the appetite which comes
from a day's tramp, when trout must be cleaned and
cooked before the hungry angler eats ; and then he re-
members a fish that is half raw and half burned as one
of the greatest delicacies which ever came his way. In
his club or cafe, when his appetite was clamorous for
something, no matter what — when he could eat a mule
and chase the rider — he would send the fish back to the
kitchen ; if he wishes to eat trout he wants it properly
cooked — when he is in the city.

I am not an iconoclast. On the contrary, it is my na-
ture to be a hero worshiper, but the statements made
above are what I believe, and I will venture to incur the
wrath of the angler who takes his trout in the rushing
waters of the brook by saying: It is the fashion, my
dear brother — and I can say with Walton, "I am, sir,
a brother of the angle" — for you to decry all pond,
or liver-fed trout, as unfit to eat. This entirely accords
with what I have said before, and is just what you might
be expected to do ; but as Prince Hal says to Falstaff :
"Mark how plain a tale shall put you down." During
the years that I have attended Blackford's trout open-
ings I have eaten trout from many places, wild and
liver fed, and as they were marked by mutilations of the
caudal fin it was interesting to hear the comments of
the dozen or more anglers each year.

It is my opinion that a plump liver-fed trout is the

Trout Breeding. 39

equal of any other trout for the table. I like an occa-
sional breakfast of calve's liver and bacon, and why is
not good, tender beef liver as good for a trout ? Why is
not a diet of liver as good as worms, snails, bugs, cater-
pillars, mice and small trout? This, as I have said, is
sentiment, pure and simple. It is the romance that the
angler weaves about his beautiful fish which he traveled
miles for and worked hard to get after he got there.
Divested of this sentiment there would be no fancy
prices for brook trout. It would take its place in the
markets with other food fishes and would drop behind
some of them. As an angler's fish it is a noble one, and
it is one of the best of fresh water fishes for the table,
if it is not muddy.

When a boy the perch, bullheads and suckers from the
mill pond seemed to be the best of fishes, and I did not
understand why some people turned up their noses at
them and preferred the fish of salt water. That knowl-
edge came later, and outside of the whitefish of the great
lakes, and its relatives, there is no fresh water fish that
I care to buy more than once a year. "If this be trea-
son, make the most of it."

In camp I declare that the brook trout just now fried
with salt pork, or roasted before the fire, are the finest
fish that ever went down my oesophagus, but when I
am only half hungry in a New York cafe there is a
change of opinion.

Yet, after writing this, there is a remembrance of
camp life that crops up "like the faint, exquisite music
of a dream," and a memory of trout fried in bear fat is
enjoyed for a moment and is followed by the greatest
treat of my life as memory harks back to some plump
trout cooked in beaver fat with a beaver's tail frying
among them. That was a dish to be remembered, and

40 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

the greater the lapse of time the more distinct is the
memory.

CHAPTER II.

IN THE HATCHING HOUSE.

Trout can be hatched without a house, but not as well
as in one. Eggs may be procured and put in the gravel
of a spring or of a running stream — in "redds," as nests
are called across the water — but the dangers they meet
there have been told, and not one in fifty will become a
trout. They may be hatched in covered troughs which
have graveled bottoms, but frost may interfere with the
level or may stop the water supply ; inquisitive persons
may replace the covers carelessly and let in sunshine, or
other things may interfere with the success of the ven-
ture. By all means do your hatching under a roof if
you wish to succeed.

A house 20x30 feet will contain 12 troughs, placed
by twos, with a single one at each end, and in single
layers of eggs will have a capacity of 300,000 eggs
which can be hatched and the fry fed in the troughs for
a month or more. The capacity can be increased four
or five times, but the fry must be removed before feed-
ing. The house should have a cupola or an airshaft at
the top to carry off the vapor, which would otherwise
condense on the walls and windows. Brick walls will
absorb moisture, freeze and crumble, and a lining of
yellow pine ceiling with the same material for the floor
is best because it swells less than other available woods,

Trout Breeding. 41

and a coat of spar varnish makes it bright and attract-
ive. When I began operations at Cold Spring Harbor,
N. Y., in January, 1883, I had an old brick house, 2Ox
30, on the hill ; the water from there went into an old
tumble-down wooden building of the same size and
water from a lower reservoir, and it was practically a
fed troughs on the upper floor, while below we took
three-story hatchery. Then, when the brown trout eggs
came from Germany I had to put troughs outdoors and
give them water from tne lower floor. It was all hastily
improvised, for there had been no time to prepare for the
work ; but I had then fifteen years' experience and knew
how to care for the eggs until troughs and trays could
be made.

Salmon eggs came in crates from Maine, trout eggs
from Caledonia, N. Y., and from Germany, which
taxed the new hatchery beyond its capacity ; but I
brought over a lot of poor troughs from Roslyn, made
under like conditions the winter before for salmon
work, and had more made. The only eggs which were
injured by this imperfect preparation were some that
were in the outdoor trough, where frost and visitors
interfered. One night the frost choked the outlets on
the upper floor of the wooden building and the water
overflowed the troughs and froze two feet thick on the
outside of the building, so that we had to chop the ice to
open the door. The eggs were heavy and received no
damage, but it was fortunate that the water supply was
not stopped.

The hatchery may be an inexpensive shed, but the
floor should be solidly supported, so that there is no
jar to the troughs when people walk about. Windows
should be plenty, but provided with heavy roller shades,
preferably of a green color, so that light may be had

42 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

from all sides except when the sun may shine directly
on the troughs or eggs. If this is not practicable then
make covers for the troughs ; these may be hinged so as
to lie over on the adjoining trough.

Good, clear white pine is the best material for
troughs, if free from sap and knots. It swells tight and
the nails can be set up, if needed. I have used yellow
pine, but it is hard and unyielding and is more difficult
to make tight because it does not swell, yet it is more
lasting than white pine. A trough of the latter is good
for from four to eight years, and then soft spots of sap,
or heart, begin to show ; a patch or two of one-half inch
pine is let in, embedded in coal tar, and it goes for a year
or two more. Troughs of yellow pine made in 1886 are
good as ever twelve years later, yet they are unhandy to
tack screen strips in and more so to pull a brad from.
Where these woods cannot be obtained some native
wood must be substituted. White cedar would be an
ideal wood, if it grew large enough.

A distributing^ trough running across the head of a
series of hatching troughs has been the regulation mode
of supply in hatcheries since they have existed, and the
practical worker knows what a nuisance they are. Run-
ning the length of the building, the least settling opens
the joints, and their length forbids their being moved
after having been built in position. Then a bit of sap-
wood or heart in some spot will decay, and the whole
trough will be condemned and a new one made. The
life of such a trough may be from four to ten years, but
it is always under suspicion of leaking at any time. I
had one 60 feet long that lasted eight years, but was
calked and pitched many times, and I thought of lining
it with sheet lead of about three pounds per square foot
and then replace the wood piece by piece, as needed.

Trout Breeding. 43

Watch the carpenter at every point in the making of
troughs, and especially in the selection of the planks.
If a bottom plank has a bit of sap-wood on the corner
of one edge, have it put on the downward side, where
it does not come in contact with water. If a side plank
has a strip of sap-wood, have him put that edge on
top, above water, for such parts are the first to decay.
The hearts of the tree are next in order to rot, and if
there is a heart-streak in a plank have it on the out-
side.

See that the edges of the bottom planks are not only
all of a width, but that they are absolutely straight
and the edges perfectly square. If the planks are
i| inches thick use twenty-penny nails, wire-nails, and
these are 4^ inches long. Have him put the nails
2.\ inches apart, and net in a straight row, but alter-
nately up and down in order to prevent splitting the
planks.

These things may seem unimportant details, but
they are worth attending to if one cares to have the
troughs not only water-tight but also to last as many
years as possible.

It has been my custom to take a pair of compasses
and mark on the lower end of each trough the year in
which it was made. On the first trough in the frontis-
piece may be seen the figures 1888, so made. This
enables one to know just how long that trough has
lived, and to judge of the defects of certain planks. It
is a record that may be wished for in later years.

The question of painting or tarring the outside of
troughs may be a debatable one. The troughs look
better for it, but I incline to think that it reta.ins the
moisture in the wood, and so helps to rot it. But,
above all, have the troughs tight.

44 Modern Fish culture in Fresh and Salt Water.

Of course a slovenly superintendent who is content
to have leaky troughs, a wet floor, and to slosh around
in rubber boots, cares nothing for a leak here and there,
any more than he does to see men spit on the floor of his
hatchery, and it is not for him that this is written.

The subject of dry and clean floors interested me
years ago, and still does. My floor at Cold Spring Har-
bor is clean, but a trough that leaks a few drops, just
enough to show, is an annoyance. I was called to plan
a hatchery at Bath, Steuben county, N. Y., for the State
in 1894. I arranged for a row of troughs on each side
of the building, with a six-foot aisle in the middle at the
foot of each series. The troughs were arranged by twos,
for I would not have them in threes unless the lot was
too small to expand the hatchery to the required capac-
ity ; and as the water was to be brought in a six-inch iron
pipe for some 600 feet,' with a fall of about 10 feet to the
hatchery floor, my old ideas naturally ran to having
the pipe branch above the building and flow into two
distributing troughs, one on each side, and to discharge
from the hatching troughs under the floor. I had long
used brass gate-valves in wooden supply troughs, and
as there were to be 18 troughs on each side I finally de-
cided that the following sketch would be an improve-
ment on any method yet devised, and I made a plan
which I hoped to introduce, but the Commissioners got
into a dispute and another man finished the work.

The following are the advantages of this mode of sup-
ply :

1. Absolute control of the supply without a drip when
shut down.

2. Saving a portion of the space occupied by the sup-
ply trough.

3. The ease of cleaning the main pipe A by the full-

Trout Breeding.

45

sized gate, which when shut entirely down causes water
not used in the troughs to flow over the upper dam into
the ponds.

4. Discharging in a central ditch under the floor.

5. Cheapness in construction and lasting a hundred
times as long as wooden distributing troughs.

At the Long Island station I ran the waste water back
under the hatching troughs in four-inch soil pipes to a
waste trough outside the building (see frontispiece),
because the ground under the hatchery is lower than

IMPROVED WATER SUPPLY. — A, six-
inch pipe under building in ditch ; B,
lower end of pipe ; C, gate to free pipe
from sediment ; DD, waste pipes from
troughs ; ' EE, floor of hatchery ; F,
two-inch pipe to supply two troughs

on each side of the house; GG, brass gates, i 1-4 inch, which

is plenty, with a lo-foot head.

the ponds outside, but at Bath the case is different and
the arrangement shown is the best for the situation, and
as it is a different mode of supply from any in use as
far as I know, it seems worthy of illustration.

The main pipe was to be pierced for nine two-inch
uprights with "tees" to branch to each side, under the
floor: these will bend up and over the troughs, ending
in a "tee" with two branches and gates, which, with a
head of several feet, will give the required flow,

46 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

HATCHING TROUGHS should be made with great care
1 prefer i^-inch plank, dressed both sides, which leaves
it over an inch in thickness. Have your carpenter gel
out the bottoms of the best stuff and of an exact width
to a hair. This will allow screens, dams and trays to fit
all the troughs, and you will have a standard size foi
them. Insist on this. Never nail the bottoms to the
sides ; it takes wider bottoms, and is the wrong way to
do it. My favorite size for a hatching trough is 14 feet
long, 14 inches wide and eight inches deep, inside meas-
ure. If of i^-inch stuff the side planks are 9^ inches
wide. Lay in white lead or thick coal tar. If in white
lead do not let it come to the surface of the bottom plank,
for coal tar will not dry over it. Rabbet the ends in the
bottom and sides, as shown in the cut, and you can nail
both ways and make tight ends.

When the troughs are made and dry coat them with

END OF TROUGH.

coal tar from the gas works, thinned with spirits of tur-
pentine. Have it so thin that it will strike in and dry in
24 hours, in summer. Use a half-worn paint brush, and
when dry give it a second and a third coat. Be sure
that it is thin enough to be absorbed by the wood and

Trout Breeding. 47

not left as a coat of paint. After four coats the grain
of the wood should show. A trough should be thus
coated every summer during its life, but beware of put-
ting it on thick, like paint. After a few coats there will
be a gloss, but the object is to have the varnish strike
into the wood. Coat all your woodwork and wire
screens, dams, etc., in the hatchery, wherever water
touches, with the thinned coal tar. Many fishculturists
use an asphalt varnish. It is as good as coal tar, but
while I have seen troughs coated with it, I never saw it
applied. A barrel of coal tar, or gas tar — it's the same —
would cost less than $2, freight and all, and last for five
years. It is so good that I never experimented in any
other direction. The top of the trough should be three
feet four inches to three feet seven inches from the
floor, according to the height of the workers, so that
they may not stoop at their work.

TROUGH FOR YOUNG SALMONIDJE.

In Forest and Stream of Feb. 19, 1891, Mr. William
P. Seal makes a good suggestion. He says : "The
idea which has suggested itself to the writer as a result
of observation, though not of practical experience, is a
double trough, or trough inside a trough, as shown in
the accompanying sketch. One bottom answers for
both, of course. Along the sides of the, inside trough
are arranged a series of angular chambers, made by
placing pieces of wood or metal of a required size at
an angle from the sides, and covering the mouth or
base of the angle with wire gauze, letting the wood
project some little distance beyond the gauze, as shown
in the sketch .

48 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

"Now, entering into each of these angles from the
outer trough is a hole with a gate, by which the flow
of water may be regulated. * * * The idea is to
introduce currents of water at intervals along the en-
tire length of the trough in such a way that the fish

TROUGH FOR YOUNG SALMON.

will find a number of places with the conditions they
prefer, instead of the single one at the head of the ordi-
nary trough. * * *."

Mr. Seal gives no explanation of the letters used in
the diagram. As I understand it they are as follows :
BB, troughs ; F, wood or metal angles ; W, wire gauze.
If the inner trough could be made to sit so flat on the
bottom that no little heads could wedge under it, this
plan would be good. There is no record of the use of
such a trough.

WHY DO WE USE COAL TAR?

That is a very proper question, and to answer it I will
have to tell a story. Raw white pine troughs put in the
hatchery and fed with water soon begin to exude a jelly.
I have taken sheets of it from the bottom and sides that
were J of an inch thick. This is a form of turpentine,
and it will kill trout eggs and embryo trout, every one
of them. When I visited the Caledonia hatchery in the
spring of 1868, the troughs were lined with 10x12 win-

Trout Breeding. 49

dow glass laid in white lead, and there were trout eggs
on gravel laid on the glass. The swelling of the trough
left patches of bare pine and there the jelly asserted
itself. I tried it with the same result, and lost many
eggs.

Mr. Livingston Stone obtained a patent for a trough
of charred wood, June 20, 1871. This solved the prob-
lem, for fungus will not grow on charcoal, and in an
emergency, in January, 1882 — when Prof. Baird sent me
a lot of salmon eggs to hatch for the Hudson, and I
hustled around and got Thomas Chapham's disused
hatchery at Roslyn, Long Island — I had a lot of cheap
troughs made and the weather was too cold for the tar
to dry and started in. The eggs were far advanced and
began to hatch in the spring water, which was warmer
than the air; for I had kept the eggs in the packages
just above the freezing point. The first lot showed the
disease which we know as ''blue-belly/' and I saw that
the wood was too raw. I took trough after trough, dried
them, filled them with straw and coal tar, set them on
end to make a chimney and charred them deeply. It
was a success ; the remaining salmon did well, but the
charcoal was dirty to the hands.

A year or more later I read somewhere of the use of
coal tar for troughs and tried it. It was perfect, but
the name of the man who suggested it is not known to
me. I think he was a Frenchman. Of course, Seth
Green claimed to know all about it, for Seth had a way
of discounting all discoveries, as he did in the case of
dry impregnation, which we will come to later.

The coal tar should be thoroughly dried before water
touches it, for it will not harden under water, nor over
paint nor white lead. With three thin coats there will
be no more flavor of tar to the water in the trough than

50 Modern Fishcutture in Fresh and Salt Water.

if it was in glass. Asphalt varnish is equally good, as
I have seen, but coal tar was always so handy and so
perfectly satisfactory that I never used anything else.

Coat all troughs, trays and everything which comes in
contact with the water every summer and they will last
long and be sweet and clean.

HATCHING TRAYS.

These should be made J mcn narrower than the
troughs. Make them of fx^ inch stuff, to lie flat — i. e.,
the half-inch to be the depth. Heavier wood will float
the trays. Halve the corners so that they can be nailed
both ways, and make the length as you wish. A 14- foot
trough wants about six inches for the water to spend
its downward force in, and as much for the lower dam.
Seven screens of 22 inches each, outside measure, will
be plenty for a trough of that length.

Have your wire-cloth for the trays especially woven.
As the trays will be 13 J inches wide and the selvege
will be irregular, have the wire-cloth 13 inches and as
long as may be needed. For trout let it be in this way :
Meshes f inch long by -J wide, the length of the mesh
to run across the trough. The warp, which runs the
long way, being of fine wire, No. 24, and double, going
over and under the heavier woof, or filling, of No. 18
wire. This gives us the long mesh across the trough
and .the eggs do not wash and bunch in the current.
The embryo fish will then drop through the meshes.
Put the wire-cloth on the frames with small double-
pointed tacks, and put one in each corner of the frame
for a leg, in order that the water may flow under the
tray, as well as over it.

Trout Breeding. 51

New wire-cloth does not take tar readily ; put it al-
ternately in water and in air and slightly rust it and it
will catch on at once. For the trays a well-worn paint
brush is best ; and I have taken new brushes, tied them
down and cut them off until they were stiff enough to
use on wire-cloth. Do all this work in summer, in the
open air, and let it dry thoroughly before giving a sec-
ond coat. Do this each year and look out for every
rust spot and kill it.

Don't use copper wire for hatching. Copper will do
for outlet screens for ponds, but it will kill eggs. Have
nothing to do with galvanized wire unless at outlets, for
the same reason. I've learned all this by experiment and
give you the result withou cost. The glass grilles
which are used in Europe a.e good ; nothing is cleaner
than glass, but the first cost and the breakage make it
objectionable. Wire trays are just as good, and much
cheaper.

Some years ago, to my surprise, Mr. Frank N. Clark
announced that he had gone back to the use of gravel
for hatching trout. When we used gravel we sifted it
so that it was not larger than the trout eggs, running
through a No. 10 screen to get rid of larger pieces and
then through a No. 14 to work out the sand. Even
then some eggs would get into the gravel and die, grow
fungus and become a nuisance, while under the gravel
was a black mess full of sulphureted hydrogen which
smelt to heaven when the gravel was stirred. Knowing
that Mr. Clark is always sincere in all his statements
— although we often disagree on some trivial point — 1
wrote him asking for his reasons for using gravel, at
the same time telling him that I wished to publish what
he said. He writes as follows :

52 Modem Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

"NORTHVILLE, MICH., Jan. 21, 1899.
"Mv DEAR MATHER : I do not know how to describe
to you my reasons for using gravel in handling the
eggs of the Lochleven and the brook trout, other than
the fact that my motive is to employ the method which
will insure the largest percentage of eyed eggs, and by
the use of gravel we certainly have obtained better re-
sults. We use gravel only for the eggs taken from the
parent fish at this station, and then only until the eye
spots appear, when they are siphoned off the gravel and
placed on trays. By actual records at Northville, we
have met with from 10 to 15 per cent, greater loss by
placing the green eggs on wire cloth instead of on
gravel. What there is about the gravel which causes a
better percentage is more than I can tell. It may be due
to some chemical affinity between the wire trays and the
water here at Northville, producing a combination in-
jurious to the eggs, but it is certainly not imagination.
It is proven by actual records. Cordially yours,

"FRANK N. CLARK."

What Mr. Clark says about the water and the wire
trays reminds trie that at Cold Spring Harbor zinc-
lined waste troughs would be eaten full of pinholes in
one season by chemical action, while at other stations
zinc lasts a long time.

PREPARING FOR HATCHING.

Everything should be ready and the water running
through the troughs a week or two before an egg is
taken. Put in a horizontal screen at the head of the
trough one inch belcv/ its top. Let it be the width of
the trough and about 5 inches long ; lay it on cleats, or

Trout Breeding. 53

suspend it in any other way. This is to stop all gam-
marus or plants, which may clog the lower screen but
cannot clog this one because it is above high- water level.
Gammarus are good trout food, but are not desirable in
troughs, because they may kill delicate embryo trout,
although they do not seem to hurt the eggs. They are
scavengers, and will eat a dead embryo ; but it is best
for the. fishculturist to be his own scavenger in the
troughs.

At the lower end of the trough arrange to carry your
outflow straight under the floor or back under the
trough, as may be convenient ; but I prefer to have the
cutlet hole in the bottom, and not in the end of the
trough. Put a one and one-half inch ''sink plug," to be
obtained of a plumber, two inches from the end, first
filing out the cross bars ; then throw away the stopper.
A short tin tube soldered to the lower end will prevent
all slopping over into the pipe which takes away the
water.

An inch above the hole put a one-half inch strip on the
sides to hold a dam ; and an inch above this put two sim-
ilar strips for the outlet screen to slide in. Three small
wire brads will hold the strips in place. See cut on
page 46, which shows how the end of the trough is
let in. Some carpenters prefer to let the sides and
bottoms of troughs project an inch beyond the ends,
but that is one of those minor matters of detail that
are not of enough importance to argue about.

Now make your one and one-half inch dams, and also
some six-inch dams to fit the same place, and mark them
with a chisel with the number of the trough, for they
must be water-tight on bottom and sides. The narrow
dams are to be used until hatching begins, and then the
deeper ones are to be put in, and the screens also. Fit

w g

SI
* I

Trout Breeding. 55

the screen tight, especially at the bottom, or heads and
tails will be wedged in there, and the owners of those
heads and tails will die. You will believe more of this
the second season when you see how small a pinhole
an embryo trout can commit suicide in. Many times I
have sifted fine sand along the bottom of such a screen,
to keep tails, heads and parts of sacs from getting
under it.

This outlet screen may be of finely perforated tin, one-
sixteenth of an inch. Mr. Frank N. Clark used this and
recommended it to me, but I did not like it because in a
given area the holes were the smallest part. I prefer
No. 20 copper wire cloth, or, if of iron wire, to be
tarred, No. 16. In wire cloth the "holes" are the largest
part of the area, and they last the longest.

Now that all is ready in the trough, mount it on
carpenter's "horses" — three, if the trough is not over
fifteen feet long — and have it exactly level across the
bottom, but give it at least half an inch fall in its length.
This fall is merely for convenience in cleaning, nothing
more.

I prefer the trays to set flat, on carpet-tack legs, as de-
scribed, instead of having them raised on their "hind
legs," as some others place them ; but this is a minor
point, not worth discussing.

Let the water run through ; tighten troughs after a
day or two by a nail-set and a hammer; and here is
where you will learn why the sides of a trough should be
nailed to the bottom, for convenience in tightening as
well as for increased stiffness.

Put the hatching trays in the troughs, weight them
down with stones until they cease to float, and then you
may sit down, light your pipe and say: "Now bring
on your eggs !"

56 Modern Fishciilturc in Fresh and Salt Water.

FILTERS. — If filters are necessary they may be made
in wide troughs with coarse wire screens at the upper
end and finer ones below, ending in cheese-cloth or flan-

TK OUCH

30

PLAN OF HATCHERY WITH 12 TROUGHS; capacity 30,000 each in
single layer. A, sink for washing; B, closet; S, stove;
WW, windows.

nel. Or the water may flow through sand and gravel,
according to the nature of the material to be filtered out.
There should be a screen at the head of each trough to
prevent stoppage at the outlet.

CHAPTER III.

TROUT EGGS. — DISTINGUISHING SEX IN FISHES.

It is with the fishes as with the birds : some species
show sexual differences at a glance at all times, some

Trout Breeding. 57

only during the breeding season, and others are so
nearly similar that except for the protruding abdomen
of the gravid female the sex can be distinguished only
by dissection.

A few, as the sharks and rays, have as distinct marks
of sex, as do mammals, such as "claspers," spines on
head and fins, etc. ; others, as the Embiotoc'oids, or vi-
viparous fishes, have a different structure of the anal fin,
while the great majority of fishes, especially the fresh-
water kinds, have merely a brilliancy or intensity of
color during the pairing season, which is invariably con-
fined to the males. There is a very common notion
prevalent that goldfish can be distinguished by the
dorsal fin, that of the male being shorter than that of
the female — that is, having not so many rays ; but this
is entirely groundless. The dorsal fins of this species,
Carassius auratus, are very variable, as in fact the entire
fish is, but this variation does not indicate sex in the
least, and I do not hesitate to say that this fish is one
whose sex cannot be told except by dissection, save
when the female is distended with eggs.

The little Cyprinodonts, killey fishes, show during
the spring and summer such great differences between
the dandy male and its quaker-like mate that they might
be mistaken for different species, while most of the
percoids, as perch, bass, sunfishes, etc., simply show a
difference in the intensity of the colors. In some of the
sticklebacks, as Eucalia inconstans, Jordan, the male is
gorgeous in red and green during the breeding season,
while the more sober bridegroom of the four-spined
variety, Apeltes quadmcus, contents himself with a
small pair of crimson ventral fins. Most of the cyprin-
oids, at other times indistinguishable, can be recognized
during the breeding season by brightly-colored fins.

58 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

The same may be said of the brook trout ; but trout
breeders learn to separate the sexes at other seasons by
their general appearance without being able to describe
exactly how. An old male trout is readily determined
by its lank sides and general air of a dilapidated roue,
but a vigorous male of three years old before putting
on his autumnal dress is very like the female, and is
only to be distinguished by a trained eye, and even then
mistakes occur. It is a matter of doubt if the yearlings
can be separated by sexes with anything approximating
a certainty. The males of a northern sea fish closely
related to the smelt, and known as the capelin, Mallotus
villosus, are said to be provided "with a ridge of closely-
set, brush-like scales, by the aid of which two males, one
on each side, hold the female, while she runs with great
swiftness on the sandy beach and there deposits her
spawn," a clear case of polyandry, which is exceptional
among fishes, which vary more in their methods of re-
production than the members of any other class. The
well-known hooked lower jaw of the male Atlantic sal-
mon, Salmo salar, is only a nuptial appendage, which
is afterward absorbed ; but in several of the Pacific
species of salmon this is a permanent mark of the male,
and from this feature they have received from Profes-
sors Gill and Jordan the generic name of Oncorhyn-
chiis, and have been removed, in their revision of the
Salmonidce, from the genus Salmo. To this genus be-
long the so-called "California salmon," now O choui-
cha of the new nomenclature, and four other species.

Among the strikingly formed and brilliantly colored
tropical fishes there are often marked differences in
the sexes, both in structure and color, and one known
as the gemmeous dragonet, Callionymous lyra, has been
described by Linnaeus, and several subsequent natural-

Trout Breeding. 59

ists, as two distinct species, as they not only differ in
the size and shape of the fins and the hues of the body,
but also in the proportional size of the head and mouth,
and even in the position of the eyes. As has been
shown, there are slight, if any, differences between the
sexes of our fresh water forms, except at the breeding
season, when they are manifested principally by color.
There is, however, always a difference in size, for in no
species with which I am familiar does the male fish ever
attain the extreme bulk that the aclult female does.
This difference is more remarkable in some species
than in others, but I do not hesitate to assert that it
exists in all. In the little "Killey," referred to above,
the female is twice as large as her mate, and the striped
bass, or Rock, is another example; all the large ones,
from forty to a hundred pounds, or more, are females.
How large the male rockfish is found I cannot say, but
I incline to the opinion that specimens weighing above
thirty pounds are rare.

The male brook trout begins to grow a brighter red
on the sides as the water cools in October, in New
York, and as he ripens this becomes brilliant. Then,
if not old enough to be disfigured by a pronounced
hooked jaw, he is one of the most beautiful of all our
fresh-water fishes. If, however, he does not find a
mate, or is driven from her by a stronger fish, his un-
expended force manifests itself by another change.
The crimson side fades into a drab, or buff, and the
flat edge of the white belly is bordered with a broad
black line. Such a fish will yield milt at the slightest
touch, and it is the best of all milt, for it is dead ripe.
Large males, those of three or four pounds, seldom get
in this state, and I don't care for them as breeders.

If I were breeding trout as a private enterprise, no

60 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

fish over three years old would be kept. That is, a fish
hatched in March, 1890, would spawn in November,
1891, when twenty months old, and would give more or
less eggs, according to her growth, but should be just
the right size for market. A few thrifty breeders can
be kept with profit another year, when they will yield
three or four times the amount of eggs that they did a
twelvemonth ago ; but then they should go to market
the next spring and make room for younger stock, for
their market value is decreasing in proportion to their
size, as I have shown under the head of "Marketable
Trout."

TAKING TROUT EGGS.

In an old English cook-book by a Mrs. Glass, she
begins telling how to cook a hare, with the words:
"First catch your hare." The trout culturist in quest
of eggs may follow the sage advice of Mrs. Glass. But,
when the trout is caught, he must pause. Eggs are
desirable, but are worthless unless they are fully ripe;
and, if the eggs are not ripe, the mother will surely be
killed if they are forced from her. A male fish may
sometimes be ripped open and his milt teased out in
water, but no such Caesarian operation will yield young
from the female trout, and in all trout work, extending
over half a century, not a troutlet can say, with Mac-
beth, "I was from my mother's womb untimely ripped."

The trout are either netted in ponds or streams or
entrapped in spawning races, which are covered grav-
elly runs, and will be described under the head of
"Ponds." As our brook, brown, rainbow and most
other trout spawn in the daytime, the early morning is

Trout Breeding. 61

best to take the eggs of such fishes as are ready to
spawn on that day, leaving all others for a future day.
The lake trout, improperly called "salmon trout," S\
namayciish, spawn at night, and as they often live in
the same lakes, and sometimes have their spawning
grounds in common with the brook trout, their differ-
ent hours of spawning prevent hybridizing, far milt is
sterile after being in water a few minutes.

In taking eggs from a covered raceway we dropped
a screen at the lower end, threw off the covers and
netted the fish into tubs of water for examination and
assorting. The males are put together, the females
that appear to be ripe go in other tubs, while those not
nearly ripe are returned to the pond. The ripe female
has a soft abdomen and the vent is swollen, protruding
and red. Here is the delicate point : to judge the
amount of pressure needed to start the eggs. Her tail
is taken in the left hand and bent upward, the right
hand holding the head with a grip of thumb and the
three last fingers on the bony arch back of the gills ;
the forefinger is then free to stroke the abdomen. Often
the bending of the back will start the flow of eggs; if
not, then it may require several light strokes to start
them ; but if the trout is not fully ripe she must be kept
a day or two more, for if much force is used she is apt
to die, and while some of her eggs may be ripe enough
to be impregnated, they will produce embryos, which
will either die in the egg or live along in a feeble man-
ner and amount to nothing, few surviving the absorp-
tion of the sac.

THE MALE TROUT in spawning time has a bright red
belly and is slim in comparison. He need not be han-
dled as carefully as his mate with her burden. The
milt of one male is often sufficient for half a dozen

62 Modern Fishciilture in Fresh and Salt Water.

spawners, as a few drops are enough for the eggs of
one fish.

IMPREGNATING THE EGGS. — Clean pans must be
used and cleanliness is essential in all fishcultural opera-
tions. Have pans for this purpose and never put any-
thing but water and eggs in them. Tin, earthen and

STRIPPING A SMALL TROUT.

enameled-iron will do, but the paper ones which I tried
once in shad hatching did not produce strong fish;
why, I don't know ; but they were discarded. Wet the
pan to free it from dust and lightly drain it ; wet your
hands and strip the female trout, remembering that she
has an ovary on each side that reaches from vent to
gills. Begin near the vent and work up gradually, and
when you have finished she will look very slim. Work

Trout Breedin.

.

as fast as possible, for she is becoming faint and may
need a rest in the tub if you are too long about it. If
you have a helper, let him strip a male or two at the
same time, right over the eggs; if alone, strip a male
and then add just water enough to cover the eggs and
let them stand for a few minutes and add as much more
water.

The milt of the male contains microscopic organ-
isms called spermatozoa, which lie quiescent until they

SPAWNING FUNNEL, to strip fish in, to prevent their slipping
among the eggs in pan below.

strike water, when they begin to be active, but die in
three to five minutes afterward. The eggs are soft
and flabby when they come from the female, because
there is a loose outer coat which has a funnel-shaped
orifice in it, which is called the micropyle. Through
this the egg absorbs water, and if that water is heavily
charged with milt a spermatozoon is likely to enter and
the egg is fertilized. In twenty or thirty minutes the
egg will have absorbed all it can, and if not impreg-

64 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

nated within that time no power can fertilize it. Al-
ways dilute the milt slightly with water or it will not
be active. Bloody milt is not good. Here is where we
beat nature by bringing every egg in contact with the
milt and giving it a chance to get a spermatozoon be-
'fore it has ceased absorbing.

At first the eggs adhere to the pan or to each other,
because they are flabby, just as a piece of wet leather
adheres to and can be made to lift a brick. They must
not be disturbed until they have drunk their fill and
are free, when they are washed from superfluous milt
and placed on the trays. Leave them long in the pan
and don't hurry their freeing ; the colder the water the
longer they adhere.

THE RUSSIAN METHOD. — The above is the so-called
"Russian Method," Which made a great stir among
fishculturists in America. We used to follow nature so
closely that we took the eggs in a pan nearly full of
water. In the New York Citizen of May 27, 1871, Mr.
George Shephard Page had the experiments of M.
Vrasski, a Russian scientist, translated, and it proved
that impregnation was more perfect if the eggs and
milt were put together before water was added, and
when we tried it our per cent, of impregnation was
more than doubled and the "dry method" at once be-
came popular; yet sixteen years had intervened be-
tween the discovery of Vrasski and the translation.
All American fishculturists had been wondering why a
trout carried so many unfertile eggs, but had not stum-
bled on the secret. Of course one man claimed to have
known it for years, but as it was his habit to claim
every discovery, no one paid any attention to him, and
if he really did know it and did not publish it he could
not claim credit ; yet that fact never hindered him. In

Trout Breeding. 65

the reports of the American Fishculturists' Associa-
tion, now the American Fisheries Society, it is on rec-
ord that he bragged of showing Mr. Stone how to take
trout eggs and filled the pan with water. I visited his
ponds often and noted that he was picking out as many
white eggs as any one.

The main points in taking eggs are : cleanliness . of
all implements; wet hands, to prevent removing slime
from fish, which means death to them from fungus, a
point that will be taken up under the head of "Dis-
eases ;" the rapidity with which the eggs and milt are
brought together after extrusion, and the protection
from changes of temperature. Temperature is a vital
point. If the air and water are of nearly equal tem-
perature, all right ; but if the air is much colder than
the water, set the pans in water at once. If in the
pond, cover the pans, for the sun must never strike a
trout egg. I shall probably say this several times, and
will now repeat it : never let the sun shine on a trout
egg. If you have a hatching house, take the pans there,
and if the air in the house is too cold set the pans in a
hatching trough.

Remember this : Water, whether in brooks or lakes,
does not vary suddenly in temperature. It takes many
days of warm or cold air to raise or lower a pond a
degree or two ; the change is slow ; therefore the fishes,
not being accustomed to sudden changes, cannot stand
them. In winter the globe of goldfish stands in a room
heated to 70° Fahrenheit. "The poor things need fresh
water!" And they get it from the house service at
near the freezing point, and after a few shocks of this
kind that hardy and much-abused fish dies, and its
owner wonders what killed it when "it had fresh water
every day." A trout cannot endure anything like that

66 Modern Fishculiure in Fresh and Salt Water.

treatment, and if the adult cannot stand it, how can the
little bit of life which is trying to assert itself in the
egg which is only half an hour old stand it? Look to
the temperatures of air and water when taking trout
eggs.

The taking and impregnating of eggs is the most
delicate and important part of fishculture. No man
can become an expert by reading this or any other
book. There are things that he must get by experience.
I can tell him in words how to distinguish and strip a
ripe trout, as far as words will go, but I realize that
the directions are much like those books whose titles
are, "The Violin Without a Master," and "The Art of
Boxing," etc. After reading such works there is much
to learn.

I believe that a novice may follow my instructions
and, after noting his failures from year to year, he will
get on the right track ; but, if he can afford it, it will
be years to his credit if he employs a competent fish-
culturist, and they are now to be had from the hatch-
eries of many States. I have taken eggs from the same
trout many years without injury to her. A trout can
retain its eggs if its stomach is empty, and they some-
times sulk as a cow does when being milked, but a full
belly causes her to be glad to be rid of her burden.

SPAWN FROM WILD TROUT.

Brook trout usually run up into swift, shallow, grav-
elly streams to spawn, if thore are such streams acces-
sible to them. In Buck Pond, near Meacham Lake,
Franklin County, New York, there is no inlet stream,
and the trout spawn about the springs in the bottom.

Trout Breeding. 67

I once helped the proprietor, Mr. A. R. Fuller, take
eggs from fish which he netted there in about two feet
of water. Yet I have known trout to spawn about
spring-holes in a lake when there was a good inlet
stream. In such cases it is difficult to net the fish un-
less the water is shallow and the springs near the shore,
when a seine may be carefully put out around them
and hauled ; but great care must be used, for they will
rush for deep water at the slightest alarm. In all cases
there must be a pen or pool provided for such fish as
are not fully ripe. Out of ten spawners only one may
be fit for stripping on the day it is caught.

In parts of Canada, Vermont and the Adirondacks,
the trout begin to go to the spawning grounds in Au-
gust, and some will be ripe by the middle of September ;
in that case the spawning season is over in November.
On Long Island the spawning begins about November
I, and continues into February in some years, the
height of the season being in December. This is be-
cause the waters do not get cool early in the season,
and all fall and winter spawning fish develop their eggs
on a falling temperature; cold seems to stimulate the
development of their eggs as warmth does that of the
spring and summer spawners.

It is best to have everything in readiness a month be-
fore the spawning begins in order that those fish which
run up at first may not be alarmed at weirs or traps
placed in the water later. The males usually run up
first, and often are a fortnight ahead of the females,
and these males should not be caught or disturbed dur-
ing their search for mates. Mr. J. W. Titcomb, Fish
Commissioner of Vermont, recently read a paper be-
fore the American Fisheries Society on collecting the
spawn of wild trout, and I cannot do better than to

68 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

quote the following, concerning traps, from his
paper :

"Location. — The location of a trap should be made at
a point where it is least likely to be inundated or washed
out by freshets, which would allow the escape of many
fish when they are most likely to be running in greatest
numbers. A point on the stream near its mouth is ad-
vised, or at some place below any possible spawning
bed, but not near enough to the outlet to be affected by
back water from the pond. It is desirable to have a
slight fall of water at the entrance to the trap. In
order to avoid washouts, the selection of a point where
the channel is broad is preferable. The slats of the
weir occupying about four-fifths of the natural water-
way will act as a barrier to raise the water above its
natural level, more or less.

"Construction. — The trap is a V-shaped inclosure de-
scribed by the mathematical term, 're-entering poly-
gon/ made of slats varying in dimensions with the
size of the stream and the force of the current. I used
slats I inch square, planed on two sides, driven into the
bed of the brook vertically, about J inch apart, and
nailed to horizontal timbers or hewn logs. This frame-
work of horizontal timbers consists of one course laid
at water level and a parallel course at the extreme
height of the weir. The general idea of such a trap is
the same as the pound net, there being an opening of
4 or 5 inches in the angle of the V. A gate can be ar-
ranged in the entrance with a lever reaching to some
point obscured from the view of the entrapped fish,
which can be lowered whenever the trap is approached
for inspection. This method of trapping trout is not
new, but requires more precautions than for the cap-
ture of other fish less active and gamy, and a few words

Trout Breeding. 69

of caution to the inexperienced may be desirable. Build
your trap to resist the greatest freshet the stream is
liable to develop. The run of trout at such times will
be greatest. Be careful to get a foundation that will
not be undermined by the constant washing of the cur-
rent between the slats. It is usually best to entirely
surround the sides of a trap with slats rather than to
depend upon the natural embankments. It is not
necessary to use narrow slats for the sides of the trap,
as no water passes through them, and the only object
is to secure an inclosure from which fish can be easily
dipped out. For a stream 6 feet wide I should build
an inclosure about 6 feet square, the V extending into
the inclosure about 3 feet.

"In many localities it will be found possible to dig
side ditches above the trap and inclosures, at right
angles, with the stream, in order to convey surplus
water away from the trap, and lessen the danger of
washout or inundation. The bottom of such ditches
should be considerably above low water mark to carry
off surplus high water.

"A convenient place for the pens is just above the
trap, so that the trout can be dipped from the latter
into the former. They are constructed of the same
material of which the trap is made, the upper side of
the trap inclosure being used as the lower side or end
of a series of pens. These should be made in shape
and size to suit the location and number of fish ex-
pected to be captured, and the same precautions should
be taken with them as with the trap to guard against
washouts. In many instances the bed of the brook is
hard gravel and stones of large size, preventing the
driving of the slats into it. In such cases it is desirable
to make an apron at the base of the slat-work, upon

70 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

which the water will fall as it passes through them, and
prevent washing out of holes underneath the slats.
This apron can be made of boards as an artificial bot-
tom to the trap or pens, but a cheaper and quite as ser-
viceable method is to place evergreen boughs or green
underbrush at the base of the slat-work, covering the
same with crushed stone or small stones from the bed
of the brook, and then with coarse gravel. This fea-
ture of construction is very important. If there is a
hole in the trap or pens large enough for trout to
escape, they will surely do so. In fact, they will dig
out under the slat-work if not properly guarded against.
It is well to have planks extending over the trap and
pens, on which one can conveniently stand to dip out the
fish. Adjacent to the trap and pens, a rough board
shanty can be constructed, or a tent can be temporarily
used. There will be many stormy and cold days, how-
ever, and I advise having a shanty with facilities for
heating it, and with a bunk where the attendant can
sleep. Add to this equipment a reflecting lantern.
Field stations of this description are usually some dis-
tance from habitation, and the ordinary comforts of
camp life should be available to insure good work of the
spawn taker."

NUMBER OF EGGS IN TROUT.

Mr. Titcomb gives a very interesting table of the
yield of eggs from trout of different sizes, which is
worth preserving. He says :

"Twenty-nine female trout, stripped of spawn at this
field station November 26^ 1896, were measured and
weighed and the number of eggs yielded by each re-
corded. The girth, as given in the following table,

Trout Breeding. 71

was taken before the trout were stripped and with a
scale which might not be regarded as entirely accurate,
but approximately so. Some of these trout had appar-
ently dropped part of their eggs before being captured :

Length

Girth

Wei

,ght

in inches.

in inches.

Its.

ozs.

13

1

1

0

18

7%

2

6

10

7%

6%

11%

6%

8

17

11

2

1

17%

11

1

14%.

8%

4

3

12%

11%

12%

7 *

10

11%

6V4

8

11%

6

8

10%

5%

6%

12

7

9%

16%

9

1

10%

11 "

6

8

13

6%

11%.

17

10

2

1

13

6%

11%.

11%

6V*

11%

12

6

10

16

9%

1

9

10

5%

6%

16

30

1

14%

36%

10%

1

12

14V^

8

1

2^

8"

s7!

1

8

17

10%

2

15

9%

1

8

No. of

Total for 29 trout 31 6%

1,394

2,665

492

615

2,563

2,358

130

1,312

820

410

615

308

820

923

615

1,025

2,665

923

820

718

1,845

656

1,948

2,563

1,845

1,074

1,845

2,665

1,948

38,580"

My estimate given below is not as large as this, but
Mr. Titcomb gives figures from a record, while mine,
written before I saw his, is merely an estimate such
as would be given offhand in reply to a question.

The flow of water in a hatching trough should be
about 100 gallons per hour for each 10,000 eggs.

If the work is distant from a hatchery there should
be troughs or trays for developing the eggs as they
are taken. These will be treated in another chapter.
In gathering eggs in streams on Long Island my men

72 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

had less than a mile to go from the hatchery and
brought the eggs back with them each morning.

The following is my estimate of the yield of eggs of
trout of different sizes :

Age. Weight. Eggs.

1% years. 3 to 5 oz. 50 to 160

2% years. 14 oz. to Ui Ibs. 700 to 1,000

3% years. 2 to 3 Ibs. 1,200 to 2,000

Not known 3y2 to 5 Ibs. 2,000 to 4,000

These were pond-fed trout and the ages were re-
corded from March i of each year. Thus : A trout of
March i, 1890, would be i year and 8 months old in
November, 1891 ; by some the fish would be classed as
two-year-olds and by others yearlings. With me they
were "yearlings" until actually two years old. I have
had much larger trout at the ages given above, but
have given a fair average weight.

PACKING EGGS FOR SHIPMENT.

No eggs should be p;icked for shipment until the
eyes are plainly visible, and, in fact, the older the bet-
ter, if possible. The embryo before the eye stage is
reached is very delicate and easily killed by a jar of
any kind ; even a shaking of the hatching trough may
injure, if not kill it. But after the eyes can be seen
the embryo begins to get strong and will bear rougher
treatment.

For transporting freshly taken eggs from the streams
to the hatchery my men used tin water pails and
brought them in water, if they came down the mill-
ponds in a boat, but if they came from a stream down

Trout Breeding. 73

the harbor and walked home they had a box i foot
each way with a swinging door. In this there were
light frames -| inch deep with bottoms of canton flannel,
woolly side up ; on these the eggs were floated, under
water, and evenly distributed in a single layer until
each box was filled. An ordinary trunk or drawer
handle on the top served to carry it by. On arriving
at the hatchery the trays are put in the troughs, and by
the movement of water by a feather the eggs are
gathered to the lower side of the tray and then turned
out. It does not hurt them to fall when in water, but
to fall in air and strike the surface of water is fatal.

To pack for a week's journey by rail the eggs
should be well advanced and the embryo quite well
colored — say, forty-five days. old. If only a thousand
tre to be sent, a box of tin or wood 8x4x3 inches deep
will do, but not a cigar-box, because of the odor. Make
holes in the bottom for drainage, lay an inch of living
swamp-moss — sphagnum — on the bottom, then cover
with mosquito netting, one layer of eggs covered with
netting, a thin layer of moss, and so on, covering with
moss. Press the cover down hard ; you can't hurt them
by pressure of moss; and they should be put up so
(irmly that if dropped endwise on the floor not an egg
would stir. Then get a larger box and pack the smaller
one in it with at least three inches of sawdust on top,
sides and bottom, and mark: "Fish eggs; keep cool,
but don't let 'em freeze."

The principle is this : The little fish within the egg
needs oxygen as well as an adult. It would die in still
water after the oxygen was absorbed, just as its parents
would. The living moss gives off oxygen and holds
the necessary moisture, and that's all there is of it. The
mosquito netting is a convenience to the one who un-

74 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

packs them because he does not have to pick the eggs
out of the moss.

To pack eggs for foreign shipment is a different
affair, although many fishculturists do not think so,
and pack for a two-weeks' trip as described above and
let them go.

The late Prof. Spencer F. Baird, Fish Commis-
sioner of the United States from 1871 until his death in
1887, appointed me in charge of foreign exchanges of
eggs and fish in 1877. In his day there were constant
exchanges with Germany, and shipments of eggs of
trout, quinnat salmon and our lake whitefish to Eng-
land, France and Holland. I opened all foreign boxes,
picked out the dead eggs, gave the living a "drink" and
a wash, repacked what were good and sent them to the
different Government or State hatcheries. I repacked
all eggs that were to go abroad, and in 1877 and 1878
went with the shipments to Germany. These things
are mentioned to show my right to an opinion on the
subject.

In the years named I repacked the eggs of quinnat
salmon on flannel trays, above which was a box for ice,
which by its drip "kept the eggs cool and moist, and the
trays were so arranged as to be inspected and the dead
removed, for in dead eggs lies great danger to the liv-
ing. On the first trip only 25,000 were so packed,
while the remainder went in the original packages,
without opening, as per order from Prof. Baird by
request of the original packer. My box turned out
well ; the others were a total loss, and after that I was
given carte blanche to repack as I saw fit. The next
year I took 100,000 over safely and received the thanks
of the Deutsche Fischerei Verein, a silver medal from
the Societe d'Acclimation, Paris, and $200 from the

Trout Breeding. 75

King of Holland, sent through Mr. C. J. Bottemanne,
Inspector of Fisheries, Bergen op Zoom.

In after years I packed as follows : A layer of eggs
on trays, a cover of mosquito netting and a thick layer
of moss ; then a tray with perforated zinc bottom

THE FIRST REFRIGERATING Box FOR SHIPPING SALMON EGGS
TO EUROPE.

filled with ice, cover screwed on and the box packed in
another with sawdust. This packing did not need an
attendant, and at the World's Fischerei Austellung,
Berlin, 1880, it received a bronze medal. .

76 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

Mr. W. Oldham Chambers, secretary of the Na-
tional Fishculture Association of England, in his his-
tory of fishculture, "Land and Water," March 27, 1886,
says : "We may well take a lesson from the American
system of packing, which is very simple, but most effi-
cacious in attaining the desired end, which is to dimin-
ish as much as possible the rate of mortality through
injury. In the first place, the ova are placed into trays,
consisting of calico (canton flannel) stretched upon
wooden frames, which are deposited one above the
other in the centre of a large box, each tray being inter-
laid with moss. Around the pyramid of trays, which
are fixed firmly into position, a partition is reserved,
serving as a receptacle for ice and sawdust — two most
important factors in transmitting ova. On arrival at
their destination the eggs can be readily unpacked by
removing the trays from the box, clearing away the
moss between each, and turning, the ova en masse by
means of water into the hatching troughs. The orig-
inator of this capital method is, I believe, Mr. Fred
Mather, of New York. I am able to testify to the fact
that not more than thirty eggs out of every thousand
sent me at various periods have perished during the
journey from New York to London, which is an evi-
dence of the skill displayed in packing them."

Very often I received foreign eggs packed in the
old style, and after picking out the dead ones reported
the remainder in good order, being required to make
an immediate report. But I learned to deduct at least
half because, with my first report in hand, I was ex-
pected to turn out a proportionate lot of fry.

Many "good" eggs either died a week later or pro-
duced deformities which could never live. It is a. fact
that an injury to an embryo is not always fatal (a no-

Trout Breeding. 77

table instance of this may be found in the first chapter
of Tristram Shandy), and fish eggs 'may be injured in
transit by heat, concussion, or a lack of moisture, so
that the embryo will come into the world only to die.

Concussion is more immediately fatal than a high
temperature ; it kills within a few days. Lack of mois-
ture is shown at once by indented eggs, and upon the
degree of indentation rests the damage. I have ex-
perimented with such eggs and have found that those
only slightly indented have produced good fish, while
others somewhat drier did uct. A high temperature
on eggs of Salmonidcc, and it is of these that I speak,
makes weak embryos, if they live to break the shell.
They hatch head first, and all fishculturists know that
such fish have a small chance for life, or they have not
strength enough to straighten from the coil in which
they have been and are ''whirligigs," spinning round
in one direction at every effort to move. These die oi
starvation because they cannot swim.

A lot of saibling eggs received from Germany looked
first-rate, but one-fifth of the embryos had not strength
enough to straighten after hatching. Another result
of high temperature en route is a softening of the egg,
either the outer covering or some part beneath, and
these embroys hatch but do not live to take food.

Of some eggs of our lake whitefish sent to me by
Mr. Clark for transmission to Germany, and repacked
in my boxes, the late Herr von Behr wrote as follows :

"Berlin, Feb. i, 1881.

"MR. MATHER: It is wonderful how good the
whitefish eggs arrived. I divided them and sent them
to many parts of Germany and Austria, with no loss
tp speak of. This manner of packing may be immor-

78 Modern Fishcidture in Fresh and Salt Water.

tal! And if the promised trout eggs come in equally
good shape I will be happy."

CHAPTER IV.

CARE OF TROUT EGGS.

These things will kill your eggs in the troughs or
in the nests, or redds, in the stream : The sun is deadly ;
two minutes of direct sunshine through a crack will
kill every egg it strikes. Sediment will close the pores
in the egg and smother the embryo. A sudden jar on
the trough, a heavy weight falling on the floor or con-
cussion of any kind will either kill or deform the em-
bryos, according to their stage of development. Rats
and mice will eat the eggs, and one dead egg will kill
all that it touches if left until fungus forms on it — say

Trout Breeding. 79

in three or four days. In the streams all these dangers
are mutiplied ten-fold, and to them are added : ducks,
geese, swans, eels, suckers, chubs, bullheads and year-
ling trout, for the eggs of trout and salmon seem to
have an attractive odor for fishes, and in England
poachers use salmon eggs, probably not impregnated,
but direct from the fish, as a lure for trout that is said
to be irresistible, and salmon roe is even salted down
for that purpose.

Hatching the eggs of brook trout is a simple matter
if proper arrangements are made at first. The condi-
tions required are a steady flow of water at a low tem-
perature, the absence of sediment, and the exclusion of
light, enemies, and all decaying animal or vegetable
matter from the water, especially such as might arise
from dead eggs — conditions which can usually be best
obtained where a spring rises, but are often available
below it if sufficient fall can be obtained.

Let us suppose that the owner wishes to make an
experiment to see what he can do in hatching trout,
with which he has had no previous experience, and does
not care to go to the expense of building a hatching
house until he has proved his ability to manage one.
He wishes to try 10,000 eggs with as little expense as
possible beyond their cost.

A tight trough of clean, well-seasoned pine, ten feet
long, fourteen inches wide, and eight inches deep, with
one end open, will do. Make according to directions
for troughs. Place strips across it at eighteen inches
apart, making nests an inch deep ; cover this with fine,
well- washed gravel, about the size of buckwheat, or
larger, to the depth of half an inch, put on a cover with
hinges and lock, place a screen in the lower end to keep
put mice and insects, and the trough is tnen ready. The

8o Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water,

trough may be placed by making a dam with a board,
a foot or more in height, and, tapping it with a half-
inch pipe, let it run into the upper end of the trough,
which should be slightly raised, so that there will be a
small ripple over the strips, but not current enough to
carry away the eggs when placed upon the gravel.

If this trough is in a spring house, or a hatching
house is built, where a settling reservoir can be used, it
will be found a great help in keeping the eggs free from
sediment which will collect and, partly covering the
egg, interfere with its vitality by depriving it of its
power of absorbing oxygen from the water in a man-
ner analogous to breathing. The trough being in readi-
ness and the eggs received, fill the trough by a dam at
lower end and place the boxes in the trough before
opening until they have acquired its temperature, then
take a pan of water, remove the eggs and rinse them
free from any dirt in the moss, pick out the few dead
ones, which you will at once recognize by their milky
whiteness, dip the edge of the pan under water and
let the eggs drop on the gravel to be afterward dis-
tributed with the wing feather of a fowl. Ever re-
member these vital rules : never let the sun shine upon
the eggs, never pour them through the air to strike the
surface of the water (although they may fall any dis-
tance under water) and never expose them to sudden
changes of temperature.

Having placed the eggs on the gravel, all that is now
required is a daily inspection to see that the water is
running steadily, and to remove such eggs as may die
from time to time, to prevent them from decay and
growing a woolly fungus which is very deadly. They
should also be feathered over as often as any sign of a
deposit of sediment is observed, beginning at the head

Trout Breeding. 8l

of the trough and working it down. This requires to
be attended to much oftener when some distance below
the spring, as all disturbance above tends to foul the
water and the flow in the trough is not strong enough
to carry it through. A box with the bottom knocked
out, and a fine sieve substituted, is good to fasten above
the pipe to keep leaves and coarse particles out.

In the hatching house the use of gravel is nearly
obsolete, although Mr. Frank N. Clark, a veteran fish-
culturist of acknowledged ability, has recently returned
to its partial use, as has been told in these pages.
Frames, with wire bottoms, are used, as described
under that head. The frames are often placed one
above the other to the number of five or six, thereby in-
creasing the hatching capacity of the trough as many
times, and rendering the cleaning easily and thoroughly
done by raising the frames, sprinkling them with a
common watering pot, and washing out the trough with
a small broom ; with this system no strips are used, but
for simple experiment the gravel will do, it being the
old system under which we worked for years before the
introduction of the frames. But while five or six lay-
ers of eggs may be developed, these should not be al-
lowed to hatch in the trough or the young would be
smothered.

A trout egg requires 60 to TOO or more days to hatch,
according to temperature, and the colder it is, down to
freezing, the longer it takes. Warm water, 60° Fahr.
and upward, hatches them quickly, but leaves the em-
bryos weak and liable to die. After hatching, the water
in the trough may be deepened and the current slightly
increased ; the strongest of the fry will work up stream
and the weaker will try to hide or be carried against the
screen, where they will finally be suffocated by the

82 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

picssure of the water closing their gills against the
wire. These had better be turned loose before dying.

TOOLS OF THE CRAFT.

The implements in use in the troughs are few and
simple. Wisp-brooms to clean troughs and trays from
5>lime. Strong feathers in wooden handles to move
eggs that may be washed in heaps — the wing feathers of
geese are best, because the quills are stiffen Nippers
for removing dead eggs or other substances are best
made of red cedar; a piece 7 inches long by ij inches
wide and J inch thick will do. Bore a ^-inch hole an
inch and a half from one end and rip from the other end
into the hole with a saw and then trim down until you
have a pair of nippers that are springy and will open
themselves. Either flatten and hollow the ends to hold
an egg, or better still, whip on loops of fine brass wire.
Then make square frames of heavier brass wire and put
in a wooden handle, the frames being 3 inches square.
Cover them with "millinet," such as milliners use, sew
it on perfectly flat and it is handy for picking up lots of
eggs that have got off the trays or for other purposes.
Strong glass tubes, about three-quarters of an inch
outside diameter, and ten inches long, are very handy
for picking up eggs or embryos for examination. Stop
one end with the finger and put the other end near the
object to be lifted. Remove the finger quickly and let
the water rush in with the eggs, dirt or whatever you
may wish. Close the top again and also the bottom
and then you can examine the object at leisure.

These things, with a microscope and thermometer,
are all that I need to hatch several millions of trout. Go

Trout Breeding. 83

over the eggs each day, remove all dirt, dead eggs or
other matter ; keep everything clean, see that the flow
of water is regular and wait for the hatching to begin.

HATCHING IN BULK.

Some years ago I devised a series of trays to hatch in
layers, which improved on the Clark- Williamson
trough, which had fixed partitions in it where the water
went under one and over the next. (See cut.) Fig. i
is copied from plate XVI, Report U. S. F. C., 1872-73,

and shows a "nest of trays in Williamson's Double
Riffle Hatching Box." It will be noticed that the
dams are permanent and in pairs, the upper one being
the lowest to permit the water to flow over it and up

84 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

under the next one, which extends above the water line,
thus forcing the water downward to flow up through
the nest of trays and then down again.

Fig. 2 is my system, so arranged as to secure the
same result and yet have no dams in the troughs, which
may be used to hatch single layers when the house is
not crowded. The trays should be square and of exact
size, only one-quarter inch smaller than the inside of
the trough. I have urged that all troughs be of exact
size inside, in order to avoid ill-fitting trays. Each
tray should fit any trough. Rabbet the bottoms of the
trays so that the wire-cloth is sunk in, for the trays must
set tightly on each other. Use No. 14 wire-cloth,
which is small and does not injure the embryos by let-
ting sacs and tails through.

The top tray, A, has no eggs on it, but has a stop-
water, D, fast to the side, which must be put up stream.
The lower tray, 4. has a half-inch square strip on three
sides, which forces the water up through the eggs. The
water line is at W. To each gang of trays, four or
more, there must be the two special top and bottom
ones. The sets of trays are kept from floating up, or
from escape of water on the bottom, by braces across
the trough or by weights. In cleaning the eggs the
trays are floated up and one tray after another is gone
over. They should be picked over twice a week until
hatching begins, and then only once to remove shells
and pick out dead. The fry can be kept in these frames
until ready to take food, when they may be put in float-
ing boxes in the ponds to be fed or may be turned out.

The capacity of a set of four trays, as described, is
2,500 salmon or 7,000 trout, thus increasing the hatch-
ing capacity of a trough fourfold and holding the fry
safely until the smothering period has passed. The

Trout Breeding.

«s

embryo fish lie quietly on these frames because there is
but little light, a thing they avoid, but if the "rabbet"
for the wire-cloth is deeper than one-sixteenth of an
inch, letting the wire in deeper, there will always be
some fry on top of the frame below to bother by escap-
ing when cleaning. A trough full of these trays does
not show up much "business" to a visitor, but it is of
use when the hatchery is crowded.

UNIMPREGNATED EGGS never change from the time
they are taken until they turn white, which they may
do at any time, often not until hatching begins. With a
microscope I can see the change in a trout egg at three
days old and with the eye at ten to twenty days, accord-

SMALLER TOOLS OF THE CRAFT.

ing to temperature. At first all the eggs have a ring at
the top ; no matter if it is rolled over the ring will come
up. The first sign of impregnation under the micro-
scope is a division of the yolk into halves and then
quarters; then comes the "mulberry mass," and after-
ward the line of the backbone and the eyes. But the
egg with no fish in it, if it has not turned white, holds

86 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

its ring, and when the eyes appear the "ringers," as we
call them, can be picked out and fed to the yearlings ;
and they are very fond of them. If eggs are packed
for shipment all ringers should be picked out, as they
"die" at the slightest disturbance, and only fertile eggs
should be sent.

CHAPTER V.

CARE OF FRY.

The Century Dictionary defines "fry" as "the very
young of a fish." In that sense I use it. Technically
the young fish is an embryo while in the egg and after
bursting the shell until the umbilicus is absorbed. But
I have declined to use the French word "alevin" for
the hatched embryo, just as I decline to use the Latin
"ova" for eggs. English fishculturists advertise "eyed
ova." There's a mouthful ! What's the matter with a
good English word like eggs? I would as soon think
of asking a waiter to bring me "two fried ova" as of
calling fish eggs by a Latin name to show my learning.
Most of American fishculturists speak of "eggs of fish"
and call embryo trout "fry" until the sac is absorbed,
when they are "babies" until they are entitled to be
termed "yearlings."

A troutlet which bursts the shell head first or lets any
part of its umbilical sac out in advance is a poor, weak
critter whose shell has worn thin and it had no power to
burst it. Few such live. A strong, healthy embryo
trout rips the shell open with its tail and wiggles about

Trout Breeding. 87

with head and sac in the shell, driving it here and there
as if it meant business until the shell drops away.

In trout culture the hatching is a simple matter, and
one that is easily learned, so that a child can attend to
it ; the real difficulty for a novice being in keeping the
young fish the first year and overcoming, first, the dis-
position of half of them to die without apparent cause
or provocation during the nrst three months, and, sec-
ondly, the propensity to escape through an unseen
crack or a defective screen ; but the second season all
that are left seem to thrive well and to be contented
with their confinement, provided a gate is not left open
for them to get into the stream, and even then they are
liable to return at the spawning time.

A newly hatched trout would never be classed as a
young trout by one who sees it for the first time. They
look like small threads of albumen, which have great
eyes, and attached to the belly is the great yolk-sac,
about as large as the original egg. They cannot swim,
but move about on the bottom in an apparently aimless
manner, seeking to avoid light. In the brooks they
would scatter and bury themselves in the gravel, but in
the troughs they huddle and crowd in corners to avoid
the light, for they take no food until their haversack,
with thirty to forty days' rations, is exhausted and their
instinct is to hide. This is a critical time. They may
pile on top of their fellows and smother the bottom ones.
This must be prevented. Keep the upper parts of the
trough darkened with covers or window shades and let
the outlet screens be in the light. This will prevent
them from squeezing in any crack about the screen and
dying there, or of .their letting tails or parts of sacs
through the wire-cloth and perishing.

The crowding is worse while they are young and deli-

88 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and

cate, say for the first fortnight, and I have put stones
and bricks in the troughs to induce them to scatter. But
these are not good ; some will wedge their heads under
them and die. If kept dark by covers, as aforesaid, for
a couple of weeks they will come out right, for the
crowding is merely to escape light, and when the covers
are lifted the little fellows which were quiescent begin
to scatter to find a dark place. Under this management
the strong fellows will be well up in the trough and
the weaklings and deformities will be sifted out by the
incessant working of their tails to keep their places and
will be found about the foot of the trough ; crooked

5SSf^5S»#^'^'==Ss=:-

^2xV - <.-„ -wr^t s" — ~^ — ^a *>

To PREVENT FRY FROM CROWDING. — This is a small inner frame
to place in the trough. BB, outer and inner troughs; F,
an inner projection of wood or tin; W, wire cloth through
which water from the outside flows. By W. P. Seal in
Forest and Stream, Feb. 19, 1891. The fry are supposed to
gather below the wire cloth W.

tails, double-headers and all others not fitted to survive
will be found near the outlet.

The newly hatched trout is much more delicate than
the egg and must be treated accordingly. Move them,
when necessary, by pouring water on them or by mak-
ing currents with a feather, but don't touch them. If
you wish to disturb them to remove the dead or to send
them toward the head of the trough take, a piece of half--
inch pine board, a little less than the width of the trough
and one inch less than its depth ; tack a strip on its
upper edge to rest on the top of the trough and slide this
down the trough with some force. The water will rush

Trout Breeding. 89

up stream and carry the fry with it, and a few such
movements will send them swirling toward the head of
the trough. Delicate as they are to the rough touch of a
feather, the swirl of water does not hurt them ; it merely
carries them with it and they come in contact with noth-
ing but water.

A trout or salmon, newly hatched, is a beautiful thing
under the microscope. The circulation of blood is
shown more clearly than in the frog's foot, which is the
standard thing to use in school work; but the frog is
available at all times. Under the microscope the caudal
heart can be seen up to the fifth day, when it is ab-
sorbed. The streams of blood in the sac seem to flow
like creeks, now dammed by a lot of corpuscles and
then breaking away and flowing on, while the plexus in
the tail shows the capillaries returning the arterial
blood to the veins and back to the gills for oxygenation.

The loss in eggs is largely due to the lack of impreg-
nation, although some few embryos die after the eye-
spots show. The loss after hatching and before feed-
ing is largely from malformations and weaklings if
there has been no smothering, a thing which the expeit
fishculturist does not allow to happen, because his
trained eye detects the first sign of crowding and stops
it. But as all this is not written for the expert, but for
the beginner, all these dangers are mentioned. If the
beginner buys 20,000 eggs from a reliable dealer he is
sure that each egg has a fish in it when the lot is put up.
If he expects that he will hatch and rear 20,000 trout he
will be mistaken. Why should he expect it ? He can't
raise 900 chickens out of a thousand that are hatched,
not to mention those which died in the egg, He can't
average nine out of ten colts, calves or children if he is
doing business on a large scale, and why should he ex-

90 Modern Fishcultnre in Fresh and Salt Water.

pect fish to be an exception ? Given 20,000 good trout
eggs, with the eyes to be seen in each egg, they are
about fifty days old and are due to hatch in ten or
twenty days more. He will pick out 500 white eggs
before they begin to hatch and 500 more in dead and
deformed embryos that never could live. That is only
5 per cent, loss before feeding, and is very low. It is
more likely to be twice that number, yet there is no fault
to be found with the seller nor with the receiver. It is
the natural mortality which is common to all young
animals. It is part of nature's scheme in animal in-
crease, and no man can improve it.

We not only impregnate more eggs than is possible in

EMBRYO SALMON, showing yoke sac with oil globules and
veins, also the embryonic fin with indications of perma-
nent fins.

a state of nature, but we protect both Jggs and embryos
until the little fellows are ready to take food, a period of
some seventy days in the egg and of at least thirty more
before the sac is absorbed. This nearly covers the win-
ter months and brings our proteges up to the time when
insect life, either in perfect form or larvae, is stirring in
the spring and affording food for the baby trout which,
having absorbed its yolk-sac, is swimming clear of the
bottom, heading up-stream and examining every tiny
bit that floats down. It takes a morsel in its mouth,

' Trout Breeding. 91

throws it out and settles down on the bottom to rest, its
curiosity having been satisfied.

Take up one now in. a glass tube and note that the
embryonic fin which ran from the insertion of the Dorsal
fin around the tail to the anal fin, like the fin of an eel,
has been absorbed and the permanent fins are developed.
The sac which seemed to be absorbed appears like a bit
of amber in the cleft abdomen, as though the fish were
about to split open. The sac is almost absorbed and the
walls of the abdomen will join together over it and the
embryo will be a trout in a few days. Yet it will take
food by the mouth before the sac is fully absorbed, and
a proof of this is not in its seizing floating particles, but
in its passing of ordure. Nothing passes the embryo
trout while subsisting on its sac ; the yolk is pure nutri-
ment, with no waste, but when it begins to feed with its
mouth there is a waste which is common to all animals
after leaving the embryo stage, and the troughs must be
feathered down every day.

The fish with curled tails cannot be helped. They
cannot swim and must spin around in one direction, and,
being unable to seek food, must die. The "double
headers" occur in many shapes, from two and even
three heads to fish merely joined at the tail, and even
"twins," which were two apparently perfect and dis-
tinct fish, but with only one umbilical sac between them.
1 have tried to rear thousands of these monstrosities and
have had them take food with both heads for several
days and then find them dead some morning. The
salmon and trout seem to be more given to producing
monstrosities than any other fishes on my visiting list.

A little salt is good to sprinkle at the head of the
trough occasionally if there is a sign of fungus from fin
or tail nibbling.

92 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

CHAPTER VI.

FEEDING FRY.

The time of absorbing the sac we roughly state at
about thirty days, but it varies according to tempera-
ture. Those hatching about February ist, in cold
water, are longer in absorbing it than those coming out
a month later, especially if warm rains come on. From
twenty-five to forty days would be more accurate.

When nearly ready to take food they head up-stream,
and the strongest will be at the inflow. They will
crowd in a corner if there is an eddy there, and some
may try to jump up the incoming stream and land on
the floor. To remedy this make a little box, about 6x9
inches and 5 deep, with a bottom of fine wire-cloth or
perforated tin, and hang it so that the water pours into
it, the bottom being a couple of inches below the sur-
face. Such a box is good to put in when hatching
begins, as it catches all insects and crustaceans which
might injure the fry. Now it will distribute the inflow
through small holes and prevent jumping out.

When they begin to rise and examine small floating
objects care must be taken that the trough is not over-
crowded, for if they are crowded they will soon nibble
fins and tails, even though food is plenty. They seem
to do this from irritability at being crowded and nip at
a tail as if to say : "Get out of my way." When a tail
or pectoral fin has been nibbled it turns white, is mis-
taken for food and is picked at until fungus sets in and
the troutlet dies. In a trough 10 feet by 14 inches, with

Trout Breeding. 93

water 6 inches deep, 7,000 trout fry are quite enough to
feed. If the trough is 14 feet long 10,000 may be re-
tained. The remainder, if any, should be placed in
other troughs or in floating boxes in the ponds. For
description of these boxes see the chapter on shad.

To feed the fish which we should have from 10,000
eggs take a piece of beef liver as large as a hickory nut
and scrape it with a sharp knife until only fibre is left ;
take the scrapings and pass all of it that will go through
a screen of about twenty wires to the inch by rubbing
and pressing it with a flat piece of shingle and scraping
it off the under side. Place this on a board and add a
few drops of water to make a thin paste, and then drop
in a little at a time, taking care not to feed more than
they will eat, in order not to foul the trough. It may
be flicked from a knife blade down the trough. My fa-
vorite is a "knife" made of hard wood, something like a
paper cutter. Watch them and see if they take it. Feed
carefully all down the trough. The motion of their
tails will now send most of the waste to the. foot of the
trough, yet it should be feathered as before.

In a few days their appetites will increase greatly,
and it is better to feed little and often than to try to give
a big feed twice a day. I would not recommend any
person to undertake to raise young trout by artificial
feeding in troughs or boxes for the first three months
unless they can feed them every hour. The appetite of
the juvenile trout is as frequently intermittent as that of
other young animals, and requires one to stand over
them almost constantly.

When I began trout culture (1868) the only book on
the subject was " American Fishculture," by Norris,
published in that year and now out of print. It con-
tained all that was then known, which was but little,

94 Modern Fishcidture in Fresh and Salt Water.

Norris speaks of different kinds of food for fry, such
as "Liver or lean meat, boiled hard and grated ; the
yolks of eggs, boiled hard and reduced almost to a pow-
der; raw liver, chopped fine with a long sharp knife;
fresh or coagulated blood; fresh shad or herring roe,
raw or boiled; thick milk or bonnyclabber and curds."

I had an experience in trying most of these things.
Mr. Stephen H. Ainsworth, the first man to breed trout
in the State of New York, cautioned me not to over-
feed the fry. I had taken some 50,000 eggs from wild
trout in my first year's work and had bought 20,000
more, and my few troughs were full. My loss in un-
impregnated eggs was great, for I had no instructor. I
had about 35,000 fry. I must try different foods and
observe their effect, being careful not to feed too much.

The boiled egg was a failure. It dissolved and
spread over the gravel and grew fungus ; the fry were
all head and no body, looking snaky. The curd acted
the same way; clotted blood was worse. All these
troughs must be cleaned if the fish were to be saved, and
a vile mess that gravel was. The grated boiled beef
was not so foul, but the fish were evidently starving.
Although a novice, I could see that. Those fed on
fresh liver were doing well comparatively, but were
slim and "all head." I changed to liver in all the
troughs and some fish began to pick up, but thousands
died. I caught a few "wild" ones that had either
escaped from my troughs or been naturally spawned,
and their deep bodies, broad backs and relatively small
heads showed that my fish were not well fed and were
just kept alive. "Why," I asked myself, "should a
young trout be restricted in its food ? Surely it gets all
it wants when wild." Then I fed them all they would
eat every half hour, and could see them pick up, but

Trout Breeding. 95

they never made thrifty fish. I saved some n,ooo to
live through May, but I knew more about feeding trout
than when I began.

Along the Massachusetts coast the trout breeders
feed the eggs of haddock to the fry and get good results.
Shad eggs, named by Norris, come too late to be of use.
I've mixed cream with liver to keep it floating longer,
but don't care for it. Bellies of soft clams, Mya are-
naria, the "maninose," have been used by me with good
results, but beef liver is the best food for trout and
salmon fry in the troughs that I know of. Make it
fine at first, coarser as they grow, and crowd it to them.

During late years I have used the sausage chopper
of the Enterprise Manufacturing Company, of Phila-
delphia, with good results in labor saving ; but two new
plates were made with holes one-eighth and one-six-
teenth of an inch, as the smallest holes in the plates that
come with the chopper are one-quarter of an inch. The
plate with smallest holes was used until the babies could
take larger particles. Yet after passing this chopper
the food must be sifted, as described, because no fibre
must be fed, as it passes undigested and is seen as a
long white string hanging from the fish, and is trouble-
some to pass. It may cause inflammation and death.
The Enterprise chopper is a great improvement on the
one in use years ago and figured by Mr. Stone as "Star-
ret's American chopping machine," which had a verti-
cal knife worked by a "walking-beam" in a revolving
cylinder, because the meat must pass through holes of
a certain size. It is the best chopper on the market.

Milk and cream have been used as food for the fry,
but they are not complete and wholesome, and under my
feeding produced great mortality. Shreds of beef,
brains and the spleen, or "milt," as butchers call it, an?

96 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

all good foods if cut or scraped and passed through the
sieve, which should be changed to a larger mesh as the
fish grow ; the soft part of clams and eggs of other fish
make excellent food for the very young trout, but the
eggs of hens will make filthy troughs on account of so
much of the yolk becoming dissolved and settling to the
bottom, and there decaying.

On Long Island I found the bellies of soft clams quite
good, but returned to beef liver. As the suckers spawn
in early spring, their eggs should be good food for
baby trout, as I know that the flesh of suckers is for
adults.

The food of the very young wild trout consists of the
newly hatched larvae of water-breeding insects and the
young of the smaller fresh water Crustacea, food that
we have no way of supplying in quantity, and my own
experiments, with half a dozen barrels of rainwater, to
breed "wigglers" (the larvae of mosquitoes) were suc-
cessful as far as producing good food for the fry went ;
but as it took them about five or six days to grow, only
one barrel could be strained each day, and the produc-
tion was only equal to the demands of a few hundred
fry, so that to carry it out on a scale sufficient to feed
50,000 would have made an imposing array of barrels
and involved great labor and expense. The beauty of
this kind of food is that it keeps until used, as well as
being most suitable and wholesome.

Mr. Charles Hoxsie devised an automatic feeder for
trout fry, intended to dispense with hand labor. An
underflow wheel of 10 or 12 inches diameter was put
in the distributing trough and a crank of i inch moved
a § strip which was suspended by cords over the heads
of the troughs and gave it a 2-inch reciprocal move-
ment parallel to the distributing trough — a wire would

Trout Breeding. 97

do as well and would not buckle as my rod did if there
was any obstruction. A tumbler rested on a strip at the
head of each trough, and in the bottom of it was bored
a J-inch hole ; in this hole worked in and out a bit of
wood, about half the diameter of the hole, attached to
the rod- by an arm. The tumblers were filled with food
wet to the proper consistency ; the wheel revolved ; the
long rod worked back and forth, forcing the wooden
pins in and out of the tumblers and dropping the food
automatically. I put one in the hatchery at Cold Spring
Harbor, N. Y., but found that it required constant at-
tention to see that the tumblers were not clogged and
that their contents were fluid enough but not too fluid.
In theory the thing was perfect. In practice the water
settled to the bottom and went out first, and when it
was gone the liver would not flow ; it remained in a
solid mass and formed an arch above the wooden pin,
which tried to do its duty but could not.

Such experiments are of value, even if the results
are failures, for they show us what to avoid. Mr. Hox-
sie looked after his own trout and had comparatively
few. I had more, and, working for the State, it was
desirable to produce the best results without too great
regard for expense, and so I went back to hand-feeding
with brains behind it. I had a man, Foster Van Aus-
dall, who was the most persistent trout-feeder I ever
knew, and — I am glad to say so out loud — he loved to
see trout feed, either old or young, and he was on his
feet all day feeding. When he came to the lower end
of the last trough he would begin at the head of the
first again, and so he went the rounds day by day while
the other men were on the road with trout for stocking
public waters. He loved his work, and the trout
showed it.

98 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

HOW OTHERS FEED FRY.

The late Sir James Maitland, Bart., had a large breed-
ing establishment at- Howietoun, near Sterling, Scot-
land, and made it a commercial success. In a pamph-
let "On Stocking Rivers, Streams, Lakes and Reser-
voirs with Salmonidae," published by his secretary, Mr.
J. R. Guy, Sterling, N. B., 1892, Mr. Maitland tells
how to feed fry. While I do not agree with his views,
they are quoted because he had an extensive experi-
ence, and therefore would consider that his ideas are
as good as mine, if not better. He says :

"The best and most economical food for trout fry
costs about is. 4d. per pound (nearly 32 cents) — that
is to say, one pound of this paste goes further, and pro-
duces much better results, than sixteen pounds of liver,
because it is more nourishing and there is no waste.
The food is prepared by weighing several pounds of
fillet of beef — not beefsteak, which is too stringy, nor
a piece off the sirloin, which is generally too fat. Fillet
of horse is equally suitable with fillet of beef, and sir-
loin of horse, being generally very lean, is nearly as
good. . . . Mutton is not suitable. All the fat
being carefully scraped off, and the meat weighed, it is
pounded in a large marble mortar and passed through
a coarse sieve. The yolks of hard-boiled eggs are then
added, nine eggs being allowed to each pound of meat.
The eggs should be several days old, as, if new-laid, it
is impossible to boil the yolk until it is mealy. . . .
When the yolks of eggs and meat have been thoroughly
mixed in the mortar they are passed through a fine wire
sieve and kneaded into a stiff paste. This is rolled into
the shape of a thick sausage and cut and rolled into

Trout Breeding. 99

large pills, each sufficient to give one meal to five boxes.
. . . When the food is all prepared it is taken to
the hatching-house and one pill placed on the edge of
the fifth box in each row. One of the girls then goes
round with a feeding spoon, and, beginning at the bot-
tom box, presses the food through the perforated zinc
of the feeding spoon, which reduces it into fine vermi-
celli. When the threads are about two inches long
they are shaken off into the water. . . ."

In 1891 I sent circulars to several trout breeders
asking a few questions. They were : "3. On what do
you feed the fry for the first three months, and how?"
"4. What do you consider to be a fair percentage of fry
brought through the first six months, reckoning from
the time of their first taking food?" "5. Do you feed
fry in hatching troughs ? If so, how long?" Here are
some answers :

Charles G. Atkins, Superintendent of Salmon Hatch-
ing Station, U. S. F. C, East Orland, Me. — "3. In
troughs on chopped liver for one month or six weeks,
then part on same food and part on maggots ; majority
on maggots this year. From July 15 to 30, 1891, have
fed about 200,000 on maggots. 4. Sixty per cent.;
but we have done much better. In 1889, out of 109,-
965 Atlantic salmon eggs, counted in winter and early
spring, we saved until the next October 91,856, or 83
per cent., actual count at start and finish; that is my
very best. 5. All summer and fall, sometimes through
the winter."

E. M. Robinson, Superintendent U. S. F. C., Mam-
moth Springs, Ark. — "3. Beef liver, but don't approve
it. 4. Seventy-five per cent. 5. No; we use ditches
5 feet wide, 15 to 20 feet long, and shaded half way
the length."

IOO Modern Fishculturc in Fresh and Salt Water.

E. F. Boehtn, Superintendent N. Y. F. C, Sacandaga
Station. — "3. Do not feed fry here; can't get food. 4.
Seventy-five per cent."

C. S. White, Romney, W. Va., Fish Commissioner. —
''3. Milk in forms of clabber and curd, eggs, liver,
lights, corn-bread and fish roe, fed upon sods, which
are removed every three or four days. 4. Fifty per
cent., averaging year by year. 5. About three weeks."

[I am not sure but Mr. White mistook the questions
to mean adult trout. — F. M.]

Dr. R. O. Sweeny, Superintendent U. S. F. C., Du-
luth, Minn. — "3. Finely grated fresh, sweet livers,
mixed with thick, sour curd of milk, of the consist-
ency of paste, of such gravity and consistence as will
drop from a spoon and sink to bottom of trough in a
lump. 4. I think I can honestly say that the shrinkage
is not over 10 per cent. 5. Have held them till August
in the troughs, but they must not be crowded'or there
will be cannibalism."

George T. Mills, Commissioner for Nevada. — "3.
Liver, boiled ; when cool, grated in the trough ; sour
milk occasionally. 4. In State hatchery, 90 per cent. ;
we do not keep fry longer than three months."

Albert Rackow, Elmont, N. Y., private ponds. — "3.
Beef hearts and minnows. 4. I lost seven out of 10,-
ooo. 5. I feed in troughs 6x12 feet and 8x24 feet."
[See question No. 3.]

W. F. Page, Superintendent U. S. F. C., Neosho,
Mo. — "3. Raw beef liver until ij inches long, which
they get to be here in five weeks after taking food;
then gradually mix mush of ship-stuff with liver. 4.
Eighty per cent. 5. Yes, about five weeks."

J. W. Hoxsie & Co., private ponds, Carolina, R. I. —

Trout B/teding. 101

"3. Pulp of sheep livers. 4. Eighty per cent. 5. Feed
in troughs to six or eight weeks."

W, L. Gilbert, Old Colony Trout Ponds, Plymouth,
Mass. — "3. Sheep livers. 4. Forty per cent. 5. Don't
feed in hatching troughs*''

Just before going to press these questions and an-
swers were returned to the writers for correction after
eight more years' experience, but none of them made
any. A letter from Mr. G. Hansen, Osceola, Wis.,
March 26, 1899, says: "I feed fry up to one year old
on beef liver and milk curd, mixed in the proportion of
two parts liver to one of curd. I feed in troughs from
February to May, sometimes until September, with
good success, but prefer putting them in a nursery pond
in May. The green slime, algae, bothers me some in
the hatching house by clogging screens, therefore I re-
move the fry. The wild fish give the best eggs/'

COMMENTS ON THE METHODS OF FEEDING.

As a summing up of this question of feeding fry,
let me say : There is nothing better than liver of beef,
or perhaps other animals, from the start. Maggots are
as good after the fish get big enough to swallow a full-
grown one, and they do not drop until they are full
grown. Trout in nature do not eat vegetable food, and
while curd may be of value, I don't take a cent's worth
of stock in any admixture of vegetable matter. Under
my management of the New York hatchery on Long
Island, the yearling trout, at twelve months old, meas-
ured from six to nine inches. No hatchery in the State
could show such trout. This was partly owing to
crowding the food to them and partly to the tempera-

102 hl-ovi&iiftsfacttfture'in fresh and Suit Water.

ture of the water. Such results might be obtained in
places as far, or farther, south, but never in the colder
waters of the mainland of New York.

You cannot overfeed a young trout, nor offer it suit-
able food too often, and upon its growth during its first
few weeks of feeding depends its future development.
Once a dwarf always a dwarf ; and the fry need to be
kept growing from the start, like pigs, or they will
never catch up to their better fed fellows.

Many fishculturists say, as Mr. Hansen does : "The
wild fish give the best eggs." Then there is a fault in
over or under feeding at the breeding season. Fish
properly fed in ponds should, like other domestic ani-
mals, improve in fecundity and early maturity.

INTRODUCING NEW BLOOD.

This is a good thing in the breeding of cattle or
fowls, but is not necessary with trout. With fowls
and the cattle on the farm there is danger of in-breed-
ing because the parents are so few, especially the sires.
There was no such danger among the herds of buffalo
and there is none among the trout in confinement. Take
the eggs from 2,000 fish and fertilize them with the
milt of 1,000 males; turn the progeny loose and breed
from them two years later, and what are the chances of
mating brother and sister? Even if this should hap-
pen, as it may, the same thing is purposely done by
breeders of horses and cattle who are trying to pro-
duce the best stock.

It was my policy to keep the thriftiest fish for breed-
ers, and in the twelve years that I ran the Long Island
hatchery the yearling trout increased from a maximum

Trout Breeding. 103

length of six to nine inches. That shows what breed-
ing from the best will do in a short time. If you have
two or three thousand spawners you need not fear de-
generation from in-breeding. You have few chances
of in-breeding. Suppose that six thousand persons,
equally divided as to sex, settle on a fertile island.
There is no chance for extensive in-breeding. Keep
your own stock ; breed from the best quick-growing
stock, and keep out all outside wild blood as you would
keep out blood from the wild boar among your im-
proved pigs, and go on and develop a breed of trout
that will be as far above their wild fellows as a setter
is above a wolf.

If, however, you think you need new blood, don't
get it from wild trout, but from some other trout
breeder; exchange males with him as you would swap
"roosters" with a neighbor.

The breed of trout can never be improved by revert-
ing to wild stock. That fallacy has retarded trout cul-
ture many years. If your pond trout do not breed
freely it is evident that you are not giving them the
best treatment, either in food, flow of water, or some-
thing else that they lack.

GROWTH OF FRY.

Our trout on Long Island were a wonder to the men
from other hatcheries — five to six inches in October and
seven to nine inches at less than a year old — but the
warmer waters of Long Island had something to do
with this growth. No amount of food would produce
such fish in the cold waters of the Adirondacks. A
man who had a great reputation as a fishculturist about

104 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

the time I began told me that "water is never too cold
for a trout, nor too warm for a sucker." He was wrong
about trout, for they will develop faster in a tempera-
ture of 65° Fahr. than in one ten degrees lower; their
life is more active and their digestions are consequently
quicker, hence their growth is greater.

In its most southern habitat our brook trout excels
its more northern kinsman, if food is equally plenty in
both cases and if there is some depth to the water, for
trout in mountain streams never grow large.

AUTOMATIC FEEDERS.

An automatic feeder would be a desirable thing, but
a perfect one has not yet been found. When in charge
of the American fishcultural display at the World's
Fisheries Exhibition in Berlin, in 1880, I saw a Ger-
man device to lift a gate and let out food at intervals,
regulated by a water-wTheel, but it dropped it all at the
head of the trough, where the strongest fish got the
first whack at it and grew stronger and more able to
sustain their advantage. Then there was an arm on a
universal joint which dipped a spoon into the food,
carried it over the trough and spilled it.

All these things are useless ; it is the small fellows
down at the lower end which need to be fed as well as
the others ; neglect of them means death or a stunted
lot of yearlings. The fish in a trough must have an
equal chance to get food, and any feeder which only
feeds at the head of the trough is good for nothing.
There is nothing like an intelligent man to do this
work and to see fair play in all parts of a pond or
trough.

Trout Breeding. 105

PUTTING OUT THE BABIES.

In May the little fish should be put out in the sun-
light and fed there. My rearing ponds were of yellow
pine plank, 250 feet long, 3 feet wide and 3 feet deep,
with water 2 feet deep, made of 2-inch plank on sides
and i -inch on bottom, nailed to outside frames. This
stretch was divided into six compartments by double
screens of No. 8 wire-cloth, 18 inches apart, with a
dam between the screens that was i inch higher than
the pool below. If fish passed one screen they might
be dipped out before passing the next one, for the little
fellows will get through a crack if there is one. The
screens were to prevent crowding in any part of the
long rearing pond and to facilitate feeding. The fish
in the upper pool fared best, for in addition to liver
they had the first pick of the small crustaceans which
came in from the reservoir.

As the flow through these pools was about 600 gal-
lons per minute, it was too strong for the little fellows
all the time, and in a straight-away run a tired trout
would be washed against the lower screen and die
there. To prevent this there was a series of obstruc-
tions put in, which created eddies of rest for the weary.
These were either alternate projections from the sides,
as in some fishways,' or with dams clear across, but
with the top two inches below the surface ; four inches
below this was a dam extending from above the surface
to six inches below it. This arrangement caused the
water to flow up from the bottom, over the dam and
to the bottom again, leaving comparatively still water
in the upper part, and after stemming the strong bot-
tom current for a while a fish could find rest above ; it

106 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

also kept food swirling around, for there were eddies
and not a straight flow, and it also kept the bottom
clean. In the ten "baby ponds" of 24 feet long, as de-
scribed, we put 8,000 to 10,000 babies in the upper

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ones, leaving the three or four lower ones empty, but
screened. The little fellows would get into these
through cracks in the planks, loose screens or other

Trout Breeding. 107

apertures, and then we would net them out and put
them in the ponds above, for down stream were their
yearling brothers, who would take them in out of the
wet with pleasure.

In July they need assorting in order to keep the larg-
est together, so that the smallest will have a chance to
get their share of food, and the sorting should be done
every six or eight weeks.

In September they are down into the yearling ponds
and the yearlings let into the upper breeding pond, for
we may get a few small eggs from some, which in No-
vember are twenty months old, counting from March
of the year before.

CHAPTER VII.

STREAMS.

<«.

As a rule a stream has to be taken as we find it, but
often it can be improved for trout breeding or for fish-
ing. If possible, make it more crooked, with deep
pools, fallen logs for hiding places and shade, culti-
vate alders or willows along the banks for shade and in-
sect harbors, and, in fact, make as wild a stream of it,
and one as difficult to fish, as it is possible, and you
have done all that can be done to better it. Shade is
loved by trout and it also keeps the waters cool.

If you contemplate draining a swamp where cool
springs trickle all over, and think of making a trout
stream of the collected waters, the farther you can get
from a straight line the better. Nature always works

io8 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

to destroy straight lines, and no natural stream ever
ran straight ; even if water is fond of making a short-
cut, it is still fonder of following the line of least re-
sistance, and will dig out soft banks and make curves.

If the banks are equally soft in a straight ditch where
there is a good flow, the water will dig in at one side,
rebound to the other, and so go back and forth until, if
let alone, the stream will crook. See any natural
stream coming down a level meadow — it is crooked.

A trout does not love a sweeping, continuous cur--
rent in a straight stream, but prefers pools, shallows,
rapids, and all the variations which occur in natural
streams, where it can exercise in the rapids or rest as
it chooses. The more difficult it is made to reach the
banks, through vines and alders, and the harder it is
made to cast the fly or to wade the stream, the better
the fishing will be to experts, and the more the angler
will enjoy the hard-earned trout he gets from it.

Moderately still places for spawning should be pro-
vided, and if there is no gravel in the stream, dump in
several wagon loads at different shallow places, for if
there is no gravel in your stream the trout will leave it
in spawning time and seek gravel elsewhere, and your
stream will be barren.

If it is a brawling mountain brook little can be done
unless to deepen pools and make places where there
will be eddies in times of freshets, so that the trout will
not be washed out of their homes. Their tendency is
to run up stream at such times, and they will do it If
they can.

The following, translated for "The Literary Digest,"
shows the peculiarities of currents in streams :

"The phenomena exhibited by rivers are treated in
an article in "Der Stein der Weisen," Vienna, June 15,

Trout Breeding. 109

We reproduce the diagrams and give a translation of
part of the text below :

" The most important factor in determining the cur-
rent of a river is its speed, which increases with the fall
and the quantity of water and diminishes with increase
of the width of the channel. The speed varies also
with the interior friction and with the friction of the
water against the banks. . . .

" 'The result of this is that not all parts of the cur-
rent along a cross-section are moving at equal speed.
The velocity increases in a vertical direction from the
ground toward the surface, but it is greatest not at the
surface but a little distance beneath it; likewise it in-
creases at the surface itself from the banks toward the
middle. The lines of equal velocity in a cross-section
take the form of half-elipses convex downward. It
must be remarked further that the surface of the water
is not horizontal, but sometimes convex and sometimes
concave. It is the first in case a considerable mass of
water with higher velocity (as at high water) moves
in mid-stream, so that the middle of the river conveys
more water than the sides. When the water is falling,
a greater amount of water is flowing away at the mid-
dle, and the surface becomes concave. ... In the
Mississippi these oscillations of level measure as much
as two metres (six feet).

' 'Owing to the shape of the bed of the stream, espe-
cially at the bottom, the water is deviated from a
straight line, so that the line of greatest depth in the
stream is curved. . . . If we observe the move-
ment of the water from the banks *to the middle of the
stream we find that the water in the middle moves
downward and then in a spiral path approaches first the
bottom and then the bank,'

1 10 Modem Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

"The author next proceeds to describe the formation
of eddies, the commonest case being illustrated in Fig.

FIG. i.

i, which needs no explanation, the direction and course
of the current being represented^ by arrows. Fig. 2
shows a curious spiral motion of the water due to the
fact that the current on the two sides of the channel
sometimes moves with different velocities, setting up a
tendency to form a series of eddies. Fig. 3 shows the
formation of two kinds of eddies, one in front and one
behind an obstructing point of land, which approaches
so near to the opposite bank as to deflect the current
noticeably, producing the phenomenon known in the
Danube as 'Schwall' (swell). Finally we have the
continuous circling movements known as whirlpools,
which require deep water and such conformation of the

Trout Breeding.

Ill

banks as to direct the current in exactly the proper
place for their formation. The article concludes with
the following description of flood-phenomena :

" 'In a swiftly flowing freshet the current at the
surface is mostly in wave-motion. At the banks arise
by reflection cross-waves which form with the others
by interference of what are usually called "wtiite caps."

FIG. 2.

All the phenomena that appear during quiet flow are
heightened in these times of flood — the eddies, the
spiral movements, the whirlpools. Also the rapid wear-
ing away of the sandy banks in places where the fric-
tion of the current is most powerful makes the whole
proceeding evident to the eye/ "

1 12 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.
CHAPTER VIII.

PONDS.

The first thing to be considered is the intention of
the owner and what he wishes to do with his pond or
ponds. He may want as large a pond as possible in
which trout will feed themselves and afford him fish-
ing for himself and friends, or to market some trout

each spring. He may wish to have a hatchery and
rearing ponds to stock his main pond with, or to have
a series of ponds in which to grow trout on artificial
food.
There are several ways in which trout may be culti-

Trout Breeding. 113

vated, dependent upon the extent and character of the
water and the inclination of the owner as to the amount
of time he cares to devote to it, and the expense which
he is willing to incur in beginning, which, as in most
other affairs, bears some relation to the prospective re-
sults. With proper facilities, intelligent fishculture
will prove as remunerative as any of the minor indus-
tries of the farm, such as bee and poultry keeping, but
it is only very rare and exceptional places where it can
be made a separate and distinct business which would
warrant a person in devoting his whole time to it.

Where the spring rises upon a farm and flows some
distance through it, with some fall and space to make
ponds, the conditions are most favorable. It is very
difficult to give directions for making trout ponds
which will be applicable to all places, but it is safe to
say that the very worst location and form for them is
in a ravine where they are made by a series of dams
thrown across. Such an arrangement is sure to come
to grief, sooner or later, and if the dams are so strongly
made as to resist an unusual flood from suddenly melt-
ed snow, or heavy rains, then the leaves and other riff-
raff will clog the screens until the increased pressure
carries them away and the fish have a chance to escape.
The smaller the trout the more difficult it is to confine
them, not only on account of their ability to escape
through a small opening, but in consequence of their
desire to continually seek that opening — a desire which
is intense during their first year of life, but which de-
creases until it is so much diminished that large fish, of
say three-quarters of a pound, can hardly be driven
from deep water.

If only one pond is contemplated in which the fish
are to be placed to seek their own food and care for

1 14 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt WateY.

themselves, then it may be made as large as the stream
which supplies it will admit of — that is, it must not bo
so large that the water will get above 70° Fahr., in the
bottom of the pond. Depth will give coolness, or if
there are springs in the bottom the fish will congregate
there at the hottest times, while the warmer water at
the surface and shallow edge is favorable for the pro-
duction of insect life for their food. The stream above
can be covered with gravel as a spawning ground, and
the young will have a chance to escape being devoured
by the larger fish by keeping in the shallows.

A pond of this kind was made at West Bloomfield,
N. Y., on the farm of Mr. Stephen H. Ainsworth, a
gentleman who was among the first to engage in trout
culture in New York, beginning about the year 1858.
He had a marshy spot of ground, formed by many
small springs, whose united currents in the dryest times
made a stream scarcely larger than a leadpencil ; and
digging this out he made a pond 50x100 feet, which
was 16 feet deep, and covered over, where he raised
many fish under great difficulties. In a dry season the
supply barely equaled the evaporation, and no water
passed from the pond ; and on several occasions he lost
his largest fish from the heat, until, in the year 1871,
he removed the trout and substituted black bass. Yet
he had accomplished enough to be an authority upon
trout culture in that day, and is now quoted to show
what can be done with little means, although I should
never advise any one with only his facilities to make
an attempt at trout raising. And the point to which
attention should be directed is the ratio of depth to sur-
face in his pond ; if he had exposed more surface to the
weather, or made his pond less deep, he probably would
never have kept a trout through the first summer. In

Trout Breeding. 115

cases of a rise in the temperature the large fish are the
first to suffer.

LARGE SINGLE PONDS.

It is difficult to give directions which will be suit-
able for all places, but I will repeat that a dam in a
ravine is the worst form. In such a place it seems bet-
ter to make a small dam, and lead the water from it into
ponds at the side of the ravine, and let the floods go
down the old channel. My own ponds, at Honeoye
Falls, Monroe County, New York, were made in a
piece of low, flat land, with a plough and road scraper,
using the earth, gravel, etc., taken out to fill up around
the ponds. Afterward they were finished with pick
and shovel, and a dry stone wall laid around them
merely to hold the banks, but they were small, only
6ox?5 feet and 5 feet deep. The first one built was
laid in cement,, but was no better than the others. In
some places there is muck enough to pay for the dig-
ging in manure ; but if the water can be kept off, such
ponds are not expensive. Here is the cost of one of
mine of the dimensions above given :

Two men and team two days $10.00

One man with shovel two days 3.00

Team and man hauling stone three days.. . 10.50

Man laying wall three days 4.50

Screen boxes 3.00

Man one day ditching ....... 1.50

Total $32.50

The cost of stone was not added, as there was a
quarry on the farm.

1 16 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt WateY.

Naturally sloped banks of soil, sodded to below the
water's edge, are best for all ponds over 100x200 feet,
but surface water must be kept out. All ponds of the
size named I call "large," because when we come to
consider the "small ponds" of the professional fish-
culturist it will be found that they are so narrow that
every fish in them may be seen at all times.

The single large pond can only be worked to its
greatest capacity by having a hatchery, taking and
hatching the eggs, rearing yearlings and turning them
out in the following spring after the water has been
drained off and all trout of the previous year taken out,
thus raising and marketing two-year-old trout each
year, and a trout above that age is worth no more than
any other fish, in market. See chapter on "Market-
able Trout. " All trout ponds should be drawn down
once a year, or the trout will have a muddy flavor from
decaying vegetation.

The bottom of the pond should be flat, if not level,
and the fish should be removed with a net, instead of
draining off the water to take them out. One of my
mistakes will illustrate this : An original idea, one of
those which so often come out of the little end of the
horn, was to have a drain-pipe at the bottom of the
pond stopped with a plug, and then make a deeper
place in the centre, so that when the water was drawn
off the fish would be all there ready to be dipped out
with a hand or scoop net. What could be more handy ?
An improvement! After being in use three years it
became necessary to take out the large trout and trans-
fer them to another pond, and the water was drawn off.
When about a foot was left the fish began to get
alarmed and rush around, stirring up the water, which
had appeared like crystal, until the motion of the fish

Trdut Breeding. 117

could be seen, and when drawn down as low as pos-
sible they naturally gathered in the pit, where they
were dipped into tubs of clean water by a man in rub-
ber boots. While in the pit they began to show signs
of distress by keeping their noses out of the water, and
the man who was dipping them said : "It smells like
gunpowder." Then another idea, not original, dawned :
the fish were being asphyxiated by the foul gas or sul-
phureted hydrogen !

The sluice at the inlet was opened, but too late. Out
of the 2,500 fine breeding fish, only 39 were saved ;
they died even after being placed in fresh water while
still breathing, and an expensive lesson in the dear
school of experience was learned. I had seen the
Southern darkies muddy ponds when collecting speci-
mens for me, and knew that this gas, which lies at the
bottom of all waters in which there is anything to de-
cay, was a deadly poison if stirred, but the thought
never occurred that the fish would do their own "mud-
dying," as the darkies called it.

This experiment shows another fact : fish which feel
secure in from three to four feet of water, and show
no alarm at persons walking at the edge of the pond,
and which will come readily to the surface to feed in
your presence, or even take it from your hand, will, in
water of not over a foot in depth, be as timid as wild
fish just taken from the brook. Their sense of secur-
ity is gone ; hence it is better to take them with a net
large enough to sweep the pond. It also shows what a
little oversight or false reckoning may do toward sweep-
ing away the results of expenditure and labor. In fact
there is none among our domestic animals more diffi-
cult to manage, for the beginner, than trout, if they may
be allowed to be domesticated; and their tendency to

1 1 8 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt WatW.

go astray is excelled by the element in which they live,
which is notorious for having a way of its own, which
is never our way, and for seeking it at all times ; hence
in trout culture the great difficulties to be overcome
are, to confine the water so that it is secure under ex-
traordinary strains of flood and accident and to con-
fine the fish— the latter being hardly as difficult as the
former.

If the owner does not care to go into the business of
hatching trout for a succession, as described, he should
provide good spawning places such as are mentioned
in the preceding chapter, and see that nothing molests
the spawning beds in winter. In this way he may get
a few trout which escape the old ones, which will keep
them from becoming too plenty.

PONDS IN A SERIES.

In making a series of ponds in which fish of different
sizes are to be kept and fed a different system is pur-
sued, the ponds being made small, in order that the
water may be changed quickly, and so sustain more
fish, and the stock can be seen and its condition known
at all times. Such ponds may be 50 to 60 feet long by
10 to 12 wide and 4 to 6 deep, with sides of clay, if that
is the material dug through, stone, or wood. A spawn-
ing race should be made at the upper end, 20 to 30 feet
long by 4 feet wide, the bottom sloping from I to 2
feet where it enters the pond ; this will give the pond a
shape like a long-necked bottle.

There should be a fall of at least six inches from the
pond above into the spawning race, more if the lay of
the land will permit, in order to aerate the water. For
need of this see chapter on "Transportation of Fish/'

Trout Breeding. 119

The raceway should be covered with gravel at all
times; for if the fish are not well, or are troubled with
parasites, they resort to swift water and gravel bot-
toms to rub their sides and clean themselves. This
gravel should be from half an inch to an inch or more
in diameter.

In facing the pond with boards the pressure of the
earth must be provided for, or the sides will soon fall
in, or at least become badly bulged. To prevent this,
lay timbers on the bottom and frame the uprights into
them; nail the boards on the outside of the uprights,
which should extend above the ground and be braced
apart by joists running across the pond a foot or more
above water. Even these will spring in time if not
quite stiff. Ponds well built require but little work to
keep them in order — an occasional stopping of muskrat
or of crawfish holes, and in the spring to repair dam-
age from frost, if any, or to patch up a bank or wall.
There are hard soils where neither wood nor stone are
needed (except on the spawning races, whose sides
should be vertical), but may be made at a slope more or
less inclined. Willows planted near the pond are valu-
able as shade trees, or floats of boards may be of use in
keeping the water cool, besides being a sort of protec-
tion from the little kingfisher.

Perhaps an account of the way I made the ponds for
the New York State hatchery at Cold Spring Harbor,
Long Island, will be of interest, for they involved great
labor. I took charge on January I, 1883, and started
work. An old building was used to hatch eggs .ob-
tained elsewhere, and there was a spring reservoir some
300 feet long by 20 wide, which had been made to turn
a turbine wheel in the old building. This reservoir
was high enough to bring water into troughs on the

I2O Modern Pishcutture in fresh and Salt

floor of the second story, from where it went to the
floor below and was again used. Some holes in
swampy land below had been intended for trout ponds,
but they were covered with water from the harbor at
high tide and geese swam up to the hatchery.

The north side of the island is hillv, some hills being
200 feet above tide, and they are glacial drifts, sand,
clay, gravel, etc., plowed out from the mainland by the
ice. Such a hill was within 500 feet, and I filled the
old holes with sand, leveling the swamp. Then
"ponds" were staked out and left as the sand was
dumped around them, on the principle that the Irish-
man said cannon were made ; said he : "They take a
long hole and pour brass around it." So we made
ponds. These were temporary ponds, merely for use
until the State could afford better, and the raceways
were made of the cheapest hemlock boards.

In 1887 there was an appropriation for a new hatch-
ery made at the insistence of Commissioner Blackford,
and I planned to put it as high as the inflow from the
reservoir would bear, as the water went from the hatch-
ery to the ponds, and when it was up high we could
control it. When the ground was staked out for the
building the northwest corner was three feet above
ground and the southeast was thirteen feet in the air.
It looked queer, but the levels were correct. The foun-
dation was built and I filled the grounds until there
was no queer look about it. The old ponds were filled
and new ones of sand built with their bottoms where
the old surface was.

For a time it was dangerous to step near a pond, but
it settled hard. Walks and flower-beds were laid out
and a road made east of the ponds, which is as solid
to-day as can be. The sand holds water well. The

Trout Breeding. 121

carting of sand and gravel cost the State much money,
but it is worth it. It is the most important hatchery
in the State of New York to-day. I established the
culture of smelts, lobsters and tomcods there, and it
Mr. Blackford had not been removed from the Com-
mission for political reasons I would have made a park
of the place and have gone on with experiments in
hatching oysters and clams. But a change of adminis-
tration led to my discharge, and to-day a great un-
sightly ice-house stands in the centre of what was to be
my "park/' and there is a stable where a "conserva-
tory" for water plants and the breeding of fresh water
crustaceans and insects was planned ; and my dream of
a trout park and all its adjuncts is over. Blessed be
the small-souled politicians, for they will never develop
into anything greater !

DRAINS.

If the lay of the land permits it, there should be some
way of lowering the water in order to clean the pond.
If the pond is dug in the soil there should be a drain-
pipe put in, and this, if of wood, may be stopped by a
plug. But a plug is difficult to get out when the water
is several feet deep; a box on the inner end with a
sliding gate which can be lifted by a hook fitting into a
hole is better. Do not plug the lower end of the pipe
and leave the upper end open or you have a harbor for
eels, water-snakes, or at least a hiding place for a large
cannibal trout, for a trout of that kind prefers solitude.
If the drain is a square box-trunk it may be turned up
at a right-angle and' used as an overflow stand-pipe, if
the water is not required to be kept up for any reason.

122 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

In this case make a sliding groove for the dams, which
may be lifted one by one, and are kept down by pins or
wedges at the top.

Tile-pipe are not good for drains. I have laid them
and relaid them many times, cementing them most care-
fully and then reinforced the joints with another coat-
ing of cement, but tree roots would force their way in
somehow and either fill the pipe or break it. At Cold
Spring Harbor, New York, I piped a spring from an
upper level in six-inch tile-pipe, and it filled up with
roots. In one case the root of a locust tree had found
an entrance, and while only as thick as a sheet of letter-
paper and half an inch wide where it went in, we took
out thirty-seven feet of branching, matted roots, which
nearly filled the pipe. Then I had the pipe relaid with
extra care, but to no purpose; the roots would have
water and knew how to get it, even where there was no
leak. Here is a chance for a question about the habits
of tree roots in their search for water; but having
fought this "instinct'7 of roots for many years, I have
given up trying to solve the riddle.

Remembering these things, when we obtained an-
other spring to bring- down I bought four-inch iron
"soil pipe," caulked the collars with oakum and then
ran lead around on the oakum. After this the lead
was caulked, and the pipe will carry water for a cen-
tury without interference from roots. This method,
and pump logs, are the only means I know of to con-
vey water underground without interference from
roots, if there are trees near. A willow or a locust
will send roots a hundred yards for water, if it is there,
while on the other side of the tree the roots might not
extend fifty feet.

It is said that iron-filings mixed with cement will

Trout Breeding, 123

keep roots from the joints of drain tile. Having no ex-
perience with this, it is mentioned without comment.

DAMS.

These cannot be too carefully made to contend with
pressure, leakage, muskfats, crawfish, frost and other
things which are ever working to help water get to the
lowest possible point. The following is from a news-
paper which came after this chapter was begun :

NUNDA, N. Y., Jan. 30, 1899. — Miller's dam went out
this morning. The washout, which resulted from un-
dermining by muskrats, entails heavy loss to mill own-
ers who have utilized the water. The disaster occurred
at a time when the valuable ice crop was nearly ready to
harvest. In building a dam, whether of earth, stone,
logs or a combination of any or all of these materials,
the greatest care must be taken to lay the foundation so
deep that no trickle of water excavation, of muskrat or
crawfish can go under it, and at the sides the dam should
extend so far as to prevent such mishaps.

So much depends upon the nature of the ground and
the materials to be used that it is impossible to go fur-
ther into the construction of dams than to say: Make
them about twice as strong as you think they need be
and — then make them a little stronger.

SCREENS FOR PONDS.

Screens should be made at least ten times larger than
the space required for the water. For instance, if the
flow will pass through a hole six inches square, the

124 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

screen should be at the least calculation nineteen inches
each way, giving 361 square inches, which will allow
for some portions of it to become clogged, and yet pass
the water through easily; this also diminishes the
chance of stoppage by its slower flow. A good form
for a small outlet is a trough, say six feet long by two
feet wide and twenty inches deep, with a dam near the
lo\ver end about fifteen inches high. When the screens
are placed in this, above the dam, slanting the top down
stream at an angle of 45 degrees, it gives a good screen
surface, the dam being placed at the height at which
the water is to stand in the pond and the screen made to
slide between slats. Great care must be taken in setting
such a trough, if in earth, that the water does not work
around and under it, or that frost does not lift it out of
place ; the former may be provided for by wide flanges,
which make a sort of bulkhead and obstruct the direct
passage of crawfish, earthworms or other borers, which,
by starting a small leak, will soon cause a large one
before its presence is suspected. To guard against up-
heaval by frost, in a climate where the brook trout love
to dwell, is a more difficult matter ; but my own experi-
ence on this point leads to a preference for light soils
for tamping around the outlet box, instead of clay,
which I first used on account of its resistance to water,
but afterward abandoned, after a winter's fight with
frost, in favor of a sandy, gravelly soil which was found
to serve the purpose as well, as far as the frost was con-
cerned, but which afforded excellent digging for the
crawfish (fresh-water lobster) with which the stream
was infested, and whose tunnels, once made in clay,
never by any chance closed up ; and, knowing their dis-
like to work in either sawdust or tanbark, a space of
about a foot was filled with these materials so that there

Trout Breeding. 125

was a barrier running around the box, backed in front
and rear by soil which was thought to be the least affect-
ed by frost.

The screens should be made with as large spaces be-
tween the slats or wires as the size of uhe fish demands,
and it will be found convenient to have the outlet boxes
of the different ponds and the frames all of one size, so
as to be readily interchangeable. The wires or slats for
the fish of half a pound and over may have a half inch
space between them, and for this purpose well galvan-
ized iron wire is best, or, if not convenient, a screen can
be made of planed lath, set edgeways ; while for year-
lings well tarred wire cloth of four wires to the inch is
necessary, and for the fry during the first months at
least fourteen wires to the inch. Screens for the inlets
are best placed perpendicularly, in order that no trout
may lie under them and shoot up stream when the
screen is raised. The disposition of water to find its
own way, and that way being always different from our
way, combined with the disposition of trout, in their
younger days, to prefer any location rather than that
which we have provided for them, renders the subject
of screens and appliances for confining them a very im-
portant one to the fishculturist, and one liable to defeat
all his calculations and waste all his time, labor and
money, if not properly considered. I have kept sharks
and whales in confinement, and have seen the wildest of
beasts and birds so kept, but of all animals that man
confines there is none so uncertain to be found in the
morning, where it was apparently so secure the night
before, as a brook trout of an inch and a half long. It
is an impossibility to confine therein a stream, and very
difficult in a pond, as a crack or worm hole in a board,
or in the earth or masonry, will be found by a hundred

126 Modern Fishculture in'Fresh and Salt Water.

little eyes, and its size tested by half as many heads;
and if water flows through it, they are very apt to fol-
low, no matter where it may lead, nor whether return is
possible. The instinct of a trout impels it to jump at a
fall or in going up stream, hence provision must be
made to stop them from leaping over the inlet screen by
a projecting board or other device, more especially in
the fall of the year, when they wish to ascend to the
upper waters to seek suitable places for spawning.

If the fry are kept for the first nine months or a year
in "rearing boxes," it is not so hard to confine them as
it is in the outdoor ponds, where the woodwork has to
be fitted into the earth ; and this system has its advan-
tages, which are security of confinement, compactness,
the ease with which they can be inspected and the larger
ones removed from their weaker brethren, and the pro-
tection from bird, beast, reptile and insect enemies to
which their relatives in the outdoor pond are exposed.
To counterbalance these advantages, we have in the
rearing boxes more care and labor, and less natural
food. Still, if the labor can be given, it is the surest
way, for the first three months at least, after which time
they are better able to stand the exposure of outdoor
ponds and avoid their enemies, which decrease in num-
bers with increasing size.

There is always one fence in summer time which de-
tains the trout more effectually than any screen. This
is the stream of warm water which the trout brook emp-
ties into, and, although they may seek its depths for
food in winter after running down off the spawning
beds, the first hint of a rising temperature sends them
back to the cooler sprjng waters.

A good self-cleaning screen for large trout is a re-
volving cylinder of wire cloth. Make disks of eighteen

Trout Breeding. 127

inches with four strips to stiffen the cylinder and cover
this with No. 2 wire cloth. Run an axle through it and
set it so that it will revolve in the current, with six
inches of water to turn it ; *. e., set it in water to that
depth. A half inch btlow the cylinder set a board
edgewise under its centre, and all leaves and fine trash
will be passed without clogging. This can be made to
fit a trough or box. A coarse screen should be placed
in front of it to catch sticks.

CHAPTER IX.

TEMPERATURES.

There are extreme temperatures which limit the lives
of all things, animal or vegetable ; and of all animals
the fishes are the most sensitive to sudden changes.
Water in lakes or streams is slow to change, and, while
animals which live on land endure changes of a dozen
degrees in twenty-four hours occasionally in our north-
ern climate, it takes many days or even weeks to make
such a change in running waters or in a large, deep
pond. Even after the surface of a pond is frozen the
water at the bottom will be found warmer than near
the surface if the pond has much depth or if there are
bottom springs.

I think our brook trout would prefer an even tem-
perature of about 60° Fahr., equal to 10° Reaumur or
to 13° centigrade. It ranges "from Maine to Dakota
and north to the Arctic Circle and south to the Chatta-

128 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

hoochie river" (Jordan). But in the southern portion
of its habitat it is confined to streams in the Blue Ridge
and is not found in the warmer waters of the low lands
or near the coast.

About 70° Fahr. = 17° R. or 22° Cent, is the limit
of heat that a brook trout will endure ; although if the
flow be very strong they may stand it for a little time,
but will suffer and die if the water does not cool soon.
On a cloudy, damp day a trout will live longer on land
than in water of 80° Fahr.

Our lake trout cannot endure as warm water as the
brook trout can. It has its limit at about 65° Fahr.
For the rainbow and the brown trout it has been claimed
that they will endure water that is slightly warmer than
brook trout can stand, but I am not prepared to affirm
or deny the claim, never having submitted then to the
test.

Ice on a trout pond will do no harm if the pond has a.
circulation of water through it, but a shallow pond with
no flow that freezes entirely over, leaving no air holes,
is a deathtrap for fish of any kind. Such ponds are
common along the upper Mississippi, being merely holes
where the high water leaves many fish. I once chopped
through the ice on such a pond and there was a power-
ful odor of dead fish ; they had smothered.

CHAPTER X.

FOOD FOR ADULT TROUT — MUSSELS.

At Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y., I made trial of many
kinds of food for both adult trout and fry, in order not

Trout Breeding. 129

only to find the best food but also the cheapest. I began
with the old standard food, beef livers, but they were
only to be had from New York City, thirty-two miles
by rail, as no one butchered regularly in that part of
Long Island. Then we tried the black mussels, Myti-
lus edulis, which we boiled for convenience in opening,
and the fish appeared to thrive on them for a few
months, when some sloops came into the inner harbor
loaded with mussels for the city market, and so cleaned
up the crop that my men could not make it profitable to
collect them any longer. These salt water mussels at-
tach themselves to rocks, timbers or any stationary ob-
ject, and were plenty. They hang in crowded bunches,
which can be gathered in great numbers. The gray
mussel was not so plenty there and is not eaten by men,
and I can't speak of it as fish food. I made a mussel
shucker, which worked well. It used to take a man
half a day to cook and open two bushels of these mol-
lusks, and, believing that something could be devised to
do the work quicker, I made a cylinder of wire-cloth of
three-quarter inch mesh, with wooden ends, and hung
so as to be revolved by a crank. A door in the netting
admitted the boiled mussels and a few revolutions
dropped the meat into a box below, leaving the shells in
the cylinder. But the usefulness of the "mussel jerker,"
as the men termed it, was cut short by the loss of the
mussels, as related.

SOFT CLAMS.

Then we tried the soft clams, or manninose, Mya are-
raria, both raw and cooked. We liked them and the
fish took them well, but our yield of eggs was scant
that fall, as there were more barren trout than usual.

130 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

Whether this state of things was caused by the food or
not is impossible to say, as it was tried only one season
because the neighbors complained that we were taking
too many clams from the harbor, and we stopped. A
bushel in the shell weighs 64 pounds and the raw meat
1 6 pounds, but when boiled they only weigh 8 pounds.

HORSE MEAT.

There was a "knacker'7 a few miles away who killed
old or injured horses, sold their skins, bones and hoofs,
and said that he disposed of the meat to the kennels, of
which Long Island has several ; but "Frenchy" still had
meat to sell, and I bought it free from fat and bone at
four cents per pound. It was fed from November, '
1891, to September, 1893, twenty-two months, and long
enough to form the opinion that fed raw, as we fed it,
we did not want any more of it. The trouble was that
it was not easily digested, as shown by the long stream-
ers of white fibre which trailed behind the fish. Again
we were short in the number of eggs which the trout
should have yielded, and some fish had died from in-
flammation of the lower intestines.

Then I found a man in New York City who would
furnish me beef livers at four cents per pound, and
changed back to the "old reliable."

BEEF LIGHTS AND MAGGOTS.

At Honeoye Falls, N. Y., in my first trials, I fed beef
"lights," as the lungs are called. They were fed raw
and cooked, but were indigestible and showed the same
white "flags" that horse meat did. Then I tried mag-

Trout Breeding. 131

gots. Boxes or nail kegs, with slat- bottoms, were sus-
pended over the ponds, and in these the lights and
other refuse meat was suspended. The flesh flies blew
it and maggots hatched, grew and dropped into the
ponds when the time came for them to go into the
ground to enter the pupa stage. It was a perfect food,
the trout taking it readily and growing finely, but ther^
was the objectionable odor. As the ponds were not
near my house, the smell was not so objectionable to
me, but there were many visitors, mere curiosity seek-
ers, who complained. But this was not the only reason
for its abandonment. Swarms of great carrion beetles,
over an inch in length, came and either ate the meat, the
maggots, or both, and I concluded that there should be
more maggots per pound of lights and meat than I was
getting, and I abolished the "maggot factories."

Some years ago Mr. Charles G. Atkins, superinten-
dent of the United States salmon hatching station at
East Orland, Me., fed maggots, but he had his "fac-
tories" on top of a hill and brought down the product in
paiiS or boxes. I think he used smaller apertures and
excluded the beetles.

Lest any one doubt the excellence of the larva of the
flesh fly, which we term "maggots," as fish food, I will
cite the fact that English anglers, who call them "gen-
tles," scour them in bran for a day or two and use them
as bait for several kinds of fish, and Izaak Walton
speaks of his "box of gentles."

FISH.

The flesh of fish, such as fresh-water chubs and
suckers, or salt-water kinds which have little or no value

132 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

in market, are used with good effect and are one of the
natural foods of trout.

HASLETS.

"Sheep's haslets7' are used east of New York — and
that is a New England name for what New Yorkers
call "plucks," meaning the heart, liver and lungs all at-
tached to the windpipe as it is removed from the animal.

NATURAL FOODS.

If the fish are to forage for the whole or part of their
food the pond should be stocked with such water plants
as grow in spring water and then the crustaceans, gam-
marus and asellus should be introduced. But beware of

GAMMARUS (magnified three times).

the burrowing crawfish, for it not only enters into com-
petition w'ith the trout for its crustaceans and insect lar-
vae, but makes holes in dams. Besides this, it cannot be
eaten by small trout when it is in the adult state, and
when soft it hides. The gammarus is usually called

Trout Breeding. 133

"fresh-water shrimp," while the asellus, or "water asel,"
looks somewhat like the "sowbug" found in decayed
wood. In some waters these crustaceans grow to the
length of three-quarters of an inch, but usually they are
smaller. Trout also eat newts or salamanders as well
as snails, both the spiral and the ramshorn. Insect
larvse will be apt to breed in the ponds without being
especially introduced. The gammarus is greatly over-

CYCLOPS, with eggs (magnified 40 diameters).

rated as trout food. A few are eaten, but not in the
proportion that is usually thought. My searching of
stomachs of wild trout under two inches long showed,
under the microscope, that Cyclops and Daphnia, two
minute forms barely visible to the eye, were the most
plentiful.

On Wilmurt lake, situated on top of a mountain in
Herkimer County, N. Y., where no fish but brook trout

134 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

live, I opened the stomachs of 247 trout that had been
dressed for the table. No microscope was at hand, and
there was much that could not be identified. From
what was distinguishable a rough estimate was made.
It was : Insects and their larvse, 80 per cent. ; newts, 15,
and gammarus, 5.

At Meacham lake, Northern Adirondacks, the result
from 138 stomachs was: Insects and larvae, 60; newts,
5 ; gammarus, 5 ; fish, 30. Therefore, I feel warranted
in ranking the gammarus low in the list of trout foods.
Still it has a value. Trout of a pound weight seldom
eat it.

HOW THEY FEED IN JAPAN.

I have been visited by several Japanese gentlemen
who are interested in fishculture. M. K. Ito, of Ho-
kado Cho, Sappora, came here twice, and at the Cen-
tennial Exposition in Philadelphia, in 1876, I often met
Mr. Schizawa Akekio, attached to the commission of
that country. Speaking several European languages
with remarkable fluency, his desire to become ac-
quainted with the methods of American fishculture was
only equaled by his perseverance. Returning to Japan,
he at once set to work to establish fish hatcheries, and
in 1877 fish stations were made at Yuki, Kanawaga,
Shirako and Saitama Ken, each of them with the ca-
pacity of raising 30,000 fish. The number of these
fishing establishments has of late been increased. The
largest hatchery is at present at Shigaken. As cattle
are never butchered in Japan, it became quite impossible
to feed the young salmon on liver. Mr. Akekio, with
a great deal of ingenuity, substituted the chrysalides of

Trout Breeding. 135

the silkworm, mixing them with flour, and he writes me
that after having used this food for four years, he finds
that the fish thrive on it remarkably well. An analysis
of this food shows that it contains nitrogen substance in
abundance, besides a suitable quantity of oily matter.
It seems that the Japanese, for the last 200 years, have
employed a method for propagating salmon by letting
them spawn naturally and confining this reproduction
to a fixed locality.

In the River Tenegawa there is a natural spawning
bed some 1,200 yards long by 50 wide. A fence is
made above, and after the salmon ascend another fence
is thrown across the stream below. After the fish have
been inclosed for a week, their eggs become naturally
fertilized, and the parent fish are caught. Another lot of
fish are allowed to enter, and so the process is continued.

Mr. Akekio states that in May, a year afterward, the
healthy young fish go down to sea. The profits from
the river must be large, as it supports, by netting the
fish, some 750 families. Our most intelligent Japanese
fishculturist has been in receipt of some McCloud River
trout eggs, sent to him by Mr. B. B. Redding, Fish
Commissioner of California, in 1877, and other species
sent by Prof. Baird. Great difficulty was experienced
at first in finding water of a right temperature, as the
weather was warm, and there was no ice; still, in the
face of a great many obstacles, 1,000 fish were saved.
"From 1877 till the present time," Mr. Akekio writes,
"the fish have grown satisfactorily, and their average
weight is five pounds, and their greatest length one and
a half foot." Both Japan and Germany are indebted
to the United States for practical lessons in fishculture,
and so far our American fishculturists have not been
obliged to go abroad to learn their business.

136 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

PATENT FOODS.

I have tried two kinds of patent food, or rather that
of two makers, who put up food for dogs and pheas-
ants. In both cases it was dried and full of small,
sharp bone. A trout can digest a soft fish bone, but
pieces of the skeleton of an ox or horse are a different
matter. As they could not give me the meat free from
bone we did not do much business.

The following is from a circular :

"Fine all-meat fish food, specially manufactured for
feeding fish from the time the young fry are hatched.
Used with the greatest success at the Caistor Fish
Farm, Lincolnshire, England, and at many other places.
Manufactured in five different grades — Nos. o, i, 2, 3
and 4. No. o, finest ground for feeding young fry in
the boxes, up to two months old ; No. i, for feeding fish
from two to five months old; No. 2, for feeding fish
from five to eight months old ; No. 3, for feeding fish
from nine to twelve months old ; No. 4, for feeding big
fish.

"Note. — No. 4 should be soaked before it is given to
fish. Nos. i, 2 and 3 should not be soaked, but simply
thrown lightly on the water. The fish will take the
food as it gradually sinks to the bottom. Fish should
not have anything coarser than No. o for the first two
months after they are hatched."

The food smells rancid, and the floating qualities of
some of it let it go to the outlet uneaten. As this food
appears to be made from a whole horse thrown into a
grinder, of course the bone cannot be separated. The
bone is good for poultry, but is too sharp for'the in-
testines of a trout, young or old.

Trout Breeding. 137

WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT FOOD.

In 1891, with this book in mind, I sent out a circular
which contained eight questions regarding trout cul-
ture. As the answers relate to different chapters, I
will divide them. Most unfortunately, I put two ques-
tions in one — (No. 7) — which asked: "If you breed
trout for market, do you find that it pays; and if so,
what do you feed the adult fish and at what cost?1'
Many fishculturists, especially those connected with the
Government or State hatcheries, merely replied: "I do
not raise trout for market," and let the main question go
unanswered.

Here are some answers :

"I feed on shrimp and branch minnows, suckers,
carp, etc." — E. M. Robinson, Superintendent Mammoth
Springs Hatchery, U. S. F. C., May 26, 1891.

Albert Rackow, Elmont, Long Island, N. Y., says:
"I feed my trout on beefs' hearts and minnows ; grow-
ing 8,000 trout every year, and it pays a profit."

W. L. Gilbert, Old Colony Trout Ponds, Plymouth,
Mass. — "Yes, it pays. We feed sheep's plucks, which
cost about one cent per pound at the hatchery."

G. Hansen, Osceola Mills, Polk County, Wis. —
"There is no money in feeding trout to two and three
years old and then sell them for 50 cents per pound in
the markets. It pays better to build bigger ponds —
say one to five acres — where the fish can get natural
food, and then have sportsmen come and fish for them,
at say 25 cents per pound. In this case there is no food
to buy and sportsmen near by can board with the pro-
prietor. I had fishermen here who- took in this way,
in one day, 150 pounds of trout, and paid us at the

138 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

same time for board. If a pond is handled in this
manner I think there is money in it."

CHAPTER XL

PLANTING FRY.

The proper time for planting fry is just previous to
their first taking of food; in other words, before the
yolk sack is entirely absorbed. Just as they begin to
swim from the bottom upward they should be removed
instanter. It will not answer to wait longer, as the
first hatched will become emaciated and weak, and if
they do not die in transportation they will not try to
secure food and will soon perish. Numerous failures
in restocking depleted streams are attributed to keep-
ing the fry too long in the hatching troughs. The
most satisfactory results will always be obtained by
planting the fry, when they have arrived at the proper
size, in suitable waters, where there is an abundance of
natural food, and here their instinct of self-preserva-
tion will develop the same as in fish that are hatched
naturally.

I write this strongly, as I have steadily opposed feed-
ing the fish and planting in the fall as "fingerlings," or
the next spring as "yearlings," by the State Commis-
sions, on account of the expense being greater than the
advantages. The planting of yearlings has been advo-
cated for the past eight or ten years and many papers

Trout Breeding. 139

have been read on the subject before the American
Fisheries Society.

It may be possible that one yearling trout, having1
escaped enemies of small size, is as good as ten fry.
Admitting this to be true, for the sake of argument,
then I say plant the ten fry, because it is cheaper to do
so, if you are to put out a million or more for some
State or Government hatchery. At the South Side
Sportsmen's Club, at Oakdale, Long Island, N. Y.,
they feed their fry until they are yearlings, remove the
screens and let them find their way to their lakes.
They have a fishculturist and one or two assistants,
who have little else to do, and the expense is only for
food. Under the same circumstances I should do the
same, while planting some fry in the head-waters of
their many miles of streams. But, when in chargr. at
Cold Spring Harbor, there was danger that the State
Fish Commission would order me to feed fry to year-
lings and plant them, and to do fhis would take money
needed for new ponds ; and my only way to prevent this
was by an indirect appeal to them not to enter upon
such a wasteful course by papers read at the American
Fisheries Society, and no yearlings, except a few sal-
mon, were planted from that station while I was in
charge.

Having called it a wasteful way of planting fish from
a State hatchery, it follows that I should prove the
charge. A man would leave the hatchery with ten
ten-gallon cans of fry, 5,000 in each can, for streams
up the Hudson, and be on the way twenty-four hours,
often more. To take 5,000 yearlings — and many of
our yearlings were 9 inches, 23 mm., long — would re-
quire him to make five trips, for ten cans is about all a
man can attend to on a long trip, reckoning fifty cans

140 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

with 100 yearlings in each. When you multiply his
railroad fares, freight, cartage and wages by five there
is more expense than profit in the transaction. A trip
which cost $25 would run up a big bill for five trips,
and extra men would have to be put on the road. If
you have long trips to make, plant fry, and, if neces-
sary, increase your hatching capacity as many times as
may be needed. Nature plants fry enough to keep up
the stock if man does not interfere.

I think the yearling heresy was started by Mr. Frank
N. Clark, an old personal friend of mine, but with
whom I have usually differed on minor points in fish-
culture ; but even Mr. Clark has said that he could not
rear all his fry to yearlings because of the expense.
Then the late Col. McDonald, United States Commis-
sioner of Fisheries, got the yearling craze and ham-
mered at everybody who did not agree with him. He
was an irritable, autocratic man, who could not bear to
be opposed, and no one in his employ dared suggest
a better way of doing anything. To illustrate this let
me quote from the First Annual Report of the Com-
missioners of Fisheries, Game and Forests, of the State
of New York, for a portion of the year 1895, page 14:
"Four years ago the late Colonel Marshall McDonald,
then United States Fish Commissioner, writing to one
of the staff of this Commission, said of one who was
an ardent 'fry' man (i. e., one who believed in planting
helpless fry as soon as they were ready to feed) : 'If
he chooses to attack the policy of the United States
Fish Commission in planting yearling fish, it will sim-
ply stamp him as unprogressive and past his period of
usefulness.' '

This might mean me, or it might mean the Hon.
Herschel Whitaker, of the Michigan Fish Commis-

Trout Breeding. 141

sion, who stood, and still stands, with me on this ques-
tion. Just why the New York Commission saw fit
to quote this personal matter I have no opinion to
offer.

STOCK HEAVILY.

*

At the close of 1898 I wrote the following for the
''English Fishing Gazette" :

"I believe in stocking heavily. Ten thousand trout
fry to a mile of stream filled with chub and other fish
are as good as wasted. Make it 100,000 fry or 10,000
yearlings to the mile, and then watch the result. If
you do this in some fished-out streams with the two
American species named above, you may hear from
them."

To this my friend Whitaker wrote to know if I had
abandoned my stand on planting fry, as he saw that 1
recommended planting "100,000 fry or 10,000 year-
lings." My reply was that, as some people will plant
yearlings, I wrote in that way, and asked him to look
at the New York Report above quoted, saying to him :
"We did not attack McDonald's policy ; it was he who
attacked ours ; and I do not consider healthy trout fry
to be 'helpless' if planted at the heads of streams."

TIME TO PLANT FRY.

Fry must not be planted or taken any journey in
wagons or by rail until the sac is so nearly absorbed
that they can sustain themselves in the water and have

142 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

lost all disposition to lie on the bottom of the can,
where they are liable to be killed by continuous shocks
and bruises. Until the sac is nearly gone they cannot
bear handling, but they grow stronger as the umbilicus
is absorbed.

In taking fry, as well as adult fish, great care must
be taken of the two vital points — temperature and aera-
tion. The temperature may be kept down by ice, or,
better yet, snow, for ice, if in large pieces in the cans,
will crush many fish, while snow is soft ; an ice tray in
the top of the can is best.

As the trout exhaust the oxygen from the water
more must be supplied. This is done in several ways;
by using a dipper and pouring the water a foot or more
through the air ; by drawing off a pailful through a
siphon which has a strainer of perforated tin or of
cheese-cloth in the upper end, and thenjpouring it 'back
and forth in another pail a few times and returning "it
to the can. With ten cans these ways are too labor-
ious, while an air pump is useless unless you have a
fine strainer in the bottom to divide the air and keep it
from coming up in large bubbles, which do little good,
and the labor is too much. I prefer such a brass
syringe as greenhouse men use for spraying plants, with
a fine "rose" sprinkler on the end ; one and a half inches
in diameter and twelve to fourteen inches in length.
This is lighter and easier to carry than any of the other
implements and is as effective ; fill the cylinder, raise it
a foot above the water and drive the fine streams down
into the can. At a temperature of 40° Fahr., three in-
jections to each can every half hour when not moving
should keep the fish at the bottom, for when they are
suffering for air they will crowd to the surface for -it.
When they do this it will take continuous work for an

Trout Breeding. 143

hour, and hard work, to get all the fish in ten cans
down to the bottom again and breathing easily. Never
let them get to the top ; treat them to an aeration every
half hour by the watch, or oftener if they need it, but
never let them suffer for a moment.

When the water is sloshing about on a car or wagon,
have no more water in the cans than can be carried
with the covers off, and they need not be worked more
than once in an hour or two if the water is cool. Take
extra care when standing still for an hour or more;
there is then more danger of suffering.

At the place of deposit compare the temperature of
the brook to that in the cans by a thermometer, and if
there is a difference of three degrees Fahr., set the can
in the brook, adding a little brook water occasionally ;
take an hour to this if necessary, and when you are
satisfied that the fry will not be injured by the shock
from a warmer or colder temperature, lower the mouth
of the can and let them swim out. After all your trou-
ble and expense you cannot afford to dump your fry in
a hurry and trust to luck to their living through a
shock. This is why I always preferred to send one of
my own men to plant fry to having the owner of a
stream come for them. No doubt millions of good,
strong trout fry have been killed by the "dumping"
process of some unthinking or ignorant man who
thought: ''Here's the brook and there's the fish; dump
'em in." A man may be a very learned man and not
know how to plant trout fry.

In 1872 I submitted a plan for aerating water by
pumps worked by a band on a car axle to Prof. Baird.
This was afterward used by Mr. Stone in his aquarium
car, and was no doubt again originated by him, for it
was naturally the first plan that would suggest itself to

144 Modern Fishcultitre in Fresh and Salt Water.

one about to transport live fish on such a long and
perilous journey, as he had undertaken to transport fish
from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast." The above I
wrote for "Rod and Gun," and it appeared in its issue
of February 26, 1876.

In 1874, with Mr. A. A. Anderson as an assistant,
I tried to get 100,000 shad fry from Holyoke, Mass., to
Germany, and failed. An account of this will be found
in the chapter on "Shad."

CHAPTER XII.

TRANSPORTING ADULT FISH.

The main things in taking live fish on railway or
other journeys have been explained. We get oxygen
from air, and fish get the same thing from water. A
submarine diver can stay down long if air is pumped
to him ; if it stops, he dies from the carbonic acid gas
which his own lungs throw off. The case is the same
with the fish. They are shut in a can where no oxygen
can reach them except what comes to the water through
its sloshing about in the motion of the car, if the cover
is left off, or such as you may give them by syringe,
air pump or other mode of aeration (see chapter on
"Transporting Trout Fry").

The next important point is temperature. If the fish
are taken from icy water, or from spring water in win-
ter, you may ice them heavily; but if you are taking
fish from a pond in summer, say black bass or perch,

Trout Breeding, 145

do not reduce the temperature more than ten degrees
or you may have either dead or barren fish in your
ponds. The aeration of water, as before described, is
like pumping air to the submarine diver — it means life.

Large fish should not be sent in circular tanks, be-
cause they will crowd to the side, which closes one gill
cover and prevents the other from closing; hence they
cannot breathe well and may soon die.

Twenty pounds of trout will live four hours in
twelve gallons of water if under 40° Fahr. Two
pounds of trout will live for four hours in three gal-
lons at 40°.

SECTION II.

OTHER TROUTS AND THE SALMONS.

America is rich in species of Salmonidce. We have
the Sal-mo solar, with its variety Sebago, which is the
only salmon of our ea'st coast, and is identical with the
salmon of the west coast of Europe. Excluding the
whitefish and its relatives, we have of salmons chars
and trouts — and we call all our chars "trout," the fol-
lowing salmons, S. salar, on the east coast. On the
Pacific coast we have Oncorhynchus chouicha, the quin-
nat or chinook ; S. gairdneri, the steel-head or salmon
trout; 0. nerka, the redfish, blueback or sockeye; O.
keta, the dog salmon, and O. kisutch, the silver salmon.

Of chars we have Salvelinus fontinalis, the eastern
brook trout ; S. anreolus, the sunapee or golden trout of
New Hampshire ; S. namaycush, the lake trout east of
the Missouri River; S. oquassa, the blueback trout of
Maine, and S. malma, the dolly varden, bull trout and
western char, of the Columbia river basin and other
waters of the west.

Of true trouts we have Sahno irideus, the rainbow
trout ; S. fario, the brown trout imported from Europe,
and 5\ mykiss, the "cut-throat" trout of the west — four-
teen species, and all of them of value, more or less, ex-
cept the dog salmon, which is eaten only by Indians.

140

Other Trouts and the Salmons.
CHAPTER XIII.

THE SALMONS.

As all that has been said of the breeding of brook
trout is applicable to the salmon, there is little to be
added under this head. The eggs are larger than those
of trout and do not differ much in size, while in color
they are of a beautiful "salmon" shade.

The United States has a good salmon breeding estab-
lishment at East Orland, Maine, where parent fish are
obtained from the Penobscot; but in Canada and New
Brunswick there are larger ones, which have done grand
work, despite the opposition of some ignorant fisher-
men, who imagine that the hatcheries injure them in
some way. In Norway, Sweden, Germany and other
countries the salmon is artificially cultivated on a scale
more or less large, but our neighbors to the north lead
the work in this industry.

THE PACIFIC SALMONS.

Not more than three of the Pacific salmons are of
much value. The best is the "king," or quinnat sal-
mon, Oncorhynchus chouicha, and then comes the little
"blueback" and the "steel-head/'

The quinnat salmon was introduced into our east-
ern waters for a number of years by the million, and
distributed in the rivers from Maine to Texas, and not
one adult was ever caught on the Atlantic coast. In
this case the failure was not due to light stocking, but

148 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

to the absence of melting snows in early summer, which
in the short Pacific streams affects the temperature at
the mouths of the rivers. On Sept. 10, 1899, one
weighing loj Ibs. was taken in the St. Lawrence River
near Cape Vincent, and identified by Mr. Livingston
Stone.

The 'land-locked salmon," as it is miscalled, is not
shut in by land, and can go to sea if it wishes, but has
for some reason lost this migratory instinct. In all
respects except migration they are identical with S\
salar. Mr. Charles G. Atkins has charge of the United
States breeding station at Grand Lake Stream, Maine,
and has stocked many suitable waters in different parts
of the country.

There is a tendency now to give this fish its Indian
name of "winninish," some clinging to the French
spelling of "ouannanish ;" but if the French have no
letter W in their language, we have. They spelled
Wisconsin "Ouisconsin," but why should we do so?
Let us call it "winninish," and spell it so in a good Eng-
lish fashion.

The winninish has thrived when it has been planted
in deep, cool lakes. From the New York "Sun" of
May 13, 1890, I clip the following:

"HAMMONDSPORT, N. Y., May 12. — Lake Keuka was
stocked with land-locked salmon fry four years ago.
No evidence that the fish had prospered in the lake was
developed until last season, when Trevor Moore caught
a two-pound specimen of the salmon near the inlet of
the lake at Hammondsport. Others were caught at
different points along the lake, in each case while the
anglers were fishing for other fish. A few days ago
Frank Costerline was fishing for bullheads near the
inlet of the lake, and caught three very large land-

Other T routs and the Salmons. 149

locked salmon. A fourth, the largest of the lot, was
hooked, but broke the line and escaped."

CHAPTER XIV.

OTHER TROUTS.

BROWN TROUT (Salmo fario).

And now I write of a fish which is a naturalized citi-
zen, but, being a recent importation, has not taken the
rank among us which it will work up to in future years.
Confidence is said to be a plant of slow growth, and so
is reputation. Recently Mr. R. B. Marston, editor of
the London "Fishing Gazette," said that he believed
the brovrn trout, Salmo fario, to be the best trout in the
world. I agree with him.

Those who believe that nothing can possibly come
from Europe which may excel any native product, and
allow prejudice to shut out all things not indigenous to
America, will, of course, object to this statement. Let
us compare the handsome char which we call "brook
trout" with its kinsman, the brown trout, which is not
a highly colored, fine-scaled "char," but is in the genus
Salmo — a coarser fish, if you will, but a grand one.

In support of this opinion I will quote an article from
my pen, written in 1887, in the Bulletin of the United

150 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

States Fish Commission, entitled "Brown Trout in
America" :

"In July, 1886, Mr. Frank J. Amsden, a banker, of
Rochester, N. Y., sent to Mr. E. G. Blackford, of Ful-
ton Market, a brown trout which weighed, on its re-
ceipt, three pounds. It was taken in Allen's Creek,
Monroe County, New York, a tributary of the Genesee
River, which receives the famous Caledonia Creek, on
which the hatchery of the New York Fish Commission
at Mumford is placed. This fish must have been one
which was hatched at the Caledonia station in March,
1883, from eggs sent there by me. These eggs were
the first which were received in America, and came to
me as a personal present from my friend, Mr. von Behr,
President of the Deutscher Fischerei-Verein, whose
headquarters are in Berlin, and consequently the fish
was about three years and three months old.

"At the time that these eggs were sent from Germany
Mr. von Behr advised me that there were two kinds of
them, not species, nor even varieties, but merely from
different waters. One kind, the larger eggs, were from
trout inhabiting deep lakes, while the smaller kind were
from the mountain streams. These kinds are probably
analogous in respect of size to the fontinalis of the
Rangeley Lakes of Maine and those of our other east-
ern American waters, as near as I understand the case.
I sent to the Caledonia station eggs of both kinds, and
this fish, which was taken in Allen's Creek, is probably
one that escaped from the hatchery, unless a plant had
been made in the creek.

"In the ponds under my charge at Cold Spring Har-
bor, we reserved some of these first importations, but
lost the greater portion of them from various causes.
Of the few that were left there was one which was

152 Modern Pishcidture in Fresh and Salt Water.

somewhat larger than its fellows, and proved to be a
male fish, and was named 'Herr von Behr,' in honor
of my German friend. In October, 1886, when it was
three and a half years old, we took it from the pond and
placed it in an aquarium in the hatchery, which had a
good flow of running water, in order to show it to the
New York Fish Commissioners, who were expected
the next day. In the morning the fish was dead, and it
now reposes in alcohol, where its size can be admired
by visitors. Its weight was three and a half pounds
plump, or at any rate of one pound a year."

Mr. A. D. Frye, of Bellrnore, Long Island, writes,
under date of March 27, 1887, as follows : "Two years
since I applied to you for some brown trout to stock a
public stream, called Newbridge Creek, at this place,
and you furnished them. I have by inquiry learned
that last summer some of these fish were taken which
.weighed three-quarters of a pound." According to
this, these fish could not have been more than one and
a half years old ; and from my experience I think that
the brown trout, as it is called in England, and which
is the common brook trout of Europe (Sahno fario) is
a quick-growing fish, which is destined to become a
favorite in America when it is thoroughly known. I
have taken this fish with a fly, and consider it one of
the gamiest — in fact, the gamiest — trout that I ever
handled with a rod.

I believe that the brown trout will be found to be a
better fish, taking it all around, than our own native
fontinalis. The reasons for this belief are : ( I ) It is
of quicker growth; (2) it is gamier; (3) except in the
breeding season, when the males of fontinalis are bril-
liantly colored, it is fully as handsome; (4) from what
I can learn I incline to think it will bear water several

Other T routs and the Salmons. 153

degrees warmer than fontinalis, and therefore it is
adapted to a wider range.

In the winter of 1882-3 I introduced the brown trout,
5*. fario, into America. The eggs were sent to me as
a personal present by the late Baron von Behr, Presi-
dent of the German Fishery Association. I had taken
the fish in the Black Forest, Germany, and had told
Herr von Behr that, if opportunity offered, I would
introduce it in America. Some years later (January,
1883) I was appointed to start a hatchery on Long
Island, and he sant me something like 100,000 eggs,
most of which were good. I had not time to prepare
for their hatching, and sent some of the eggs to Mr.
Clark, Superintendent U. S. F. C, in Michigan, and
some to Mr. Green, at Caledonia, N. Y., who, like my-
self, was a State superintendent of a hatchery. Mr.
Clark publicly acknowledged this present of eggs, but
Mr. Green, who never could admit that there was more
than one fishculturist on earth, gave it out that he im-
ported the eggs and took the liberty of calling them
"German" trout. He had a way of giving new names
to fish, deriving them from some locality, such as
"California mountain trout," "Oswego bass," etc.,
which have mostly died out. The unfortunate promi-
nence which the newspapers gave him retarded fish-
culture some years, through his antagonism to Prof.
Baird and all other fishculturists. "Top rail or no
fence" was the motto, and as he was a "pioneer," he
had the backing of ignorant editors. He was a man of
brains, but newspaper notoriety was his weak point.

GROWTH OF BROWN TROUT.

Some anglers have objected to the introduction of

154 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

brown trout in our streams because they grow too fast
and might eventually kill out our native fish. To this
I say : "Let 'em do it if they can, and the 'fittest' will
survive;" but they can't do it. The chubs, dace, pike,
bass and other fishes have worked this game for cen-
turies before a white angler wet a line in an American
trout stream, and here we are! A trout is a cannibal
when he gets to be three years old, whether he is a na-
tive American or an adopted citizen, and it is only a
question of which fish matures in the shortest time for
the angler.

A Rochester paper said : "A brown trout was taken
in the spring brook below the Caledonia hatchery on
June i, 1891, by F. P. Brownell, which weighed eleven
pounds, and as the first importation was made in 1883,
by Colonel Fred Mather, it could not have been over
eight years old, at most. Brownell would say nothing
of the mode of capture, and offered to sell it for two
dollars. Failing to sell it, he took it home, and was
preparing to cook it when Mr. Annin dropped in and
saw it. Commissioner W. H. Bowman has said that
he would have given ten dollars for it to send to Wash-
ington to have a plaster cast made of it, and other men
would have been glad to purchase it for scientific pur-
poses; but it is fortunate that Mr. Annin saw, identi-
fied and weighed the fish. Brown trout have been
taken in England weighing as much as eighteen pounds,
but this one is the largest on record in America at pres-
ent writing."

The so-called Loch-Leven trout of Scotland are the
brown trout, which differ slightly in color in their na-
tive waters, but show no differences when hatched in
America. Sir James Ramsay Gibson Maitland, Bart.,
sent many eggs from his great fish breeding establish-

Other T routs and the Salmons. 155

rnent at Howietown, near Stirling, Scotland, but when
grown the fish could not be distinguished from brown
trout. *"

Dr. H. G. Preston, President of the Oxford Rod and
Gun Club, whose preserves are at Eastport, Long
Island, wrote me under date of March 29, 1891, as fol-
lows : "Brown trout eleven and twelve inches long
were caught last April and May, the growth from the
fry you sent me the year before." This beats any
growth that I know of. This club moved from Patch-
ogue, some sixteen miles west, to Eastport in 1889, but
had no fry from us until the next year; therefore the
age of the fish could not have been over thirteen to
fourteen months — truly a marvelous growth.

The following from ex-Commissioner, the late Gen.
R. U. Sherman, is of interest as showing that brown
trout have grown and bred in the Adirondack waters ;
not as large as elsewhere, and this is not surprising,
for those cold waters do not grow fish as quickly as
more southern ones where the temperature ranges well
into the sixties for over half the year :

"NEW HARTFORD, N. Y., Nov. 13, 1890. — DEAR SIR:
We have been taking at Bisby lately, in our spawn
gathering, quite a number of what I suppose to be
Salmo fario, and have already put on the trays 10,000
eggs. Some of the fish are of two pounds weight, but
the general run is from one-half to one pound. We
planted in Bisby lake 5,000 of the 5. fario fry, and
these fish, I suppose, are from that plant. Three or
four years ago we planted in a small spring pond flow-
ing into Bisby 10,000 fry of Loch-Leven trout from
eggs courteously furnished by you. The fry were very
hardy and vigorous, but we never saw one of the fish

156 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

after the fry were put in the pond. It is possible the
fish we are now taking are Loch-Leven, which have
come down from the little pond to the lake.

"Very truly,

"R. U. SHERMAN."

I have, in another place, said that the brown trout
and the Loch-Leven trout are the same fish, and so, too,
wrote Gen. Sherman.

RAINBOW TROUT (Salmo irideus).

This handsome fish, which is a native of the Pacific
coast, in the mountain streams of California and north-
ward, was introduced into the eastern waters by the
LTnited States Fish Commission in 1880, but some
years before that date the late Seth Green brought
some adult fish to his ponds at Caledonia, N. Y., and
bred from them. As usual, he gave them new names,
for he claimed to have two species, calling them "Cali-
fornia brook trout" and "California mountain trout;"
but he knew nothing of ichthyology and could not de-
scribe the differences, which, by the way, did not exist.

This fish is a "true trout," as has been said. It has
a very small mouth, for a trout ; is black-spotted, with
a wide crimson band running along each side. It will
bear slightly warmer waters than our "brook trout,"
and therefore may be of use in a more southern habitat.
They are not as great fish-eaters as other trout, and
this is another point in their favor. In deep waters,
notably those of the Ozark region of Missouri, they
have grown to a weight of ten pounds.

"Rainbow trout will live in warmer water than brook

158 Modern Fish culture in Fresh and Salt Water.

trout, and are found in swift, rapid streams at 85°
Fahr., especially where there is some shade; but in
ponds that temperature is dangerous, even with shade
and a good current. In its natural condition this trout
is usually found in water varying from 38° Fahr. in
winter to 70° Fahr. in summer, and in selecting a site
for a trout hatchery spring water with a temperature
of 42° to 58° is required. The rainbow trout is a su-
perior game fish, a vigorous biter and fights bravely
for liberty, though in the east it is somewhat inferior
to the brook trout in these respects." The above was
written by Mr. George A. Seagle, Superintendent U. S.
F. C. Station, Wytheville, Va., for "A Manual of Fish-
culture," published by the U. S. Fish Commission in
its Report for 1897 — pages i to 340 — and afterward as
a separate book.

When the fish was first brought east all the fishcultur-
ists disliked it, myself among them, because its eggs
were not readily impregnated, and when one has to
pick out 50 to 75 per cent, of eggs he finds it more
work than he wants. It spawned in very early spring
or late winter, as one chose to regard February and
March, and many of the eggs were hard and "glassy ;"
these declined to receive the milt, being already full.
This condition we now know to be due to the eggs
being over-ripe and absorbing water somehow before
extrusion, as they will not readily spawn in confine-
ment for some unknown reason.

THE RAINBOW IN ENGLAND.

Mr. R. B. Marston, editor of the London "Fishing
Gazette," asked me the following questions :

Other Trouts and the Salmons. 159

1. Has the rainbow trout become established in any
eastern coast rivers ; i. e., to breed freely in a wild state ?

2. Has it been good friends with the other trout, or
has it taken so much interest in them as to eat 'em up ?

3. Does it rise well and freely to the fly ?

4. Does it stop in the rivers where planted ?

5. Is it better than salmon to eat?

To this I answered as far as my knowledge of the
fish went, and in his issue of August 27, 1898, he print-
ed the following from my pen :

''You evidently want a monograph on S. irideus, but
I am not competent to write it, for Pve never fished
west of the Rockies, and do not know this fish in its
native waters. A review of your questions shows that
you only want to know about it in the east, and I'll try
to answer.

"i. Not that I know of . The rainbow has been bred
in the State of New York for about twenty-four years.
Most of my books are in storage, and I must not try to
give exact dates, but it was about 1873 or 1874 that
Seth Green took young shad to California and then
introduced the rainbow trout in the east. He turned
them out indiscriminately, and I stocked many streams
with them as a superintendent under orders from the
Board of Fish Commissioners of the State, but I do
not know of a stream where they have become estab-
lished, in the sense that you mean. Adults are caught
here and there, but I do not know of a stream in which
they have sustained themselves; but their propagation
goes on. They have been planted in the State of New
York, from the cold mountainous lakes of the Adirdn-
dacks to the most southern streams of Long Island. I
will refer to this question again, after the others are
answered categorically.

160 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

"2. 1 doubt if the rainbow is as destructive to small
fish as either the brown trout (fario) or our own fon-
tinalis. This doubt has two foundations. In confine-
ment it has shown no disposition to eat smaller fish if
other food was plenty, and its comparatively small
mouth bars it from taking some fish that a fario or a
fontinalis could easily stow away.

"3. Yes ; it rises to the fly well. I stocked the upper
of three millponds at Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island,
with rainbows, and when fly fishing below the second
dam two years later I took a number of rainbows. Mr.
Livington Stone, for years in charge of the breeding
station at Baird, Cal., where the fish is native, says
they rise well to the fly.

"4. This may be a matter of suitable water. My own
experience has been mostly with confined fish. In its
native rivers, of course, it has been true and faithful,
but in our eastern rivers there are different conditions.
The fish has remained in some Adirondack lakes and
grown large ; but whether it has bred there and 'estab-
lished itself I cannot say. This is 'the benefit of the
doubt.'

"5. This is a question of taste, de gustibus, etc. The
rainbow is a good table fish ; but it is a trout, and I can't
compare it to salmon any more than I can compare a
saddle of Southdown mutton to a beefsteak. The rain-
bow trout is hardly as good a table fish, me judice, as
the brown trout, or our 'brook trout,' and any one of
the three beats salmon as a steady diet in camp, for
salmon is so rich that it soon cloys. This is merely an
individual opinion, but it is what you asked for.

"Having gone over the questions in their order, I feel
inclined to say more. I have seen the articles in 'Land
and Water' of March 26, by yourself, Mr. Charles S.

Other Trouts and the Salmons. 161

Patterson, M. B., M. R. C. S., F. Z. S., and the notes
by the Editor. As Sir Lucius OTrigger says : It's a
very pretty fight as it stands.'

"Mr. Patterson is correct in the main, but assumes
that the 'steel-head salmon' (S. gairdneri) is a salmon, a
natural mistake to make from its popular name. It is
a big river trout, so very like the rainbow in structure
and markings that at one time some ichthyologists
thought them the same fish.

"Since our favorite font-mails has refused to stay in
English streams, the fact that iridcus may not have
established itself in waters of the State of New York
is no proof that it may not be good in yours. Most
Americans think that fontinalis, the char which we call
'brook trout,' is the best trout in the world. It is, in its
home. On Long Island and in Canada, where it can,
it goes to salt water, and comes back plump and in ex-
cellent order, but its red spots gone if it stays there long.
Then in Canada it is called 'sea trout.' In the trout
streams of the Hudson river it is barred from the sea
by the warm water of the river in summer, and in win-
ter it does no.t want to go down.

"When I was engaged in fishculture all bur fishcul-
turists disliked the rainbow trout at first because its
eggs did not impregnate well, and we had to pick out
about 75 per cent, of unfertile eggs. This is not so
now. Then the fish had been taken from waters which
were colder in the spring, when the snows above the
short streams west of the Rockies melted, and it was a
spring spawner, for all Salmonidce spawn on a falling
temperature. Gradually the rainbow changed its habit,
and began to spawn earlier, until now, after some
twenty or more generations of breeding in the east, it
spawns in the fall or early winter. If you get more

162 Modern Fishcultnre in Fresh and Salt Water.

rainbow eggs, get them, from Eastern America, where
the spawning habit has been changed from spring to
early winter."

My answers were not satisfactory to myself; they
hinted that I was not certain about question i, and I
asked Mr. Marston to send me galley slips. These I
sent out, and the answers show that I did not know it
all. Here they are :

Hon. Herschel Whitaker, of the Michigan Fish Com-
mission, one of the most able and enthusiastic of fish-
culturists, writes :

"Regarding the questions which you wish me to
make some suggestions about, will say, so far as query
I is concerned: We have had considerable experience
with this fish in our State, and a somewhat peculiar
one. Several years ago we began stocking streams,
and after a few years became utterly discouraged be-
cause of their non-appearance, and became convinced
there was no use continuing the work and quit it, liber-
ating the stock fish we had in a water near by the hatch-
ery. In the course of a few seasons we were astonished
to find that in some of our better rivers the rainbow was
showing up magnificently and spawning. The fish
soon became so popular with sportsmen that we again
secured a stock of fish, and have since been stocking
waters to which they take kindly, which are our larger
streams, that afford deep pools, where they seem to
remain most of the year, although in June and July
many small rainbows are taken on the riffles. It is now
thoroughly established in several of our rivers, and is
the fish all anglers are looking for. Its edible quali-
ties, in my opinion, are not to be compared with the
brook trout, but he is a fighter from way back.

"So far as its being good friends with the brook trout

Other Trouts and the Salmons. 163

is concerned, I am inclined to think he is a very good
friend of the smaller brook trout — in fact, takes him in
whenever opportunity offers. I think big fish that are
piscivorous prey on other fish at all times when pos-
sible, and the rainbow is no exception in this regard.
One of the most successful bait fishermen I know
fishes much for the rainbow, and his most tempting
and successful lure is the chub or shiner ; so there is no
question as to the rainbow's proclivities in this regard.
As to question 2, I should say he did rise most mag-
nificently, especially from 5 o'clock on to 10 P. M., dur-
ing July and August — and then you have trouble if he
is a big one.

"Answering query 4, will say that it does stop in suit-
able streams, and is apparently content with its sur-
roundings."

Mr. Frank N. Clark, Superintendent of the U. S.
F. C. stations in Michigan, writes from Northville :

"In response to your letter under date of February 4,
in reference to rainbow trout, and in answer to ques-
tion No. i, I would say that the Au Sable and the Pere
Marquette rivers of- Michigan are well stocked with
rainbow trout. One year ago last fall I had a camp
on the Au Sable River for the purpose of getting a
stock of brook trout eggs, and upward of 10,000
spawners were secured; and at each haul we would
catch from 500 to 2,000 rainbow trout which were
hatched out the spring before. In the Au Sable, then,
the presence of rainbow trout in large numbers has evi-
dently been established. The Pere Marquette River is
practically the same, and there are other streams in
Michigan where rainbow trout are quite plentiful. They
seem to stay in the Michigan streams and do not go
out into Lake Michigan. Large quantities, however,

164 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

are found away below the point where brook trout are,
and during the spawning season, which begins about
February I, they go up stream, and all the way between
Wakeley's Point and Stephan's Point (which is a dis-
tance of about seven or eight miles) they make beds for
the purpose of spawning."

Mr. W. de C. Ravenel, of the U. S. F. C, says :
"In response to your letter with reference to rainbow
trout in streams of the east, I regret that I cannot give
you as definite information as I should like. I pre-
sume that by the east you mean streams east of the
Sierra Nevada — that is, streams in which the rainbow
trout was not indigenous. Commencing with Wyo-
ming, I would refer you to the reports of their State
Commission, which show that rainbow trout are nu-
merous in several streams, as a result of plants made by
their State Commission and by the United States Com-
mission. At one haul of the seine hundreds of fish
from three to eight pounds in weight have been taken.
In Colorado the rainbow trout is thoroughly established
in various branches of the Platte River, also in Twin
Lakes and a number of other lakes. In the Ozark re-
gions of Missouri and Arkansas numbers of streams
have been thoroughly stocked and the trout are doing
well. In Iowa, Mr. R. S. Johnson, the superintendent
of our station there, reports the collection of adult rain-
bow trout in several streams. In Michigan, in the Au
Sable River, trout weighing from five to seven pounds
are frequently taken. The Au Sable many years ago
was a grayling stream ; but rainbow, brook and grayling
are now caught in the same localities.

"In Eastern Tennessee, in the Jack River, rainbow
trout are thoroughly established, and are reproducing;
and in a number of rivers in North Carolina the same

Other T routs and the Salmons. 165

conditions exist. M. C. Toms, of Hendersonville, N.
C., on February 6, 1896, wrote us with reference to the
success attained in Green River from fish planted from
the Wytheville, Virginia, station. Mr. J. D. Phipps,
of Longs Gap, Grayson County, Virginia, reports Peach
Bottom Creek as splendidly stocked, fish having been
caught there measuring twenty-two inches in length.
He speaks of them as fine game fish, and reports that
the increase in numbers has been great. Mr. W. K.
Hancock, writing from Colorado, makes the following
statement : 'In the streams throughout this part of
the country rainbow trout are not very plentiful, and
their average size would be from three to five fish to the
pound ; but occasionally one will be taken weighing
from one-half to three-fourths of a pound. Their
growth is very slow in our streams in this immediate
vicinity (Leadville) ; in the lower part of the State,
south and southwest of this, they are more plentiful
and grow much larger. In Twin Lakes, twelve miles
southwest of here, they grow to twelve and thirteen
pound.*. They are very game and are considered fine
table fish.'

"A correspondent, Mr. T. W. Scott, of Rome, Geor-
gia, under date of December 17, 1895, reported that
numbers of rainbow trout were caught in Silver Creek.
William W. Finney, of Belair, Maryland, in a letter
dated April 26, 1895, refers to two streams flowing into
the Susquehanna River that were stocked some years
before. He states that several had been caught in the
stream after all hope had been abandoned of their being
found, and that besides the large fish numbers of small
ones were observed, from four to five inches long. Mr.
Atkins, last spring, in a tributary of Alamoosook Lake,
near East Orland, Maine, captured 199 adult rainbow

1 66 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

trout which had ascended the stream for the purpose
of spawning. These were the result of fry liberated in
this lake some years before.

"In addition to the information given you, by ref-
erence to the Commissioner's report for 1896, pages
136 to 139, you will find some data on this subject, col-
lated by Dr. Smith. I am also under the impression,
without being able to give you the exact figures, that
the rivers and streams in the State of Wisconsin have
been very thoroughly stocked."

Other letters of like tenor were received from Mr.
John G. Roberts, Superintendent of the New York
State hatchery at Saranac Inn, in the Adirondacks ;
Mr. W. F. Page, Mr. W. E. Meehan, Assistant Secre-
tary and Statistician of Pennsylvania Fish Commis-
sion, and others; but enough has been cited to show
that the rainbow trout has come east to stay.

LAKE TROUT (ScilveUnus namaycush).

This species is gray-spotted, the spots sometimes
tinged with red. Its caudal fin is deeply forked. They
require colder water than the brook trout, and in the
summer they are only found in the deeper waters of
those lakes which have a depth of forty or more feet,
and have large springs at the bottom. The lake trout
is not much of a favorite with anglers because it must
be fished for in such deep water, and its fighting quali-
ties are inferior to those of the brook trout.

The "salmon" of the Adirondacks, which one hears
of so much, is simply the lake trout, sometimes called
salmon-trout, and often the first part of the name only
is used. But they are not salmon nor salmon-trout.

i68 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

A lake trout of 27^ pounds, from Raquette lake, is
credited to Alvah Dunning, the guide, who sent it to
the Superintendent of the Adirondack railroad. It was
taken July 2, 1879.

Most people agree on the excellent table qualities of
the Adirondack lake trout. They are a fine fish, and I
prefer them, when small, to the brook trout for the pan.
In the spring, while the water is cool near the shore,
these fish take the fly, but in summer they must be
sought in deep water, for, like all deep water trouts,
they are sensitive to warmth and die soon from it. The
sabling, or German char, is probably as sensitive, and
our deep waters would suit it very well. The fish
would also suit the waters, as it is a lake trout of large
size with a beautifully colored crimson side and belly,
and a fine table fish. The native trout of the Adiron-
dacks can be distinguished from those planted by the
Commission from parents in Lake Ontario by their
color. The skin is darker and the flesh redder, yet
ichthyologically they are the same fish. One would
think the strangers, having been placed here in baby-
hood, would assume the characters of the natives.

There is a variety called "siscowet" in Lake Superior
which is shorter and ''inordinately fat," a very doubt-
ful distinction.

As the brook and lake trout often occupy the same
spawning grounds at the same time, there would be
danger of mixing the breeds but for the fact that brook
trout spawn in day time and the lakers at night, and the
milt of the male fish loses its power of impregnating
eggs in less than five minutes after extrusion.

Other Trouts and the Salmons. 169

CHAPTER XV.

HYBRID FISH.

All the salmonidse readily hybridize. As an experi-
ment in the study of animal life it was worth while to
try this, but in ordinary fishculture it is a very bad
practice, for no possible good comes from it in the cul-
ture of trout. This was such a fad at the New York
State hatchery at Caledonia that when the present State
Fish, Game and Forest Commission took charge of the
work they found but few pure bred trout of any kind
in the ponds. For years bastard fish had been bred in-
discriminately at that station and sent out into the
streams. The new Commission wisely stopped this
work and stocked up with pure bred fish. No such
thing was found at Cold Spring Harbor when I left it,
for I would not have a bastard fish ; I hate the name,
even if softened to "hybrid."

At Mr. Blackford's "trout openings" I have seen
trout from Caledonia marked "One-sixteenth brook
trout, nine-sixteenths lake trout and three-eighths sal-
mon." Fishculturists who know how difficult it is to
keep young trout from being mixed during the first
year used to smile at the very specific amount of each
kind of blood, which involved some bookkeeping for
several years.

SHAD AND ALEWIFE.

I have hybridized the shad and the river herring, ale-
wives, in great numbers, but there was a valid reason

170 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

for it. At the last haul at night, on the Hudson, we
often got a lot of spawning shad, but no males ; the net
would have a lot of ripe alewives, and it was a question
whether it was not better to fertilize the eggs than to
throw them away. The bastards would be eatable, and
so, on that ground, , the hybridizing was done. The
eggs hatched, but I never say an adult fish which I
thought to be the result of this cross, and I worked the
Hudson many years.

The fishermen learned of this, and when they caught
a mattowaca, as the Indians called it, the "tailor her-
ring" (Clupea mediocris), which was in the Hudson
centuries before they were born, they named it "Rebel
shad," a.s they first noticed it shortly after the Civil
War.

SHAD AND STRIPED BASS.

Green claimed to have crossed the shad with the
striped bass, and the Hon. Robert B. Roosevelt, then
(1879) President of the New York Fish Commission,
wrote a long article on the subject for the New York
"Tribune/'7 dated October 3, 1879. To many persons
a fish is merely a fish, and they would see nothing
strange in crossing one kind on another; but fishes
differ in structure as mammals do, and the man who
should claim that he had crossed the dog and the cat,
the horse and the cow, or the sheep and the goat, would
be laughed at. Animals must be nearly related to inter-
breed, and when you cross the horse and the ass you
get a mule, an infertile hybrid. The dog and the wolf
may have issue, but the dog and the fox will not, al-
though a case or two has been reported.

The shad with its soft fins and serrated abdomen

Other T routs and the Salmons. 171

differs from the striped bass with its spiny fin-rays and
hard scales more than the dog differs from the fox or
the cat, and as much as the horse differs from the cow.
The water where Mr. Green was hatching shad may
have been filled with milt of shad; his bass milt may
have fallen on barren soil ; his eggs may have hatched,
and as he turned the fry loose he may have honestly
believed that the fish were the hybrids that he claimed
them to be, but I do not believe it.

Since writing this a correspondent of " Forest and
Stream" asked some questions which were referred to
me. At the risk of repeating, I give his questions and
the answers.

"i. How far can hybrids be produced among fishes?
2. To what degree are they fertile, either with one of
the parent stocks or with each other? 3. Do hybrid
fishes occur in a state of nature ?"

Answer. — i. No man knows how far hybrids can be
produced among fishes, because comparatively few
fishes have been bred artificially, and of these the ex-
periments in hybridizing have been mainly confined to
the salmon family. We know that animals must be
closely related to hybridize, and that few hybrids are
fertile. The wild "Canada" goose will breed with our
tame geese, but the progeny is infertile with either
parent or among themselves. The same is true of the
horse and the ass, which can produce the useful mule,
without which our armies would be impotent, and who
"without pride of ancestry, or hope of posterity," threw
his weight into his collar and pulled the artillery out
of the mud. Horses would have fretted to death at this
time, but the mules chewed a splinter from the neck-
yoke, received a lash that cut in deep, heard the ob-
jurgations of the driver,* and the battery went on.

172 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

Animals near together often refuse to breed or pro-
duce infertile progeny, called "mules" — for the term is
applied to all infertile hybrids, such as crosses between
the goldfinch and canary birds, and is not restricted to
the hybrid animal which serves our armies as neither of
its parents could do. The hybrid geese referred to are
"mules ;" that term simply means an infertile hybrid.

To question No. 2, I can only say that most of the
salmon family appear to produce fertile hybrids, as far
as the trouts and salmons are concerned, but no ex-
periments have been made to my knowledge with the
different whitefishes, smelts, etc., which "belong" to
the family by reason of some such slight affinity, such
as having the second dorsal fin composed of fat instead
of rays.

To the third question I will say that I never knew
hybrid fishes to occur in nature. All animals prefer
to mate with their own kind. Nature abhors a mule,
and limits it to one life, with no progeny. I have
known a wild mallard to mate with a black duck and
raise a brood, but the birds were wounded and could
not fly, and they had no choice. This was on the Pa-
munky River, Virginia. Some men regard every ani-
mal which they are not acquainted with as a hybrid.
When the grayling was first brought to notice in Ameri-
ca, a man wrote to a sportsman's paper giving it as his
opinion that the grayling was a cross between a trout
and a sucker, and that man was a fish commissioner of
Illinois at the time.

Other T routs and the Salmons, 173

CHAPTER XVI.

BARREN TROUT AND ANNUAL SPAWNERS.

Occasionally we find a female trout which has no
eggs , at the spawning time. Many of these I have
opened; some had the little cluster which promises a
crop next year, but three had no sign of ever bearing
eggs. The fish had not spawned or the flabby sides
and swollen vent would have been present, and there
was no indication of these conditions. I paid little
attention to this matter until I received a letter from
Charles A. Hoxsie, Carolina, R. I., where trout are
raised for market. Under date of Jan. 21, 1889, Mr.
Hoxsie wrote a letter, from which I quote :

"In the fall of 1887 I took some trout from my
natural pond, where they had been about a year, with
plenty of natural food. This pond has four acres in it.
On Oct. i they were put into a spawning pond, and
when the time came for them to go on the spawning
races I got spawn for a few days when not a' trout
would go on the beds. Upon examination there were
no eggs in them, and I thought they must have deposit-
ed-their spawn. I kept these fish until last fall, when I
again put them in the spawning pond, and the same
thing happened.

"A careful examination showed that nine out of every
ten were barren, no eggs in them, nor had there been
any, and I concluded that they were barren the year
before. This is a new thing to me, and I would like
your opinion. Have you ever heard of such a thing?"

My answer was that I had seen barren trout and had

J74 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

some, but they were not fish that had been moved at
spawning time nor were a large proportion in any one
pond barren — just a few individuals here and there.
(See chapter on ''Feeding Adult Trout.")

When I sent out my circular to trout breeders to get
their ideas question No. 8 was : "In your experience do
you find that a female trout spawns every year?" The
answers were varied. Here are some :

"Usually I have found a few exceptional cases of
barren females." — Livingston Stone.

"Yes, with very rare exceptions." — W. L. Gilbert.

"Can't say/'— W. F. Page.

"I think they do until nine years old." — E. F. Boehm.

"I do." — Monroe A. Green.

"No, the brook trout especially." — E. M. Robinson.

"Some certainly do, as we find in the Adirondacks.
Two large deformed brook trout come to the same bed
and spawn every year." — J. G. Roberts.

"When healthy and sufficiently fed, not overfed nor
underfed, I think they do. Insufficient food will retard
the development of the eggs. I am certain that over-
feeding as the breeding season approaches also has a
bad effect."— R. O. Sweeny, Duluth, Minn.

The evidence in the case shows that some trout may
be permanently barren, while others may skip a year
now and then or be biennial spawners, as some claim the
salmon to be. It would be interesting to clip off the
little adipose dorsal fins from all barren trout and see if
they spawn the next year or if they are permanently
barren.

SECTION III.

OTHER SALMON I D;£.

The salmon family includes other fishes than the
salmons, chars and trouts. This is not the place to go
into, the common characters of the different genera and
species, but we may say that a few of these characters
are an adipose second dorsal fin, stomach siphonal, with
15 to 200 pyloric appendages ; no oviduct. The genera
are : Coregonus, the white fishes, seven species, and
Thymallus, the graylings, perhaps three species. Once
the smelt was included, but is not now.

CHAPTER XVII.

GRAYLING.

Thymallus. — Some time about 1870 Prof. E. D. Cope,
of Philadelphia, discovered a few grayling among a lot
of fish sent from Michigan, and it made a flutter among
anglers, those from England being skeptical about the
fish being found in America. He named it T. tricolor,
I was then breeding trout in Monroe County, N. Y. In

175

176 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

1874 Mr. Daniel H. Fitzhugh, Jr., urged me to go and
get their eggs. The fish inhabited streams in the lower
peninsula of Michigan which ran east or west, but no
others. The books said the fish spawned in March, and
so Mr. Fitzhugh and I went on the Sable River on the
28th of that month and caught a number, but they were
not ripe. I brought some live fish back to Honeoye
Falls, because I could not wait for the spawning season,
and left on April 2. Then Seth Green tried it and got
to the river on April 30, and found that the fish were
through spawning. He dug about 100 eggs out of the
gravel and took them to Caledonia, N. Y., where his
partner, Mr. A. S. Collins, hatched a few, but did not
rear them.

Then there was a rush of anglers to the stream, for I
had three columns on grayling fishing in "Forest and
Stream" of April 23, 1874, and Norris, Hallock, Milner,
Dawson, Bowles and others went for the grayling. The
next year Mr. Fitzhugh and I were on the river from
April 5 to 15, and struck it right. (See "Forest and
Stream," May 13, 1875, from which I take the follow-
ing) : "Of the 118 fish taken four were fully ripe and
their eggs flowed freely ; six more yielded a portion. A
fair proportion of milt was obtained and the eggs were
packed in cups and boxes. A few were given to N. W.
Clark & Son by Mr. Fitzhugh, and 8,000 were taken to
Honeoye Falls. Had it been possible to have stayed a
week longer we could have easily got ten times the
number ; but as my leave of absence (from Prof. Baird)
had expired we left Camp Bowles on the nth and went
up the river to spend one day fishing for yearlings."

The eggs hatched in about twelve days after incuba-
tion. They were small and light in color, measuring 8 to
the inch. The fish were small, with a very small sac,

178 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

They swam at five days old and took food the next day.
I raised about 600 yearlings, which were 4 to 4^ inches
long the next spring. My trout farm was not a success,
and in the spring of 1876 the property was rented to a
farmer, the large trout were sold and I opened the
screens and let all yearlings go into the trout stream
below. This stream had 100 chubs to one trout in it,
and if any grayling lived to breed in it their progeny
stood a poor chance.

The adult fish brought down in 1874 lived but never
spawned ; they seemed to have been made barren by re-
moval from Michigan within a few days of the spawn-
ing season.

Mr. Frank N. Clark made some trials with grayling
and so did the Michigan Fish Commission. Under
date of Feb. 23, 1899, Mr. Clark writes: "In response
to your letter, under date of Feb. 18, in reference to the
grayling matter, allow me to say that I can only refer
you to my report to Prof. Baird. You will find it in the
annual printed report of 1884. I have had specimens
of grayling in the ponds here from time to time, and my
experience has been that they acclimated themselves to
their surroundings in every respect, with the exception
of the fact that their eggs never developed properly. In
many cases there was ovarian disease, and the ova ap-
parently sloughed away.

The only way to get good eggs is to procure the wild
fish just a few days before they are ripe ; then hold them
in penning crates, and when they are ready to spawn
handle them the same as whitefish. They cannot be
successfully manipulated if held for any great length of
time."

The Au Sable is now a trout stream, but it is said that
a few of this beautiful, graceful fish are still there. Of

Other SalmOnidce. 179

all the fishes I ever caught it was my favorite. Tender

mouthed, it needed delicate handling, and But

perhaps the memories of camping with "Dan" Fitzhugh
and his guide, Lew Jewell, have something to do with
this. A small grayling has not the "magnificent dorsal"
which caused Richardson, the naturalist of the Frank-
lin expedition, to name the Arctic species T. signifer,
the standard bearer; but it has a square fin at first.
When the fish is 10 inches long the last rays of the fin
prolong and are colored to vie with the tail of a peacock.

There is a grayling in Montana which Prof. Milner,
Rep. U. S. F. C, 1872-73, named T. Montaniis. Dr.
James A. Henshall, Superintendent United States Fish-
culture Station at Bozeman, Mont., has been breeding
this Montana fish. In a paper read by him before the
American Fisheries Society, 1898, among other things,
he said :

"Mr. Sprague took some 3,000,000 grayling eggs,
1,000,000 of which were hatched and planted in Elk-
Creek ; 50,000 eyed eggs were shipped to the Manches-
ter (la.) station; 50,000 to the Leadville (Col.) station,
and 10,000 to the United States Fish Commission ex-
hibit at the Omaha Exposition, all of which, by extra
precautions in packing, arrived at their destination in
good condition. About 1,500,000 were shipped to the
Bozeman station, but many were lost owing to a lack of
ice for packing the eyed eggs. Some green eggs were
shipped as an experiment, and though seemingly in
good condition on arrival at Bozeman, they all died soon
afterward. . . . About 500,000 eggs were hatched
at the Bozeman station, and at least 50 per cent, of the
fry are alive, and most of them are feeding. ... In
stripping the female grayling the eggs are a little harder
to start, but are then extruded more freely than in the

i8o Modern Fishcnlturc in Fresh and Salt Water.

case of the trout. About 3,000 eggs is the average for
a fish of 12 inches in length. The eggs are white and
as clear as a crystal. They are smaller than the native
trout (S. my kiss) eggs, but after impregnation and the
absorption of water will average 1-7 inch in diameter,
while the native trout eggs are 1-6 inch, and the brook
trout (S. fontinalis) eggs are 1-5 inch in diameter.

"Soon after fertilization the eggs become glutinous
and adhesive, forming bunches or masses of various
sizes, when fungus rapidly develops and kills the egg.
This renders the work of picking laborious, but impera-
tive."

The eggs of the Michigan grayling, now called T.
ontariensis, had no adhesive quality, and this, to me, is
evidence that there is difference enough to. warrant the
Montana grayling being classed as a different species.

In England trout and grayling have lived in the same
streams for centuries, but the trout, it must be remem-
bered, is vS. fario and not ^. fontinalis. Grayling also
inhabit the same streams in Montana with the Dolly-
varden trout, both being indigenous.

The Michigan Commission made persistent attempts
to propagate this fish in 1886, 1887 and 1888 with no
success, although they kept the fish under as favorable
conditions as possible, but got no eggs from them.

So much for fact. Now for a bit of theory. In ex-
amining wild grayling I was at once struck by the sin-
gular stomach, which was so muscular as to remind one
of the gizzard of a fowl or that of the "gillaroo trout" of
Ireland. This latter fish is merely a brown trout which
has thickened its stomach by feeding on caddis worms
with stony cases (see chapter on "Insect Food"), and
the grayling has a stomach full of gravel and sand from
this cause. It is possible that a few might breed if in

Other Salmonida. 181

a pond where this food was as plenty as in their native
streams. It is worth trying.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE WHITEFISHES.

Here is a genus of the family Salmonida called Core-
gomts, of which the well-known toothsome fish of the
Great Lakes called "whitefish" is the head of the family.
It is C. clupeiformis, a name which denotes its shad-
like shape. It does not take the hook readily, although
such "accidents" have happened. The smaller core-
goni are known as ciscoes, lake herring, etc. Having
hatched but few of these fish from eggs taken by others,
I thought best to ask the Hon. Herschel Whitaker, of
the Michigan Fish Commission, to give me something
on this subject for the book, so that the reader would
get it from a better authority.

Mr. Whitaker (Feb. 5, 1898) writes as follows:

MY DEAR MATHER — I inclose herein a chapter on
the whitefish spawning as conducted on the Great
Lakes, which I hope may be satisfactory. I hope you
will find it of some value to you. It is somewhat longer
than you suggested, but I found it impossible to keep it
within the narrow limits suggested, although it will not
overrun it much.

I $2 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.
CHAPTER XIX.

THE WHITEFISH AND ITS CULTURE.

By Herschel Whitaker.

The whitefish is one of the most valuable commercial
fishes found in the fresh waters of this country. It is
highly esteemed for its fine flavor and always commands
a high price in the market. Like the other members of
the Salmonidcc, it responds kindly to methods of artifi-
cial propagation, and its culture is uniformly attended
with the best results.

Its spawning season varies somewhat, but the month
of November may be said to cover the principal part of
its spawning period. Beginning with the month of Oc-
tober the fish gather on the gravelly and stony reefs and
shoals of the lakes, both in and off shore, and hover on
about these places until the spawning season has closed,
when they retire to the deeper waters.

The females are quite prolific, the larger ones casting
anywhere from 30,000 to 70,000 eggs in a season, the
average in a catch of from 10,000 to 15,000 being from
25,000 to 35,000 to the female.

Two methods are followed in taking the eggs for
artificial propagation. The method most generally pur-
sued, because of the natural conditions surrounding the
fisheries, is to take the eggs from the fish as they are
taken from the gill and pound nets when they are lifted.
This method is somewhat uncertain as to result, and
usually the eggs taken in this manner give a lower per-
centage of fertilization than those handled by the

Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt

method stated later on. If it is possible to take large
numbers of parent fish at the precise time when the eggs
are fully matured and ready to be cast, with an adequate
force of strippers, a good percentage of impregnation
may be secured. The season when this fully ripened
condition is reached is comparatively short, and the un-
certainties surrounding the work are so many that re-
sults are always problematical. The fish linger about
the spawning grounds for some time, but the period
covered by the actual act of spawning is brief. To se-
cure the highest percentage of fertilization the eggs
must be thoroughly ripened and the impregnation must
take place under the most favorable conditions. Those
taken before this ripened time arrives give poor results
and a low percentage of impregnation, the percentage
depending upon the closeness to the condition above
mentioned.

In making this method of collection a crew of strip-
pers and helpers sufficiently large to handle the greatest
number of fish in the shortest possible time is put on the
fishing tugs or boats, equipped with all the necessary ap-
pliances for the work. The boats go out to the fishing
grounds and begin lifting the nets. While they are
being taken in the gravid females are relieved of their
eggs and they are artificially fertilized. The same
method is followed in the impregnation of the eggs of
the whitefish as in the fertilization of trout eggs. These
operations are usually conducted under many difficul-
ties. The locality is the open lake with the rough seas,
which are common in the autumn ; the temperature is
usually about the freezing point. The decks of the
boat, more or less covered with ice, are crowded with
the fishing crew and the strippers and encumbered with
the usual paraphernalia of the boat and the utensils of

Other Salmonida. 185

the spawn gatherers. Work under such circumstances
is of necessity hurriedly done, and as the fish die shortly
after being taken, the spawn gatherer must make haste
in his work.

There is another method giving surer and better re-
sults, although the physical conditions are such on the
larger areas of water that it can be carried on in but few
places with any degree of success. By this method the
fish are impounded when taken and are held alive in
confinement until the eggs are ripened, when the fish
can be stripped, with excellent results. The require-
ments for such operations are a locality where fish can
be taken in large numbers, and a sheltered location
where the pounds in which the fish are held may be pro-
tected from the autumn gales and seas. Operations of
this character have been carried on for several years on
the Detroit River, and are substantially a& follows :

Beginning with about the third week in October, the
whitefish in the upper end of Lake Erie begin a general
movement out of the head of the lake up the river, seek-
ing the spawning beds in that stream and in the lower
end of Lake St. Claire. Preparatory to this run the
fishing grounds, which are operated with seines, are put
in readiness for the coming of the fish. At each fishery
a number of crates, about 6x12 feet in size, made of
2|-inch strips an inch thick, are nailed to 4x4 scantling
uprights, one at each corner and one in the middle on
each side, the floor of the crates being constructed in the
same manner. These boards are fastened to the up-
rights so as to leave spaces between the boards of from
one to one and a half inches, to permit ?„ free circulation
of water through the crates and still pi event the escape
of the fish. Inside each crate is constructed a false bot-
tom that may be raised and lowered at will to any de-

1 86 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

sired height, giving complete control of the fish in the
crates and facilitating handling when they are removed
for stripping. These crates are placed in the margin of
the river near the fishery, in a depth of water at the ordi-
nary stage of from four to ten feet, and firmly anchored
in position to stakes. They may be placed in single or
double rows, abutting each other end to end. The
crates are placed convenient to the apron over which the
seine is drawn in fishing. Behind and beneath this
apron is excavated a trench about 8 by 10 feet in size,
with a depth of water of about two feet, with palings so
placed on the riverside as to allow a free passage of
water into the trench. . The fish are discharged from
the net directly into the trench without being handled.
From this pound or trench the fish pass through an
artificial channel or small canal to the first crate and
are subsequently removed to the other crates with scap
nets as desired.

From the middle or latter part of October the fish
taken pass over the apron as fast as caught and then
into the crates, where they are held alive in good condi-
tion until fully ripened, when the spawning operations
begin. The fishing is continued uninterruptedly from
the beginning of the run until the close of the season,
hauls being made every hour, day and night, with
double crews of fishermen.

Experience has shown that the mingling of the males
with the females in the crates is desirable, the contact of
the sexes tending to induce freer and earlier spawning
than when separated. About November ist the females
show evidences of spawning, and the stripping begins.
The stripper takes his position on the platform between
the crates, with a pan into which the eggs are to be
Stripped. He is seated on a low stool, with ordinary

Other Sahnonidce. 187

washtubs on each side, in some of which are placed a
number of female fish, in others the ripe males ; other
tubs being used for fish of both sexes not yet ready for
spawning, which are culled out by the spawn taker as
he proceeds. Two or more assistants, equipped with
long-handler scapnets, then begin to take the ripe fish
from the crates, and the stripper begins operations.
With a large number of fish two or more strippers are
working at the same time ; the entire time of one assist-
ant is occupied in looking after the eggs when stripped.
The eggs of several females and the milt from several
males are stripped into the pan until a sufficient number
of eggs are taken, when it is set aside, the eggs are
washed up, and an attendant adds water from time to
time as required and as the space between the envelop-
ing membranes fills with water. The eggs are then
allowed to stand until removed to the hatchery, which
is done once a day, the eggs being placed in ordinary
milk cans containing from twenty to forty quarts, ac-
cording to the distance they are carried. On arriving
at the hatchery the eggs are carefully measured, be-
tween three and four quarts of green eggs being put in
each jar, where they are kept automatically in motion by
the water which passes through the jar until hatched.
After the percentage of poor eggs has worked off eggs
are added to the jars, each jar finally carrying four
quarts.

The hatching period covers from 120 to 170 days,
varying according to the temperature of the water and
the air during the hatching season. During the first
three or four weeks the percentage of unfertilized eggs,
being of lighter specific gravity, rise to the top of the jar
and are taken off with a rubber tube, about a quarter
of an inch inside diameter, used as a siphon. The jars

1 88 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

are freed of the poor eggs in this way better than in
any other manner. In drawing off the poor eggs in this
way a small number of fertilized eggs are unavoidably
taken off with the poor ones, but the mass thus removed
is placed in what is known as "hospital jars," where
eventually they are separated from the poor ones and
saved. With the Chase automatic jar a force of three
men will care for 200,000,000 whitefish eggs after the
percentage of poor eggs are worked off, until the hatch-
ing season comes on, one of the men acting as night
watch. The only care required during this period is
to see that the circulation of the water is maintained
constantly in the jars. The average temperature of
the water during the month of November, when the
eggs are mainly taken, as shown by carefully kept rec-
ords, is about 38 degrees, the minimum being 32, and
the maximum about 46. The mean temperature of the
air during the same time being about 36, with a mini-
mum of 21 and a maximum of about 51.

During the stripping the spawners are sheltered by a
rough board house; but this is only used during the
severe weather, and is designed rather for the comfort
of the men than for protection to the eggs, which rarely,
if ever, become chilled by exposure to the air. The
eggs are sometimes, on occasional days when the sun is
too warm and bright, carried into this shelter for protec-
tion from the light and heat.

The hatching time arrives, the shell of the egg has
become thin and weak, and on some warm spring day,
the young fish having completed his development in
the egg, feeling the irksomeness of his confined quar-
ters and the thrill of a warmer temperature, gives his
tail a flirt, and with one supreme struggle he bursts the
bands of his environment and comes forth a young and

Other Salmonidce. 189

active fish, ready to start out on a new career in a larger
field of activity. He begins life well equipped with a
stock of provisions stored up in a knapsack which he
tarries upon his belly. This sac contains a portion of
the food on which he lives for the next fortnight or
more of his life, but being small as compared with the
bulk of his body, it is no impediment to active and
vigorous movement. He belongs to what is termed the
"buoyant" fishes, swimming freely at all times from
his birth, in this respect differing from the trout with
its enormous sac, which encumbers its movements so
that it lies for days prone upon its side almost helpless.
This marked difference between the whitefish and trout
makes it possible to hatch whitefish by the hundred
millions, while the hatching of trout is limited to a few
millions, and at a greatly increased cost. The white-
fish can be hatched in automatic jars, because when the
young fish hatches he comes to the top of the jar and
goes over with the outflow of water, while the trout,
weighted down with his heavy sac, falls to the bottom
of the jar. The specific gravity of trout eggs is greater
than that of the whitefish, and the force of water re-
quired to keep them in motion wears the sac of the
trout and results in premature hatching.

Observations made on whitefish fry at the Detroit
hatchery for two or three years has settled beyond
question the fact that the young fish begins to take
food, by the mouth, sometimes as early as the third day
after hatching, and within four or five days quite free-
ly. Since this fact has been fully established the cus-
tom has been to put out the young fish within a few
days after hatching. They are shipped in carload lots
of three to four millions to the various lake ports
reached by rail, where they are put upon tugs and con-

190 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

veyed to the natural spawning beds, and there care-
fully liberated, where natural food is abundant.

The method of impounding whitefish above referred
to possesses marked advantages over the other method,
because the fish can thus be held alive and in good con-
dition until their eggs have all been taken. They are
continuously held under observation, and when fully
ripened can be handled with the best results. There
have been seasons when the taking of eggs of whitefish
directly from the nets on the open lakes has yielded
very unsatisfactory results, while for the same reason
the impounding method has given most satisfactory
results. It has been pursued continuously for years by
the Michigan and Canadian Fish Commissions, with
such excellent results that it may be said that it is sure
to yield uniformly a large quantity of eggs, sometimes
more than the capacity of the hatcheries will accom-
modate.

In distributing the young fish it has been found best
to establish at convenient places on the lakes what are
called "Relief Stations." These stations are operated
for only about two months in the last part of the hatch-
ing season, the eggs being removed to these stations at
as late a date as possible consistent with safety. For
the first part of the season the eggs are all carried at
the home station, this method resulting in economy, and
the subsequent removal to the relief stations makes the
distribution easier, and avoids the overcrowding of
young fish at the hatching time, and consequent loss.

As one of this family, the Adirondack frost fish, has
adhesive eggs, its treatment will be found in Section V.

SECTION IV.

OTHER FRESH-WATER FISHES WITH
FREE EGGS.

We place fish eggs in two classes — the free or non-
adhesive eggs and those which are glutinous and either
adhere to sticks, stones, or bunch up, and those held in
a mass. The free eggs give little trouble, and only one
fresh-water fish that I know of lays its eggs in a mass,
or string, and these are no trouble at all.

CHAPTER XX.

PIKE,, PICKEREL AND MASCALONGE

While I believe that the country would be better off
if all the pike tribe were exterminated, there are those
who not only do not agree to this, but actually breed
them, therefore they are given place here. They are
ravenous fishes — "fresh-water sharks" they have been
called — whose food is wholly fish, and they feed all win-
ter. I estimate that a lo-pound pike (Esox Indus') has
been at least four years growing, and in that time has
consumed fish as follows : First year, to grow i pound,
40 pounds; second year, at 3^ pounds, 140 pounds;

m

1 92 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

third year, at 6^ pounds, 260 pounds, and in the fourth
year, at 10 pounds, 400 pounds of fish — making nearly
half a ton of fish to grow his beastly carcass, worth one
dollar in the market. Their digestion has been com-
pared to the action of fire, and 3 pounds of fish per day
for a lo-pound pike would be a light luncheon. The
States of New York and Wisconsin breed the masca-
longe, but why not the pike and the pickerel (Esox re-
ticulatus) as well?

I don't know that pickerel have been bred. In 1875
Mort. Locke and I took some spawning pike, and he
suggested that I hatch some. I impregnated about 2,000
eggs, put them in damp moss and took them to my
hatchery. They were too light to remain in the troughs,
and I made a box like Green's shad box and put them
in a stream below. They hatched in seven days, some
500 of them, and I then threw them up on land.

When the State of New York began hatching mas-
calonge at Chautauqua lake the men had an idea that
the eggs must be at the bottom of the lake, and made
boxes with double wire top and bottom, to prevent small
fish from nibbling any heads or tails that might work
through, but now they use hatching jars.

CHAPTER XXL
SHAD (Clupea sapidissima) .

This is the finest of the herring family for the table,
but the most important, by reason of its numbers, is

194 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

the sea herring (Clupea harengus). Shad are a salt-
water fish, and begin to ascend the rivers of Florida in
January, those of North Carolina in February. In the
Hudson the fishermen expect the first fish about the
middle of March, and so on up the coast to its northern
range, which Jordan gives as the Miramachi River. It
only visits the rivers to spawn, and is in its finest con-
dition when fresh-run from the sea.

When there are heavy snows to the north, which
hang on late and then let down a lot of snow water, the
shad will remain in the sea off the mouths of the rivers
until the temperature suits them, when they will rush
up, and the season is short and the catch light. The
fact that shad spend the greater portion of their lives
in the ocean, coming into the rivers merely to spawn,
is generally known, but it has long been a mystery as
to just what part of the ocean they located in after leav-
ing the rivers.

Twenty-five or thirty years ago the theory was that
the shad went to the tropical regions after leaving fresh
water, and that they were returning from those regions
when they appeared off the coast of Florida in Febru-
ary and gave off from the migration a certain number
of fish for each of the main rivers as they passed north,
reaching the Hudson in March. Investigations prose-
cuted by the United States Fish Commission have
shown that the shad don't go far from the mouths of
the rivers which they had previously entered for pur-
poses of spawning. The investigators of the commis-
sion have caught shad, in a net specially constructed
for the purpose, at points in the ocean some 200 miles
or so from the mouths of rivers. These fish are ever
on the hunt for a temperature of about 60 degrees, and
they go farther to find a depth where that f£f *£££"*•

Other Fresh-Water Fishes With Free Eggs. 195

vails. This causes the spawning season to vary, because
the shad will not enter the rivers while there is much
snow water in them.

Because shad eggs hatch in four or five days the
hatching is done at, or near, the fisheries. Shad spawn
at night, usually before midnight. They seek eddies
where their very light eggs may be kept from sinking
by slight currents. They spawn at the surface of the
water, a pair coming up and placing themselves on their
sides, making a great fluttering as they discharge eggs
and milt at the same time. The eggs are not adhesive.

At South Hadley Falls, on the Connecticut, we re-
mained on shore, and had the fishermen bring us the
fish, because the water was deep and the fish close at
hand. On the Hudson the spawn taker, in a suit of oil-
skins, sat in a boat at the bag of the net, and after wet-
ting a pan to free it from dust, would put the head of
the fish under his left arm, holding its tail in the left
hand, and strip toward the vent with his right, taking
great care to leave plenty of space between the sharp
saw-belly and his hand. Even with the care which expe-
rience teaches, I have had the skin between thumb and
forefinger cut many times. '

The pans would be taken on shore, where an expert
would leave them in the milt and water, occasionally
adding a little water and moving his hand gently
through the mass until he announced that they had
"come up," i. e. had absorbed all the water, and conse-
quently milt, that they would take, and were ready to
be put in the hatchers. This he determined by feeling —
the eggs at first being flabby and not to be felt, but when
full feel hard as they lightly strike the hand.

In th'3 ' ~ly day we used Green's floating box. This
»^ ,^ith no cover and a bottom of fine wire-cloth

lg6 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

(about No. 14), all well coal-tarred. Pieces of scant-
ling were nailed to the sides of the box as floats, but
put at such an angle that a box two feet long had one
end four inches out of water and the other seven inches.
When fast at one end the bottom presented an incline
to the current which kept the eggs gently moving, and
the box, or gang of boxes, would swing with the tide.
There was tide-water where we hatched, ten miles be-
low Albany, N. Y., but always fresh. The tide was

GREEN'S FLOATING Box.

feeble, and had long periods of slack at high and low,
when the men would have to gently shake the boxes to
give circulation of water.

Green's box was good in its day, and in lieu of better
apparatus may be used now. The McDonald jar is used
by all the State and Government shad stations now,
even though they pump the water for the purpose.
With Green's box we could not remove dead eggs until
after they had "fungused up," and this is how we did
it : A light wire frame, three inches square, covered
with millinet, or mosquito netting — the former for
choice — would be put on a handle and worked through

Other Fresh-Water Fishes With Free Eggs. 197

the eggs, those with fungus adhering to the net, which
was washed overboard and tried again. This kept a
man at it all the time, and the fungus did the same ; the
cleaning was imperfect, but was the best we could de-
vise. In the jars the dead eggs collect on top of the
moving mass, the outlet tube is lowered on them, and
out they go before a bit of fungus has formed, and one
man can do the work of ten as we first did it.

Shad eggs are very delicate and will not bear much
handling. They are sometimes floated on flannel trays
to take to a station, but they must be handled more
carefully than trout eggs need be.

The young shad swims from the -time it leaves the
shell, and is kept two or three days before turning out,
until its sac is absorbed and it can take food. When
liberated it strikes for the middle of the river, contrary
to the habit of most young fishes, and escapes destruc-
tion there by its inconspicuousness. It is a mere shrecl
of albumen. I have had men look into a lo-gallon can,
where there were 30,000 shad fry, and declare that they
could see nothing. After pointing out the little squirm-
ing things the usual question was : "Do you think they
will ever amount to anything?" As if every shad was
not once a mere "shred of albumen.'*

If it had not been for the artificial propagation of
shad the supply would have long since been exhausted.
The increase of railroad facilities has widened the area
of consumption. Fifty years ago the distribution of
shad scarcely reached Buffalo; now it includes a city
as far West as Omaha. The rivers are more prolific of
shad than ever, if we except the Connecticut, where
their propagation was suspended for a number of years,
and it is all due to the fishculturist.

There were no shad on our Pacific coast ; they were

198 Modern Pishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

planted there by the United States Fish Commission,
year after year, and now they are not only plenty where
they were planted, in the Sacramento River, but have
strayed up the coast and stocked rivers of their own
volition, as far up as Puget Sound. Not only that, but
shad have increased in size. Mr. Blackford reports see-
ing shad in San Francisco markets which weighed 16
pounds. A few years ago a 6-pound shad in New York
markets was considered large, and an 8-pounder a
"monster." I have seen several Hudson River shad
weighing 10 pounds during the past few years, and this
was not an uncommon weight a century ago.

SHAD FRY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.

Germany wanted shad fry, and as adult shad cannot
be handled without killing them, Prof. Baird detailed
me to take them over, with Mr. Aaron Anderson as an
assistant. We took 100,000 newly hatched fry from
Holyoke, Mass., on August 4, 1874, and sailed on the
North German Lloyd steamer Donau the next day. We
had ten cans and 10,000 gallons of Croton water in the
steamer's cemented water tanks below. We stood six-
hour watches and worked hard, through all the horrors
of sea-sickness, but we didn't let a little thing like that
interfere with duty. The illness only lasted three days,
and the fry were doing well. We then siphoned out the
dead, which were 200, not more than would have died
in the river. Every three hours each can was one-third
emptied and refilled with fresh water. On the Qth the
fish had absorbed their sacs, and, by their lively dart-
ings, were looking for food, and as what they fed upon
must necessarily be small we washed pieces of fresh

Other Fresh-Water Fishes With Free Eggs. 199

beef, fish and liver in the water, but to no purpose. My
diary of losses shows the following : August 5th, 9 ;
6th, 200; 7th, 1,000 ; 8th, 20; 9th, 100; loth, 3,000;
nth, 500; I2th, 1,200; i3th, 5,000; I4th, the whole lot
of about 90,000. We had hopes of pulling them through
until the I2th, when they were eight days old, and we
could see they were weakening. We were at South-
ampton when the last fish died, but went on to Berlin
and reported. If we could have planted them in the
Weser on the I2th it would have looked like a success,
but I think the fry were then too weak to take food.

THE BELL AND MATHER HATCHING CONE.

At the beginning of the shad season on the Delaware
in 1875 Prof. Baird asked me if, in my opinion, shad
fry could be taken to Germany. My answer was : "Yes ;
if we can hatch them en route, and delay the hatching
from four to eight days, and so get the fry there before
they are enfeebled by starvation; but we don't know
how long shad eggs may be retarded, as no one has
experimented in that direction, and as they spawn on a
rising temperature, it is evident that we cannot ice them
as heavily as we can the eggs of Salmonidce."

The professor gave the matter a moment's thought,
and asked : "Would you like to experiment on this
line and try it again, if you believe you can retard the
hatching and get the fry safely over?"

Then it was settled that I should try it in my own
way, and I began in the basement of the Smithsonian
Institution with the arrangement here figured.

Fig. i is the experimental "hatcher." A is the reser-
voir furnished with a cock B, bv which the flow

2OO Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

through the rubber pipe C is regulated. E is the
"hatcher" with a wire cloth bottom at F. The water
enters at D and strikes a distributer, Fig. 2 H, passes
up through the wire on which the eggs lay, and out

fit

^ -"-^

through the spout G, which is provided with a strain-
er. Fig 3 is the arrangement of a gang of hatchers,
each one hung so as to swing on a frame ; the frame
also can be hung instead of standing upon legs if
thought advisable. By means of No. i a valuable
series of experiments can be made with water at dif-
ferent temperatures, and so it can be accurately de-

Other Fresh-Water Fishes With Free Eggs. 201

termined in what time the eggs will hatch, and how
low a figure they will stand. The passage to Ger-
many may take twelve days, and two more should be
allowed for travel there, making fourteen in all. The
eggs usually hatch in rivers in three or four days at a
temperature of 70° to 80°. We used no ice on the
passage, and the water averaged about 62°.

The idea in Fig. I was to have a man on duty night
and day to pour the water back into reservoir A a few
times and then renew the water, just as would be
necessary at sea. The eggs did not hatch, and Prof.
Milner, who had charge of all the shad work, came to
see me. I complained of bad air and the proximity
to a rancid old whale skin, and when he said I had
carte blanche to go where I pleased and no restric-
tions of any kind would be placed upon me, I girded
my loins, took Charles F. Bell, a young medical stu-
dent, and went to Point Pleasant, Pa., up the Dela-
ware River, where I put up my "laboratory" on the
upper piazza of a hotel which opened from our bed-
rooms.

Much time was lost in experimenting; it was found
that a temperature below 55° Fahr. was fatal to the
eggs; that the broad screen, placed as in Fig. i, did
not give motion to the eggs, and that motion was as
necessary as circulation. The embryo developed to
a certain point, but had no pigment in its eyes. Then
we had a hatcher made like Fig. 4, with a small screen
at the bottom of the cone. Eureka ! It gave motion,
and now the lowest temperature was all we needed to
know. Prof. Milner telegraphed from Holyoke,
Mass. : "Monroe A. Green and Welcher have ap-
paratus to hatch at sea ; if you are not ready, will send
them." Bell advised that I answer "ready," as the

2O2 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

temptation to go to Europe on a free trip was strong
within the boy ; but I was not satisfied about tempera-
tures and did not wish another failure. My answer
was: "Not ready; let them go." I do not remember
the details of their apparatus, but do know that their
eggs were all dead before the ship got outside of
Sandy Hook. The Rochester "Express" of August
24, 1875, gives Mr. Green's opinion that jarring in

FIG. 4

Original Bell and Mather Cone.

transit from Holyoke to New York killed the eggs;
but, if so, he should have seen this before starting,
for he knew a dead shad egg when he saw it. The
"Express" says : "The eggs were packed in ice," and
that tells the story, to me.

After we had worked out our problem, Bell and I
went to Holyoke and put up our hatcher in the kitchen
of the hotel, and Prof. Milner said : "You've found

Other Fresh-Water Fishes With Free Eggs. 203

it ! Here is a way to hatch fish eggs in bulk and keep
them free from fungus ; get a patent on it."

I do not look favorably on patent rights, and espe-
cially in fishculture, where we all use each other's

THE CHASE JAR.

brains with more or less credit; some never give any.
From this sprang the "Chase" jar, which was pat-
ented, and also the McDonald jar.

THE CHASE JAR is round-bottomed, with an open
top, which is surmounted by a metal rim having a lip
for an overflow. The water is conveyed to the bot-
tom of the jar by a heavy glass tube having a foot

2O4 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

with points on it to allow the water to flow between
them.

THE MCDONALD JAR has a flat metal top screwed
down tight on a rubber ring ; through the top are holes

MCDONALD JAR IN ACTION.— Fig i. Jar filled with eggs
emptying into jar for fry, with strainer on outlet pipe.
Fig. 2. Aquarium jar with strainer on outlet emptying into
a shorter jar to prevent siphon from sucking dry.

for two glass tubes, inlet and outlet, and these holes
have recesses to hold small rubber rings on which
hollow screws make the holes water-tight. Each of
these jars has its admirers.

CHAPTER XXII.
STRIPED BASS OR ROCKFisH (Roccus lineatus) .

As the striped bass is for some unknown reason
called "Rock" and "Rockfish" south of New Jersey, I

206 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

give both names. It is a splendid fish for angler or
epicure,, and comes to the New York market weighing
from half a pound to sixty pounds and over. The
small ones are called "pan bass/' and sell for more per
pound than the larger fish, which go to restaurants for
boiling. All the large ones are females and come to
market filled with spawn in May and June. The big
fish winter under the ice in the Hudson about Sing
Sing, and are caught there in great numbers. Where
they spawn in great numbers is not known. If there
is any grander fish, so easily hatched and so neglected
by the fishculturist, I don't know what it is.

Several men, as well as myself, have hatched this
fish by accidentally catching them when hatching shad
and were fortunate enough to get a pair. I did this
at Castleton, on the Hudson, and at Fish Haul, on the
Pamunky River, V irginia ; but it was accident that
brought them. They spawn in fresh water, but no
man seems to know where to get them in quantity.

Some years ago Mr. S. G. Worth, of the United
States Fish Commission, reported that spawning
striped bass could be found in numbers in the Neuse
River, North Carolina, and I think he hatched some
there. They may be handled and treated as we treat
shad eggs.

This closes the list of strictly fresh-water fishes
which we propagate that have free or non-adhesive
eggs. All the near relatives of the striped bass, such
as white bass, R. chrysops; yellow bass, Mo rone in-
terrupta, and white perch, M. Americana, have adhe-
sive eggs.

SECTION V.

ADHESIVE EGGS.

With eggs which are free the fishculturist has plain
sailing, but his trouble begins when he tackles the
adhesive ones, for after all his care in separating them
he never knows when he may not find them "all balled
up" and the inner ones dying. Ten years ago it was
thought to-be good work to hatch 30 per cent, of ad-
hesive eggs, but they do better now. '

There seem to be two classes of adhesive eggs, as I
have observed them under the microscope. To my
astonishment, I read Mr. J. J. Strahahan's article on
the use of the microscope in the Report of the Ameri-
can Fisheries Society for 1898. I have not room to
quote it, nor the discussion following it. Mr. Strana-
han advocated the use of the instrument, and the fact
was developed that few hatcheries, State or Govern-
ment, possessed this necessary instrument of the fish-
culturist. How a fishculturist gets along without one
of low power — high powers are of rto use to him — I
don't know. At Cold Spring Harbor every one of
my men could adjust and use a low-pressure micro-
scope. The instrument was my private property, and
I don't know if there is one there now or not.

This may seem to be a digression, but it is not.

207

208 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

Only by the microscope could one see that the egg of
a smelt was adhesive, but not glutinous. As I un-
derstand it, a glutinous egg has some sticky envelope
which attaches anywhere it strikes. The egg of a
smelt throws out a sort of "foot stalk," which acts like
a sucker in attaching it to objects; hence the distinc-
tion between "glutinous" and "adhesive," at least in
my vocabulary.

The old plan was to work the eggs by hand, through
sieves, and by more or less violent means rub off the
mucous coating. Messrs. Nevin, Clark, Page and oth-
ers hit on the use of earth or clay about the same time,
and Prof. Reighard, of the Michigan Commission,
found cornstarch to be excellent for this purpose. I
had no occasion to try these things, for the only ad-
hesive eggs which came my way were those of the
smelt, which has a foot stalk like a wineglass, but
seems to be capable of throwing this out from any side,
and to do it again after one is broken off.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE ADIRONDACK FROSTFISH.

This small whitefish, Coregonus quadrilatcralis, is
a round-bodied fish, as its specific name implies; also
called "round fish," "shad waiter" and "Menomonee
whitefish;" comes out of the deep waters to spawn in
the streams in the fall and is caught in great numbers
and salted for winter use. It ranges from northern

Adhesive Eggs. 209

New York and New Hampshire to Lake Superior and
Alaska. It is hatched in great numbers by the State
of New York.

There are other members of the whitefish tribe, and
all are worth cultivating. Never having hatched this
fish, I made inquiry of Mr. John G. Roberts, formerly
in charge of the Adirondack station of the New York
Fish Commission. Under date of March 26, 1899,
Mr. Roberts writes as follows :

"The frostfish eggs are quite adhesive and very
heavy. I had some whitefish eggs, and being crowded
for room for my frostfish eggs last fall, I took a jar

ADIRONDACK FROSTFISH.

partly full of whitefish eggs and filled it with eggs of
the frostfish. The latter settled at the bottom at once
and did not mix, showing them to be very heavy."

It seems singular that species as closely related in
structure and habits should difTer so much in the char-
acter of their eggs. We find the same thing in the
genus Morone, the striped bass and the white perch.

On Long Island the tomcod is sometimes called
"frostfish," and in other places the smelt is so desig-
nated, but this is a fish which has no other popular
name than frostfish, and therefore should be left to
enjoy it ; is one of the "whitefishes," sometimes called

210 Modern Fishcnlture in Fresh and Salt Water.

the "round whitefish," because it is not deeper than
broad, but as it has a square body Richardson called
it Coregonus quadrilaterale, and other fellows have
changed the generic name. The fish is well worthy of
cultivation for food in the Adirondacks and is propa-
gated there. The following is from my monograph
on "Adirondack Fishes," 1882: "This fish is one of
several species generally called 'whitefish/ the type of
which is the large fish of that name found in the Great
Lakes. I took them in Big Moose, the Fulton chain
and Clear Pond (near Meacham Lake). They are a
handsome fish and most excellent for the table. They
do not take, the hook, and are usually captured in the
fall while running up the brooks to spawn, when they
are taken in great numbers by traps made of stakes,
and are salted for winter use by those living in the
woods. They are classed in the same family with the
salmon and the trouts, although they have no teeth
and have large, loose scales. The presence of the
small adipose second dorsal fin and other common
characters seem sufficient to place the genera Core-
~vnus, Argyrosomus and Prosopium, the whitefishes
and so-called lake herrings; Osmerus, the smelts, and
Thymallus, the graylings, in the family Salmonida."

CHAPTER XXIV.
SMELT (Osmerus mordax).

Here is a fish worthy the attention of every State
Fish Commission which has lakes fed by streams.

Adhesive Eggs. 21 1

Once the smelt was placed in the family Salmonida
because it had the small adipose second dorsal fin.
It has been removed from that family, but keeps on
just the same in being one of the most delicate things
that can be fried for breakfast. It grows to a foot in
length in Maine; but one of five inches suits me best,
as I can eat it head, fins, tail, bones and all, and it is
better than the big ones. Jordan gives its range as
''Nova Scotia to Virginia, sometimes land-locked."
They live in the fresh waters of Lake Champlain,
where they are called "ice-fish," as they take them
through the ice in February and March. They are
also found in other lakes.

The New York State hatchery at Cold Spring Har-
bor is immediately below a mill-dam, although it gets
no water from the mill pond. From the overflow to
salt water is a shallow stream about 20 feet wide and
some 500 feet long. The stream had no fish in it ex-
cept the mummychogs and an occasional trout that
escaped from the hatchery ponds. I resolved to try
smelts, and for three years sent men down to a river
on the south side of Long Island — we were on the
north, on the Sound — and bought several hundred
smelts in the spawning season, took their eggs and
stocked this nameless stream. After the third year
we got enough spawning fish without buying them
and stocked waters on Staten Island and in other
places. We turned out many millions each year. Mr.
George Ricardo, at Hackensack, N. J., had begun
smelt hatching before I did, and had met with success
by spawning the fish on grass-lined perforated boxes
placed in the river, letting the young go free.

Smelt eggs are adhesive, as has been said, but are
not glutinous. In nature it spawns in swift water, at

212 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

night, and the eggs adhere to stones or any other
thing. On a stream where thousands of smelt have
spawned at nighf not a fish can be seen by day ; they
have dropped back into deeper water. My first plant
of some 30,000 smelt fry in 1885, m the stream named,
resulted in the getting of over 30,000,000 of eggs ten
years later.

A smelt weighing 2 ounces will yield 40,000 eggs ;
the eggs run about 20 to the inch, or about 500,000 to
the quart. At first we took the spawn by hand and
broke up the bunching by passing them through a
sieve several times to break the "foot stalk;" but after
getting better results from some which had been neg-
lected in a hatching trough, we merely placed the fish
in the troughs, covered them from the light and got a
better impregnation.

A curious thing in this work is that the fish laid
their eggs in the stream in less than six inches of
water, in direct sunlight, and the great increase shows
that they must have hatched in great numbers. In
our hatchery we had to cover the jars from even dif-
fused light or they would die.

Perhaps nature provides for this in the bunching
habit. During the first years of experimenting with
smelts I sent out a lot to the Adirondacks in bunches.
My instructions were: "No matter how decayed or
fungused they are on the outside, nor how badly they
smell, don't throw them away. Open the bunches and
you will find them bright and alive inside." The eggs
went up in the Bisby Lake region, but I could never
get a reply from the man there ; but it seemed to me at
that time as if nature protected the inner eggs from
light and too much oxygen by allowing them to ball up
in that way; but then how did the little fish in the mid-

Adhesive

die get out? Here is a problem. In nature the smelt
lays its eggs where the March sun shines on them
and they hatch. In the hatchery a mild, diffused
light through green window-shades will kill them. I
give it up.

SMELT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Under date of December n, 1879, Mr. Samuel
Webber writes from Manchester, N. H., as follows:
"The fresh-water smelt has been planted and accli-
mated in oUr inland lakes during the last ten years,
and is now very plenty in Winnepesaukie, Squam and
Sunapee, besides getting a foothold in Massabesie and
Northwood, where we have placed them."

There is but one smelt, and it lives in both salt and
fresh water, but spawns in streams.

In "Forest and Stream" of April 7, 1881, a cor-
respondent, misled by the name of "frostfish," wrote
that the smelt was found in many Adirondack lakes.
So much for popular names.

CHAPTER XXV.

THE BLACK BASSES.

The two species are named from the comparative
size of their mouths, and are not at all difficult to dis-
tinguish if carefully looked at until the characters are
fixed in the mind. Then a glance suffices. I will

214 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

not go into all the points of difference, but by men-
tioning the salient points in connection with the cuts
one should be able to pick them out.

SMALL MOUTH (Micropeterus dolomieu).

Bone of upper jaw does not extend beyond the eye
— the mouth is measured when shut — color nearly a
uniform dark green, three bronze bars across cheeks,
scales at base of soft dorsal and anal fins; smaller
scales ; eye usually red.

BIG MOUTH (M. salmoides).

Upper jaw extends beyond eye, color dark green
with a distinct median band, below which the color is
lighter ; cheek bars not so distinct, no scales on fins,
scales larger. It is called another name in some parts
of New York and New Jersey, but as it is time that
was dropped I will not mention it.

Often these fishes are found in the same waters,
especially in large lakes. The big mouth is best suited
for small, shallow lakes with mud and weeds, but I
usually advise to put in some of each and the fittest
will survive. In 1884 I put into a lake at Cold Spring
Harbor, New York, a bit of water of perhaps 30 to 40
acres, spring fed, and from 2 to 15 feet deep, 30 small
mouth and 4 big mouth bass. The latter thrived, but
I never saw a small mouth taken from the lake. The
fish had come a long distance and some had fungus on
them when planted.

THEIR CULTURE consists in planting them and pro-

2 1 6 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt WatCY.

tecting the water for a few years. They sweep nests
in the gravel, lay their glutinous eggs in them v and
watch the nests, fighting off all intruders and fanning
the eggs with their tails for circulation. The eggs
hatch in four to six clays, according to temperature,
and remain a day or two on the nest,, plainly visible as
a dark mass. Then, when the sac is about to be ab-
• sorbed, they rise, and the old fish remains under them
until they disperse to seek food.

We cannot take their eggs and hatch them, and as
the parents do so well at it there is little need to try it.
If young are needed for stocking, the nests should
be watched and the young taken in dip nets which are
lined with millinet or cheese-cloth.

The small mouth is the best fish for streams. In
muddy, weedy ponds the flesh of the bass, and all other
fishes, is muddy in flavor, and in warm weather much
so. The two are about equal as game fishes, notwith-
standing a popular notion to the contrary.

Lieut. -Col. Isaac Arnold, Jr., U. S. A., made ex-
periments in hatching black bass from 1879 to 1881.
He was then a major and was stationed at the armory
at Indianapolis, Ind. He let the fish spawn naturally
and removed the old fish when the young were hatched.
In the Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission
for 1882, Col. Arnold says :

"The male presses the ova from the female by a
series of bites or pressure along her belly with his
mouth, the female lying on her side during the opera-
tion. The male ejects the milt upon or over the roe
from time to time, and the spawning process lasts for
two or three days."

A few years ago, at a meeting of the American
Fisheries Society, the Hon. Herschel Whitaker read

I

v_x

^^

en <N

cS

M

218 ^Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

a paper on "The Artificial Propagation of the Small
Mouth Black Bass," in which he said : "An experi-
mental station was placed on the Thorn Apple River
in Michigan. Here two ponds were constructed and
150 adult fish placed in them. Last week the female
fish showed disposition to spawn. At the same time
they took a large female from the river, stripped her
and impregnated the eggs. These were placed first
in jars and then transferred to trays. On the fourth
day they began to hatch, and on the following day all
were completed, and a few days ago there were sev-
eral hundred fine, healthy fish. When they were first
hatched they were almost invisible."

Mr. Whitaker does not say that the male was ripped
open to obtain the milt, but, as far as I am informed,
this has been found necessary in all such experiments,
and the impossibility of getting milt from the male by
stripping has been one of the obstacles in the handling
of the eggs.

Knowing that Mr. W. F. Page had experimented
with black bass recently when in charge of a hatchery
in Missouri, I wrote him and obtained the following:

BLACK BASS CULTURE.
By W. F. Page.

Strictly speaking, the artificial propagation of the
black bass is, up to this time, an unsolved problem;
and, in my opinion, will forever remain such. In
other places my reasons for this opinion have been
given in full. Moreover, in the matter of the handling
and care of the alevins (produced naturally) and the
feeding of the very young fry, only the least fraction

Adhesive Eggs. 219

of knowledge has been gained. It may be accepted
that up to the time the young black bass is able to
forage on his own account fishculture is a baffled art
and of no account in the multiplication of this species.
Up to that time dependence must be placed in natural
spawning and hatching.

Black bass which have lost the shyness and fright
incident to capture and transportation become do-
mesticated, readily spawn, and rear their young in
artificial ponds ; and only by this method can the fish-
culturist expect to secure any considerable number of
young bass. They may be allowed to spawn in the
stock pond, from one-quarter of an acre or larger in
size, or an annex spawning pond may be used. Dr.
Henshall has given the best description of a bass nest :
"Slightly concaved, with a diameter twice the length
of the fish." Gravel is undoubtedly excellent ma-
terial for spawning nests, though by no means a neces-
sity, for 1 have frequently seen bass spawn on earth.
I am informed that the artificial bass nests devised
some three years ago have not proved an unqualified
success.

The spawning season varies for almost every State,
and frequently in the same State. Moreover, the sea-
son is rarely the same in any one locality. My ob-
servations lead me to think that the bass will not be
found nesting before the ground becomes warm
enough for gardening purposes, though occasional in-
stances of spawning on much lower temperature have
been noted. The period of incubation averages about
nine days, and the alevin stage occupies about six
days more. Shortly after the food sac is completely
absorbed the school, heretofore guarded by the parent
fish, disperses in search of natural food1 — daphnia, cy-

22O Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

clops, etc. If the pond has been so constructed that
a good portion of it is shallow water — from six inches
deep to feather-edge — and is old enough to have pro-
duced a fair crop of aquatic vegetation, the young
will find abundance of natural food. When about an
inch long they will be found foraging on gammarus
and coriza, and later on larger crustaceans, particu-
larly crayfish and smaller fishes.

When a majority of the crop measures one and a
half to two inches long it is advisable to remove them
from the spawning pond. This period occurs before
the breeders have, usually, finished spawning. To re-
move the early hatch without disturbing the late
spawners, construct the pond to have a long, narrow
neck, not over four feet wide, and running to a point
where the inflow enters ; ten or fifteen feet from the
inflow separate the neck from the pond proper by a
wire screen of one-quarter to three-eighth inch mesh.
The young bass readily find their way through the
screen, and show no inclination to leave as long as
food is present. The screened-off neck should be
closely watched, not only for the numerous enemies
of the young bass, but for any sign of cannibalism.
To net the young bass from the neck is such an easy
matter as not to require explanation.

If it is necessary to keep the young bass for even a
day before shipping, it is of the utmost importance
that they be carefully sorted, and the different sizes
placed in different receptacles. If the fry are to be
kept for several weeks, or even days, they must be fed,
or cannibalism will surely reduce the number. Any
kind of fish, chopped or ground fine, makes a most
acceptable food, and it is doubtful if bass fry will
thrive on any food except such as has grown in water;

Adhesive Eggs. 221

though adult bass have been kept on beef and beef
livers. Bass fry take kindly to a fish diet, and thrive
and grow on it with little labor and time.

It is doubtful if the practice of distributing very
young bass from nests — alevins — will prove success-
ful. They are exceedingly tender and peculiarly sus-
ceptible to changes of temperature.

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE CRAPPIES.

Like the black basses, there are two species of this
genus, and they are difficult for the novice to distin-
guish. They are good fishes for warm ponds and
streams. In an article on "The Two Crappies," in
"Forest and Stream" of June 25, 1898, I took the
stand that, as they are as nearly alike as the black
basses are, they should be so classed. Heretofore but
one species had been called crappie, but as each had
a string of local names, many of them absurd, I ven-
tured to hope that in time my simplified nomencla-
ture will be accepted.

SMALL MOUTH CRAPPIE (Pomoxys sparoides) .

This pretty fish ranges from the takes and ponds of
the Great Lake region, western New York, New Jer-
sey, the streams of the Carolinas and Georgia east of

222 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

the mountains, the Mississippi valley, especially north-
ward, it being the most northerly fish of the two. It
prefers clear, quiet waters where the bottom is cov-
ered with grass, and it shuns muddy waters. The
species cannot be separated by color. Both are "un-
dershot,'' as they speak of the protruding lower jaw
of the bulldog and pug, but the small mouth is the
least so. (See cuts.) It has seven or £ight spines in
its dorsal fin, while the other has but six.

BIG MOUTH CRAPPIE (Pomoxys annularis) .

This is the more southern species. To one accus-
tomed to both, the elongated thickened lower jaw
would proclaim the big mouth at once without count-
ing dorsal spines. These fishes are more alike than
the black basses, yet they are as distinct in structure
and habits. The big mouth loves muddy bottoms, but
is often found with its brother. Note the general
shape of the fishes and the smoother outline of the
small mouth.

Both these fish are more compressed than the black
basses, quite as much so as the sunfish. They are
good pan-fish, growing to a foot in length and of some
two pounds weight.

CULTURE.

What has been said in this regard of the black bass
may be said for the crappies. They have always been
favorites of mine and are worth pond room with the
black bass.

224 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Heater.

NAMES.

When you know that such names as goggle-eye,
goggle-eyed perch — used also for the rock bass —
grass bass, strawberry bass, bitter head, lamplighter,
bank-lick bass, calico bass and sac-a-lai, are applied to
these fishes indiscriminately, as well as crappie, you
will agree that it is time for some one to take hold
and straighten out the tangle, and this I have under-
taken in the hope that in time the names I have sug-
gested will stick.

VALUE OF THE CRAPPIES.

The State of New York has distributed a few
small m.outh crappies under the absurd name of
"strawberry bass," but they should be in every pond
where there are no trout, but where perch and sunfish
abound. They have been neglected because we have
a wealth of such fishes and no writer has presented
the claims of these to the angler and fishculturist, if we
except the late Prof. Kirtland, of Ohio, who said of
the small mouth crappie, using the local name :

"The 'grass bass' has not hitherto been deemed
worthy of consideration by fishculturists ; yet, from a
long and intimate acquaintance with its merits, I hesi-
tate not to pronounce it the fish for the million. [Ital-
ics are Dr. Kirtland's.] It is a native of our Western
rivers and lakes, where it usually resorts to deep and
sluggish waters; yet in several instances, where it has
found its way into cold and rapid streams, and even
small-sized brooks, by means of the constructing of

226 Modern Pishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

canals or by the hand, of man, it has adapted itself to
the change, and in two or three years stocked to over-
flowing these new localities. As a pan fish, for the
table, it is surpassed by few other fresh-water species.
For endurance and rapidity of increase it is unequaled.
. . . The grass bass is perfectly adapted to stock-
ing ponds. It will thrive without care in very small
ponds of sufficient depth. ... It will in nowise
interfere with the cultivation of any number of
species, large or -small, in the same waters. It will
live harmoniously with all others, and while its struc-
ture and disposition restrain it from attacking any
other but very small fry, its formidable armature of
spinous rays in the dorsal and abdominal fins will
guard it against attacks of even the voracious pike."

As the food of the crappies is the same as that of
the sunfishes and all other fresh-water fishes with
compressed sides, i. e. small fish, crustaceans, insects
and their larvae, we must consider that their destruc-
tiveness is that of their class. I do not know of a
fish, in America or on any other continent, which
takes no animal food. When the carp was introduced
into America it was heralded as "a sheep among
fishes/' which grew to great weight on vegetation
alone. It is true that the carp eats much vegetation
and is fond of that green conferva which ignorant
people call "frog spittle," or "frog spawn," with which
the frog has as much to do as the editor of "Forest
and Stream has/' but the carp also loves worms, insect
larvae, and will take a small fish if the fish can't
escape.

There may be fishes which are strict vegetarians, if
so I don't know them. The brook suckers love trout
eggs and work the mud for insect larvae; the stur-

Adhesive Eggs. 227

geons mouth over mud for the snails and other animal
life which they get, and we must only consider the
question of how much and what kind of animal life a
fish consumes in order to plant it in our lakes and
streams.

Speaking as a fishculturist, I would, if I could, ex-
terminate every pike, pickerel and mascalonge in the
waters of the earth, for the reason that their diet is ex-
clusively fish, and they consume a hundred times their
weight in other fishes and then are not as good for the
table as some that they have eaten.

As an angler, I take no note of what it costs in good
food fish to raise a pike to ten pounds weight, if the
pike will only condescend to take my hook. This is a
logical appeal from Philip sober to Philip drunk. As
a fishculturist, the ratio of food consumed to value of
fish for market is a vital one, as much so as the grow-
ing of horses, cattle, pigs and poultry is to the farmer ;
but when my fly is cast, or a baited hook is spinning
astern, there is an alter ego, another self, watching for
results, and the latter fellow never stops to consider
whether his catch is worth all the food it has devoured
tc enable it to pull down the scales to a creditable point,
or whether the balance is on the other side. As a fish-
culturist, I would like to exterminate the whole pike
family — pike, pickerel and mascalonge; but as an
angler, thinking only of personal sport, the point of
view differs.

HABITS.

Although not a climbing fish, like that peculiar
perch of India which ascends trees, yet 'the crappies
are often found in tree tops, when the trees have fallen

228 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

into the water. Here they find protection and food;
the limbs are the abode of snails, crustaceans and
worms of various kinds as well as of small fishes, for
the crappies are omnivorous in their tastes. The pref-
erence of the small mouth for clear and colder waters
has been alluded to, but as many lakes have both grassy
and muddy spots, they afford homes for both species.
I have taken the small mouth crappie in springholes
while standing on the ice, but they were dipped up
with a net, and I don't know if they would take a hook
in winter. This was in Grant County, Wisconsin, in
1857, and we wanted fish for the table. This is told
in detail in "Men I Have Fished With," page 309.
There were black bass there at the time, and they
sometimes lie dormant in winter, while the pike and
the perch feed the year round. I have fished through
the ice with small minnows for bait, and where crap-
pies were plenty, but never took one. This, however,
does not prove that they do not feed in winter.

CHAPTER XXVII.
WHITE PERCH (Morone Americana).

This is a good little fish often seen in New York
markets. It is not white, but is a light olive on the
back and a little lighter on the sides. It is found in
brackish waters on our eastern coast from Nova Sco-
tia to South Carolina. It ascends rivers and spawns
in fresh water. It is often land-locked in fresh-water

230 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

ponds and breeds there. It rises to the fly quite well
and grows to the length of ten inches.

It spawns shortly after the ice leaves the ponds and
attaches its eggs to floating sticks, weeds, etc. They
spawn in early morning at the surface and make quite
a splashing. I have obtained the weeds bearing the
eggs and hatched them in McDonald hatching jars.
The eggs are very small.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE PIKE-PERCHES.

Here are two more fishes plagued with a multiplicity
of common names. I follow the late Dr. George
Brown Goode in choosing the above title, and he was
one of our best authorities. The old name of Luci-
operca given by Linnaeus means Lucius a pike, and
perca a perch. It was a perch with the habits of the
pike. There are two species; the largest and most im-
portant one resembles the only European species. This
is commonly known as "wall-eyed pike," from its large
glassy eye.

THE WALL-EYED PIKE (Stizostedion vitreum) .

This fish ranges from the Great Lakes through the
sm<Ml lakes of western New York, north through Brit-
ish America and south in the Susquehanna, Ohio and

Adhesive Eggs. 231

rivers in western Virginia, North Carolina and Geor-
gia. "In the upper lakes, where the true pike Esox
Indus is known as the pickerel, the S. vitreum is called
the 'pike,' with such local variations as 'blue pike/
'yellow pike/ 'green pike' and 'grass pike.' In Ohio,
Tennessee and western North Carolina -it robs Esox of
another of its names and is called a 'jack.' In Lake
Erie, however, it is generally known as 'pickerel.' The
name 'salmon' is quite generally applied in rivers
where no member of the Salmonida is found. This
is notably the fact in the tributaries of the Mississippi,
Ohio and Susquehanna. 'Okow/ sometimes heard in

THE WALL-EYED PIKE (Stizostedion Vitreum}.

the lake region, is evidently a corruption of 'okun'
and 'okunj/ Polish and Russian names for the com-
mon perch. The French Canadians on the lakes call it
'doree/ and 'dory' is a name which has found its way
into books. . . . The name 'wall-eyed pike' is
coming into favor and has already replaced some mis-
nomers long prevalent. If it must be used, 'wall-eye'
is of course to be preferred to the misleading 'wall-
eyed pike.' To me it seems a most repulsive and un-
desirable name, but others find it appropriate." —
GOODE, "American Fishes."

The wall-eye grows to a weight of thirty pounds or

Modern FishcuUure in Fresh and Salt Waitr.

more, and is distinguished from the other species by
its larger eye, a black blotch on the last part of its first
dorsal fin. In the illustrations of the "Fisheries In-
dustries" from which my cuts have been taken, the
wall-eye is called by the name of the other fish ; some-
body blundered. Goode has them correct.

THE SAUCER (S. canadcuse) .

This is a smaller fish and is, not classed as a "hard
fish" on the Great Lakes, but is placed among the in-
ferior "soft fish.'7 It has a black spot at the base of
the pectoral fins, smaller eye, and rows of spots on its

THE SAUCER OR SAND PIKE (Stizostedion Canadense).

first dorsal. It is a more northern species, ranging
from the Ohio northward. It is also called "sand
pike," which in the plates of the "Fisheries Industries"
is misprinted "land pike."

HATCHING WALL-EYED PIKE EGGS.
By James Nevin, Supt. Wisconsin Fish Commission.

To the best of my knowledge, the first pike eggs
hatched on the American continent were collected and

Adhesive Eggs. 233

hatched by me at the Sandwich, Ontario, fish hatchery,
during the spring of 1877. On the first day of April
of that year I went to West Bay City, at the mouth of
Saginaw Bay, which was the fishermen's headquar-
ters, and where, I was informed, a large number of
wall-eyed pike were caught. On the second day of
April I went out on a fishing smack, and from four
pound nets there were lifted five tons of as fine fish as
man ever looked on. I secured about ten quarts of
eggs, which, I believe, were the first wall-eyed pike
eggs taken in American waters. I continued to work
here, going out on the boat from day to day, until I
had seven boxes of eggs, which I shipped to Detroit.
The Sandwich hatchery is located across the river
from Detroit. I had left a Frenchman named Daniel
Semande in charge of the hatchery. Semande was a
man who could turn his hand to any kind of work, and
he was possessed of the idea that he could hatch fish
as well, and possibly better, than any other man in the
country. He had been a fisherman all his life. Se-
mande was desirous of trying his hand at hatching
these eggs, and said if I would send the eggs to him
he would take as good care of them as if I were there
to look after them. The eggs were placed in hatch-
ing cans. Semande wrote me every day, assuring me
that the eggs were "doing fine." Later, however, I
received a telegram from Mrs. Nevin, advising me to
come home, as there was not a live egg in the batch.
I took the first train home, and on arrival found that
the eggs were all dead. I had these thrown out, and
returned to West Bay City to get another batch. I
succeeded in obtaining some ten millions eggs, which
I took home with me. From this lot we hatched one
million frv. However, I did not feel satisfied with the

234 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

result, and was of the opinion I could do better if I
could get the eggs for another trial.

On the 1 6th day of May of the same year I left for
St. Clair River, where pike spawn much later than
on any other grounds that I know of. Usually they
begin to spawn as soon as the ice goes out of the
river, lake or bay, as the case may be; but on the St.
Clair River they do not begin to spawn until the I5th
of May. I succeeded in collecting 20,000,000 eggs
on this river, which I took with me to the hatchery.
Of this batch we hatched 3,500,000 fry, as is shown
by my report for that year, which was a small per-
centage of the number of eggs taken.

In the spring of 1878 I again went to Saginaw Bay
to collect pike eggs. While there I met Mr. Orin M.
Chase, of the Michigan Fish Commission, to whom I
related my experience and partial failure with pike
eggs the previous year. After Mr. Chase had been
there a few days he showed me the eggs he had taken,
and said : "Jim, I will hatch 90 per cent, of these
eggs." I told him I would call around and see his
eggs before they began to hatch. Mr. Chase left for
the Detroit hatchey with his eggs; at the same time
I started for the Sandwich hatchery with those I had
taken. Just before the fish began to hatch, I visited
the Detroit hatchery to compare notes with Mr. Chase.
Mr. Chase told me, "Tfre jig is up ; I will not hatch
five per cent, of the eggs I took." T secured that sea-
son from Saginaw Bay and St. Clair River 50,000,-
ooo eggs, and hatched and planted 6,000,000 fry from
those eggs.

The difficulty in this work was the adhesiveness of
the eggs. We could not keep them from sticking to-
gether. For days after they were put in jars they

Adhesive Eggs. 235

would bunch up, and we had to take them out two and
three times per day, and perhaps oftener, and run
them through a wire screen with a mesh just large
enough to permit the eggs to pass through one at a
time. We killed a large part of the eggs in handling
them and working them through the screens.

After I came to Wisconsin, for three years we col-
lected our pike eggs at the mouth of the Wolf River.
We took from 150,000,000 to 200,000,000 eggs each
year ; but were able to hatch not more than 5 per cent,
of this vast number. The difficulty here was that the
milt came from the male fish in clots and would not
dissolve in the pan. After trying different methods
to overcome the difficulty, but without success, we de-
cided not to collect any more eggs at that point. Three
years ago I was ordered to plant some full-grown pike
in the lakes at Waupaca. For convenience in trans-
portation, Gill's Landing, a railroad station some
twenty miles up the river from where we had taken
eggs> was selected as the place to get the fish. To
our great surprise, we found the male fish here in
prime condition. We took a quantity of eggs and
hatched fully 60 per cent, of them. The only hypothe-
sis on which I can account for our failure to impreg-
nate the eggs at the mouth of the river is that the male
fish were not ripe when they entered the river.

For several years we have collected eggs from Pike
Lake, in Price County. This lake is situated in the
pine forests, twenty-four miles from a railroad. A
hatch of 50 per cent, is a large average; but we have
impregnated fully 80 per cent, of the eggs taken from
this lake. The fish are of the large yellow variety ; the
male will produce more milt than a dozen males from
any other waters in which I have collected eggs.

236 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

The eggs from different localities vary in size.
Those from fish taken from Pike Lake will average
80,000 to the quart, while those from fish taken from
the Wolf River, Green Bay, Saginaw Bay or St. Clair
River will average 120,000 to the quart.

The course which we pursue in collecting, fertiliz-
ing and hatching the eggs is as follows : We get on
the grounds early and have all preparations made for
tne fish when they come. The males come a few days
ahead of the females ;«but we have our nets set and cor-
ral a large number of males, which we keep until the
run of female fish comes on. They are caught in
pound or fyke nets. The nets are lifted morning and
evening, and the fish taken in live boxes and placed in
crates, which we have prepared for the purpose. Thus,
when we begin to take spawn, the fish are convenient
to the spawn taker. A man with a net dips the fish
into a tub. The spawn taker takes a ripe female from
the tub and spawns it into a pan containing less than
half a teacup of water. As soon as the female is
spawned the male fish is used. Only one female fish
is spawned into a pan — a fresh pan being provided
after each. One man attends to the pans. After each
female has been stripped and enough milt put on the
eggs, he shakes the pan for a moment to mix the milt
and eggs, and then sets it aside for some twenty min-
utes until the eggs become loose. When we get eight
or ten pans, or enough for a tub-full, they are washed
and separated in a tub in the following manner: We
procure a quantity of clay or muck, as is most con-
venient, which we usually sift to remove lumps and
gravel, and mix it in a tub of water. The eggs are
then placed in a tub, and a man or boy with a dipper
keeps them in constant motion in the tub, pouring off

Adhesive Eggs. 237

part of the water at intervals of five or ten minutes
and adding fresh water. This is continued for an
hour, or until the eggs become hard and will not stick.
They are then placed in boxes, similar to shad boxes,
and set in the current of the river, where they are
kept from one to six days, or until convenient to ship
them to the hatchery. In shipping the eggs, they are
placed on wire trays and put in boxes, which are large
enough to permit two inches of crushed ice to be
packed on every side. We also put crushed ice on
the top tray. Our trays are made of galvanized wire-
cloth. Most hatcheries use flannel cloth on the trays.
We have discarded the flannel-covered trays, as we be-
lieve the wire-cloth is preferable for the reason that
they are more durable, the water drips through the
wire more readily than flannel, and a better circula-
tion is provided. When the eggs are received at the
hatchery they are taken from the shipping boxes and
run through a wire screen with a mesh just large
enough for a single egg to pass through at a time.
This screening removes all scales or dirt from the
eggs. They are then put in hatching jars, and they
work as freely as the eggs of the whitefish.

We have used muck and clay in our eggs to prevent
adhesion since the spring of 1884. This method of
preventing adhesion of the eggs was discovered by us
accidentally. We were having the usual trouble with
our pike eggs, and they were badly bunched up in the
jars. One day it became necessary for the city to re-
pair the water main which supplied our hatchery. As
a result we had a flow of roily water for several hours.
After the roily water had cleared off it was evident
that our eggs were working much better. This set us
to experimenting. We procured some earth, took our

238 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

eggs out of the jars and put them in tubs filled with
muddy water. We stirred them in the tubs for sev-
eral minutes and returned them to the jars. To our
great delight, the experiment was completely success-
ful ; and from that day to this we have had no trouble
in preventing these eggs from sticking or bunching.

The wall-eyed pike is a fish which will not stand
much confinement. If they are kept in the crates more
than three days before the time to spawn, the eggs will
begin to bunch in the fish and will not loosen up; or
the tail of the fish will become fungused and the fish
will soon die. When we see a white spot back of the
second dorsal fin we at once liberate the fish.

I have been engaged in the work of fishculture for
twenty-seven years, but until last spring it remained
for me to see these fish in the act of spawning natur-
ally. It was during high water ; the stream had over-
flowed its banks and they were scattered over the
marshy land adjoining. I stood on a railroad trestle-
work for an hour and watched hundreds of them in
the act of spawning. The female would roll over and
over constantly during the time she threw her eggs,
while from two to five small male fish gathered around
her and gave off milt as the eggs came from the fe-
male. I have often heard men say that the time to go
spearing with a jack-light was when the fish were
rolling or bunching, as they could then get two or
three fish at a throw. I can now fully understand the
significance of the statement.

I use the Chase hatching jar for hatching these
fish. The term of incubation varies with the tem-
perature of the water used in the jars. In water of
60° the eggs will hatch in about fifteen days ; in water
9f a temperature of 48° it requires thirty-five days to

Adhesive Eggs. 239

hatch. It takes but a few days to absorb the sac ; this
also depends to a great extent on the temperature of
the water. After the sac is absorbed the fry should
be liberated as soon as possible, or a considerable loss
will be incurred by the little fellows devouring one
another.

In the above paper Mr. Nevin has covered the
ground very well, and it only remains to say that Prof.
Reighard, of Michigan, in experimenting with these
eggs, obtained excellent results in overcoming the ad-
hesiveness by the use of cornstarch.

CHAPTER XXIX.

CATFISH.

These fish, called "bullheads" in New York and
"bullpouts" and "hornpouts" in New England, are
very good table fish for many people. They -feed on
the bottom on worms, fish eggs, or any animal food.
As they feed mainly at night, they may forage on the
nests of the black bass; but as this is the first time
that such a thing has been hinted, I hasten to say that
it is merely a surmise. This family of fishes protect
their young1.

240 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

Of catfishes we have two salt-water species and
sixteen in fresh water, from the great Amieurus nigri-
cans, which grows to 100 pounds weight, down to
small ones which do not get to be over four inches in
length. The common "bullhead" of New York, A.
nebulosus, grows to a length of eighteen inches and
ranges from New England to Wisconsin, Virginia and
Texas. The best of all the species for table is the
"channel cat," or "white cat," Ictalurus punctatus,
which grows to three feet,, and is thus described by
Jordan: "Oliveaceus, rarely blackish, the sides sil-
very, almost always with small round dark olive spots ;
eye large, not wholly in front of middle of head ; mouth
small; barbels long; spines strong, serrate; Montana
to Vermont, "Georgia and Mexico; very abundant in
flowing streams. A handsome fish; the best in the
family as food."

The A. albidus of the Potomac is also called "white
cat" and "channel cat." It has a stout body and broad
head and is not spotted. The common names should
not confound the species. They guard their nests.

Fin rays soft with a stout pungent spine in the dor-
sal and pectorals. In the latter fins these spines can
be set at right angles to the body and locked so that
they may be broken before they can be pressed down.
There is a sort of trigger-bone behind these pectoral
spines which, if touched, allows them to be laid back.
In former years, when inspecting the commercial fish-
eries on the Hudson, I discovered this and the knowl-
edge was of value in getting a "bullhead" from a gill
net where it was entangled,

Adhesive Eggs. 241

CHAPTER XXX.

CARP (Cyprinus carpio).

The indiscriminate introduction of this fish in Amer-
ica was a mistake. It was boomed as a great producer
of good food where no good food grew. It was a
vegetarian, "a sheep among fishes," quick growing
and prolific. All of this is true. The fact is that in
Germany fish are a luxury and poor people do not eat
fresh fish. Before the day of railroads fish that
reached Berlin came by stage coach, and to-day the
people are prejudiced against all salt-water fish, which
they say has "a sea taste." This is hereditary preju-
dice and prevents good sea fish from going to Berlin in
large quantities. They want their fish alive, and the
fishmongers have most of their fish in aquaria. Fancy
this for the thousands of tons that come to New York
daily! In the streets of Hamburg can be seen tubs
with pike "hecht" (esox), perch (barsch) and carp, all
kept alive by women aerating the water.

We must remember this in order to understand why
the Germans consider the carp a good fish ; they know
no better. They have "improved" breeds of them as
they have of cattle, from the fully scaled fish to those
partly naked but with big scales accidentally placed,
mirrorkarpfen, to those without a scale, lederkarpfen.

The late Herr von Behr, President of the German
Fishery Association, induced Prof. Baird to import
the carp and eulogized it. Prof. Baird did so, and
to-day no fish is so heartily cursed by Americans as

242 Moderq Pishculture in Fresh and Salt WaieY.

the carp. It roots up the water plants, muddies the
ponds and renders them unfit for other fish, and the
carp are worthless for the table. They are in the class
of the soft buffalo fish of the Mississippi, and the
suckers.

Great carp of fifteen to twenty pounds come to Ful-
ton Market, New York, and some Germans, with old
country memories, buy them; a lot are sold by push
cart men among the tenements on the East Side, but
there is little sale for them outside of this. I have eaten
the carp in Germany, cooked in beer and served with
a brown beer sauce, but never when I could help it.

The carp spawn in early summer, the eggs adhering
to water plants. The fish grow fast, under favorable
circumstances reaching a weight of ten pounds in three
years. The Government carp ponds at Washington,
D. C, overflowed some years ago and let a lot of these
fish into the Potomac, and the shad fishers and anglers
are cursing them to-day for a nuisance that can never
be abated, like our European sparrow.

It is a significant fact that the United States Fish
Commission published "A Manual of Fish Culture" in
1897 and did not mention the carp.

CASTRATING CARP.

Here is a curious bit of fish lore translated from the
"Deustche Fischerei Zeitung, Stettin, of May 16, 1882,
under the above heading: "Concerning the question
asked by Count Gessler about the castration of carp, I
will quote from an old German fish book entitled
"Pond and Fishery Husbandry," by Johann Andreas
Guenther, 18-10, pages 142-144. To bring the*carp to

Adhesive Eggs. 243

a high degree of fatness, and also to make their flesh of
finer flavor, the Englishman, Tull, has discovered and
recommended castration. This operation can be per-
formed on the male as well as on the female. The best
time for the operation is after they have spawned, while
they are soft and feeble, for then the painful effects afe
not so lasting.' ':

There was more of this, but no detail, and I Wfoti
Count Max von dem Borne, a well known German fish-
culturist, and here is his reply:

"Berneuchen, March 9, 1881.

"My Dear Sir: I have your letter of March I, and
will try to collect something relating to the castration
of carp, which is entirely unknown to me. Therefore I
have written to Mr. W. Horak, late Director of the
large carp ponds of the Prince Schwarzenberg, at
Wittingen, and the author of the best book on carp
breeding. I hope he will give us all ever known on the
subject."

This was all I ever heard of the matter, until the late
Prof. Spencer F. Baird wrote me, under date of May
20, 1886: "Mr. Hessel informs me that the Bretaigne
carp is the caponized ordinary carp, requiring of course
a special process to produce this result, * * *»"

CHAPTER XXXI.

THE ALEWIVES.

These are near relatives of the shad, but having glu-
tinous eggs are widely separated in this book. They

244 Modern Pishcidiure in Fresh and Salt WateV.

are called "herrin" on the Hudson River, but the tru<*
herring, clupea harengus, does not enter fresh water.
We have the "branch herring/' c. pseudoharengus, and
the "glut herring/' c. astivalis, both of value. They are
bony, but are eaten fresh and salted in great numbers
by people living on the rivers. They spawn at night in
creeks and bayous, among the flotsam, and make a
great racket in doing it. I have taken the eggs on
dried eel-grass and hatched them in floating boxes. It
was the milt of one of these fishes that was used on
shad eggs when no male shad were at hand. They
run up the Hudson to Albany, and I have seen them by
the thousand in a pool below the dam of the South Side
Sportsman's Club, on the south side of Long Island,
and intended to bring them to the little smelt stream
at Cold Spring Harbor. They are not first-class fish,
but are good food, and that is what poor people want.
Like the shad, they get their living in salt-water, and,
therefore, do not compete with the fresh-water species.
As food for people who want a cheap food this species
should be cultivated where there are facilities for its
breeding. Below Albany, N. Y., they come soon after
the ice goes out and at first retail readily at 30 to 50
cents per dozen. A month later, when they are plenty
and are about to spawn, or have spawned, the price
drops to 10 cents per dozen, and the farmers drive into
the river where the shad fishermen are hauling seines
and take home wagon loads for salting, buying them
for a few cents per bushel. At least that was the rule
when I was hatching shad on the Hudson, at Castleton,
in 1874, and later.

Adhesive Egg3. 245

CHAPTER XXXII.

STURGEON.

This valuable food fish is in danger of extermination
by being caught in the spawning season for its partly
ripe eggs, which, owing to the demand for them when
made into caviare, are worth more than the great fish
itself. I am unfashionable enough to like sturgeon and
to loathe caviare; if there was a stronger word than
loathe it would be used here.

Once the Hudson River swarmed with this fish, and
"Albany beef" was the common name of its flesh. Now
they are practically gone from the river and the caviare
hunters have gone to Lake of the Woods, north of
Minnesota, for the lake sturgeon, for there are two
species.

The sturgeon spawns in early summer, has heavy,
adhesive eggs, measuring nine to the inch, which hatch
in six to seven days. The eggs are difficult to take and
in some cases the fish of both sexes have had to be
ripped open, even when ripe.

CHAPTER XXXIII.
YELLOW PERCH (Perca flavescens).

This common pond and river fish is so near the
European perch that the fish sharps have disputed over

246 Modern Fishculture in Presh and Salt Water.

it for years. Jordan gives its range in America as
"Minnesota to Northern Ohio and Quebec, south to
South Carolina, east of Alleghanies, not in Ohio Valley
or Southwest; abundant." He also gives its length as
fifteen inches. It is too common to describe. Is not
found in Adirondack waters. The black stripes on
yellow ground have given it the names of ringed perch
and raccoon perch in some parts. It is a fair table fish,
and if from muddy, weedy waters, should be skinned ;
in fact, black bass are better when skinned.

The eggs of this fish are unique. It is the first fish
that I hatched and I find the following among my
notes: "April 20, 1868, while fishing a few miles below
Albany, took and impregnated 10,000 spawn of the yel-
low perch. The spawn comes in a long ribbon, or
rather a cylindric one, double like a stocking leg, but
with numerous wrinkles; the eggs are seen as bright
spots the size of a pin head scattered through this mu-
cous mass. The spawn was partly pressed and partly
pulled from the fish and put into the old wash basin
used as a boat bailer with water, and the milt from sev-
eral males put with it. Took it to Albany in my dinner
pail, and remembering that the aquarium at the State
Geological Rooms was empty, I asked permission to
use it for hatching, which request was kindly granted
by Prof. Hall, Curator of the State Cabinet. Noticed
life the third day; about 100 dead — all dead by May i,
don't know why.

"I found that this fish hung its spawn over twigs
under water, and have found it often hung in the nets.
Have often seen it hanging high and dry at least a foot
out of water, where it was laid at a higher stage of the
river. My spawn was hung on a twig near where the
water entered the tank to insure a circulation.

248 Modern Fishculiure in Fresh and Salt Water.

"May 2, took about 20,000 and put in same place;
raised the curtain, but the sun did not strike the eggs;

OVARY OF YELLOW PERCH, with nearly ripe eggs, the forked
extremity being the anterior part of the roe.

life in two days. Some one let down the curtains and
pushed down the strainer on the waste pipe; about
two-thirds of the eggs went down the pipe (it was in

PART OF A RECENTLY LAID MASS OF YELLOW PERCH EGGS.
These cuts are from "A Manual of Fish Culture," ex-
tracted from U. S. Fish Commission Report for 1897.

three bunches), half the remainder dead, probably from
handling, as I was informed that somebody lifted them
out. The embryos are in constant motion in the egg —

Adhesive Eggs. 249

a regular beating movement like clockwork. In ten
days from impregnation 1,000 hatched frofh the 3,000
left, notwithstanding the eggs were often disturbed by
visitors. Six days after hatching, the sac was absorbed,
and I fed them clotted blood every day. My notes say :
'In twenty days they had all disappeared down the
waste pipe.' r

The ice is scarcely out of the rivers before the perch
begins to spawn, and in tide water millions of eggs per-
ish by being left in the air at low tide, or after a freshet.
The mass of eggs is often larger than the fish which laid
them, after they have swollen, being sometimes five feet
long. The only provision that can be made for their
spawning is to put bushes in the water if there are none
there. The eggs may then be gathered and hatched in
any suitable water between 45° and 50° Fahr.

I have since hatched yellow perch on Long Island;
the water there was colder than that in Albany, and the
hatching required a few days more.

SECTION VI.

PARASITES, DISEASES AND ENEMIES.

There are thorns in the path of the fishculturist, who
must be as vigilant as the farmer, manufacturer or mer-
chant in order to preserve the fruits of his labor. Out-
side of human poachers, he must watch for the three
plagues which are treated of in this section. By day
and by night there are enemies working against him, as
there are against the grower of fruit, grain, live stock
or the man in other business. Eternal vigilance is the
price of success in fishculture as well as in all other
things.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

PARASITES.

All living animals have internal and external para-
sites, unless the parasites themselves are exceptions,
which may be a matter of doubt, for an old rhyme
says:

"So naturalists observe, a flea
Has smaller fleas that on him prey;
And these have smaller still to bite 'em;
And so proceed, ad infinitum,"

250

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 251

EXTERNAL PARASITES.

A deadly parasite is the fungus which is called
Saprolegnia ferax by scientists, although the micro-
scope shows variations which may be different species.
Of this I am not qualified to speak. It appears to be
nearly the same on the fish as on the egg, a woolly or
cottony growth. We often see it on dead flies in water,
and the fact is that spores of this fungus are every-
where in the water, only awaiting a suitable field to
grow in, just as spores of mould in the air will find a
good field in a pair of damp boots in a dark closet,
while spores which fall on dry boots will not germi-
nate. An abrasion on the skin of a fish, a bruise or
other injury, is an inviting field for fungus, but a clean
cut does not seem to be so favorable for its growth.

A favorite spot for this fungus to germinate is where
the protecting slime has been removed from a fish,
and this slime is readily removed by a dry hand, hence
in the chapter on taking trout eggs I insist on the
hands being wet before the trout is touched. It is not
uncommon to find a dead fish with the print of a
thumb on one side of its back and of the fingers on the
other, where some kind angler has returned a fish to
the water after handling it, in ignorance that he signed
its death warrant when he touched it with a dry hand.
You may take a fresh-water fish of any kind and lay it
in a dry towel, smoothing the towel gently about it and
then return the fish to the water, when it will swim off
apparently unharmed ; about a week afterward the fish
will appear to have a bloom, like that of a ripe purple
grape or plum upon it, and then comes the "cottony

252 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

growth/' and in ten days the fish will be dead, with
great inflamed patches below the skin where the fungus
has rooted into the flesh.

In the first stages of this trouble the fungus can be
killed by keeping the fish in salt water for a week or
two, but when the roots penetrate below the skin and
attack the muscle there is no remedy known at present.
In the old New York Aquarium, Broadway and Thirty-
fifth street, New York, 1876-79, I tried salicylic acid,
borax, boracic acid and alum, separately and combined,
with no effect on the mascalonge and other fishes in-
jured in transit. The last three things named are dead-
ly to fish if not carefully used, and I went so far as to
bandage the fish and put it in a trough where it could
not turn, and then apply the remedies behind its mouth
and gills, saturating the bandage, but found nothing as
good as salt and clean soil. By "clean soil" I mean
earth from the country, and not city mud. All trout
streams have more or less soil washed into them at
times, even to rendering the water opaque, but it
never injures trout, on the contrary it does them good
in freeing them from external parasites.

A formidable external parasite common to most
fishes is the lamprey in its different species. These
animals are often miscalled Clamper eels" and ''lamprey
eels," but they are not remotely related to the eel, or
even in the class pices, which contain the fishes, where
the eel is entitled to a place. They are in the class
cyclostomi, and are nearer worms than fish, except that
they have a soft backbone. Jordan, "Manual of the
Vertebrates," says of them: "Skeleton cartilaginous;
skull imperfect, not separate from vertebral column ;
no jaws ; no limbs ; no ribs ; no shoulder girdle
nor pelvic elements; gills in the form of fixed sacs, six

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies, 253

or more on each side; nostril single median; mouth
sub-inferior, nearly circular, adapted for sucking; heart
without arterial bulb; alimentary canal straight, simple;
vertical fins with feeble rays. Naked eel-shaped ani-
mals found in all cool waters."

Yet when I testified in court as to the species of eels
in our waters, I was followed by a man who claims to
be an authority on fishes, who mentioned the "lamper
eel" as an eel. Jordan says : "They attach themselves
to fishes, and feed by scraping off the flesh with their
rasp-like teeth." An exhaustive and well illustrated
paper on this subject may be found in the Bulletin of
the United States Fish Commission, Volume XVII. ,
1897, pages 209 to 215, by Prof. H. A. Surface, M. S.,
Fellow in Vertebrate Zoology, Cornell University,
under the title of "The Lampreys of Central New
York." The illustrations show the lampreys, and
photos of pickerel, suckers and catfish with great holes
in their sides, where they had been eaten. Lampreys
have the habit of leeches.

The same volume, pages 193, 199, contains an article
entitled "An Economical Consideration of Fish Para-
sites," by Dr. Edwin Linton, Ph. D., Professor of
Biology, Washington and Jefferson College. The
reader who wishes to pursue the subject further is rec-
ommended to get the volume named.

In 1886 Mr. C. Van Beuren, President Balsam Lake
Club, Hardenburgh, Ulster County, N. Y., wrote me:
"A number of trout have been caught in our lake with
black spots on them. These spots are not very numer-
ous, perhaps a dozen on one fish. They are on the
back, sides, fins and tails, and they feel like shot under
the skin. We have examined the spots under a micro-
scope and find them, as viewed by the eye, to be 1-32 of

254 Modern Fuhculture'in Fresh and Salt Water.

an inch. The microscope shows them to be a cell con-
taining an egg with a living embryo. The egg is about
I -200 of an inch in diameter. As they are on the fins
they would seem to come from the outside. Those on
the sides of the fish have the egg apparently under the
scales and attached to the skin by a thread-like ap-
pendage which pulls out on removing the egg. Is this
a serious matter?"

I have seen black bass, chubs, sunfish and other
species well .sprinkled with these spots in early sum-
mer, and later in the season found worms in the flesh of
the fishes, but they seemed to do no harm, even to
people who ate the wormy fish. Somehow I connected
the spots and the worms together, but never tried to
work the thing out. I never saw them on trout.

INTERNAL PARASITES.

I took a tape-worm thirty-six inches long from a
shiner, whose extreme length was 4.5 inches. The fish
took my fly while trouting in the Adirondacks, and as
it was so unnaturally plump it was opened.

White intestinal thread-worms are often present in
trout, and these worms pass from the intestines to the
body cavity, and even through the air bladder, after the
trout has been opened, but what they do before that
can't be seen.

Many parasites of fishes, like tape-worms, do not
complete their existence in the fish, but their final host
is some bird or mammal which eats the fish, just as the
tape-worm of the hare becomes complete in the fox;
that of the hog in man, etc.

The trout of Yellowstone Lake are infested with

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 255

worms in their flesh. Dr. Leidy described this worm
under the name of Dibothrmm cordiceps.

CHAPTER XXXV.

i

DISEASES.

English fishculturists, anglers and anatomists are
greatly troubled by what they call the "salmpn dis-
ease." Prof. Huxley said of it: "At first small whitish
patches appear on the skin. The smooth integument of
the top of the head, or of the end of the snout, is a very
usual locality, but the adipose fin and the axillse of the
paired fins are also among the first parts to be affected.
If there is an abraded or wounded surface, the disease
is pretty sure to attack it, but the invasion of the mal-
ady is in nowise dependent upon the pre-existence of
an injury. . . .In the scaleless parts of the skin,
sloughing soon sets in and deep burrowing sores are
formed, ... If the fluffy, whitish coat which ie so
characteristic of the diseased skin — and is sometimes
tenacious enough to be stripped off in flakes like wet
paper — is examined microscopically, it is seen to con-
sist chiefly of a tangled mass of fine filaments on an
average about 1-2,000 of an inch in diameter, which
are at once recognizable as the stems (or hyphse, as
they are technically called) of a fungus, Saprolegnia
jerax, similar to those known as moulds."

Prof. Huxley further says : "These observations
left no doubt in my mind that the Saprolegnia is the

256 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

cause and not a mere accompaniment of the salmon
disease." I have treated of this in the preceding chap-
ter. Prof. Huxley thus sums up the present state of
our knowledge respecting the salmon disease :

"i. The sole cause of the disease is the fungus
Saprolegnia ferax, which burrows in and destroys the
skin of the fish.

"2. This fungus habitually lives on dead organic
matter, and only lives in fresh water."

3 and 4 give the mode of propagation of the fungus.

"5. It follows, therefore, that the existence of the
cause of salmon disease, or to speak more generally, of
the integumentary mycosis of fresh-water fishes, is in-
dependent of the existence of fishes; and consequently
that the extirpation of all the diseased fish in a river
does not involve the extirpation of the cause of the dis-
ease in that river.

"6. There is reason to believe that the Saprolegnia
exists in its saprophytic form in most fresh waters,
and that it attacks the fish of most rivers occasionally.
In other words, the mycosis of fresh-water fishes is a
widespread sporadic disease.

"7. That which it is now desirable to ascertain is the
nature of the influences under which the sporadic dis-
ease suddenly assumes an epidemic character. On
this point we have very little light at present, for al-
though there is some reason for thinking that deficient
oxygenation, whether produced by overcrowding or
otherwise, may favor the development of the disease,
and though it is possible that some kinds of pollution
may favor it, yet the disease sometimes becomes epi-
demic under conditions in which these two predispos-
ing causes are excluded; and it does not always appear
when they are present.

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 25?

"8. Epidemics subside spontaneously, though the
fish remain in fresh water.

"9. The productiveness of a salmon river is not .nec-
essarily interfered with by even a violent epidemic.

"The last three propositions indicate the moral of
my paper — which is to make sure that you know what
you are about before meddling with the salmon dis-
ease. Until the causes which convert the sporadic into
the epidemic disease are known, all interference is mere
groping in the dark; and when they are known, it will
be a great question whether the preventive measures
adopted are worth their cost.

"Fishery doctors at the present day remind me of hu-
man doctors in my youth — they were always for doing
something. I remember one of my teachers laid down
the notable maxim, 'when you are in doubt, play a
trump/ and I should think that those of us who have
followed this advice, in the last fifty years, -must have
largely added to the bills of mortality. Our fishery
doctors are of the same mind as my friend. They are —
or at any rate ought to be — very much in doubt, and
yet they continually want to play trumps in the shape
of stringent regulations and restrictions. If I might
tender a piece of advice, I would say — don't."

After quoting Huxley I can't help asking: If the
fungus (2) only lives on dead organic matter why it
attacks the living tissues of fish?

A DEAD HORSE.

Years ago a man asked me to come and see what
was the trouble with his trout and eggs. As he put it :
"There was wool growing all over them." I told him

258 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

that I would not promise to find the trouble, and inti-
mated that my honorarium would be $25 and expenses
for an inspection. He agreed. His fish were in bad
shape ; he had hatched trout successfully the winter be-
fore and now fungus attacked every dead egg before it
had been dead half a day. I tasted the water, but
learned nothing from that; looked over the ponds and
their inlets without finding anything wrong, and to all
his questions merely replied that so far there was no
visible cause for the trouble. We went to dinner and I
was too worried to eat much. Perhaps this man, whom
I had never met before, thought me a fraud, and while
my time was valuable to me, I resolved that I would
not take his money if I could do him no good. After
dinner I proposed a trip to the springs at the head of
his little stream. There was a marshy piece of wood-
land, and in rubber boots we went into it. There,
draining into his ponds, was a horse which had died
three months before. My advice was : "Haul that
horse out and bury it where no water from it will flow
into your springs. Get a barrel of quicklime and cover
the spot where he lies and also over all the space you
may drag him where the surface water may flow into
your springs."

He looked astonished and said : ''Quicklime will
kill trout, and if I do that they will all die. How
does that horse, which died last fall, make my trout
woolly?"

I told him about the "woolly" growth from dead ani-
mal matter and explained that quicklime only killed
trout because it was "quick," and that well-slacked lime
would not hurt his fish, and that his barrel of lime
would be very dead before it trickled through the
swamp to his ponds, but would at once kill all the

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 259

"woolly germs." He followed the "prescription" and
was so well pleased that he sent for me twice again for
professional advice — and there is nothing which the am-
ateur fishctilturist thinks he needs less than professional
advice. He seems to think that because he is a lover of
trout or an angler he has been especially endowed with
a capacity for the business and can go ahead on
some original plan. He makes expensive mistakes and
learns in that very dear school. It is a singular thing
that a man who shoots and fishes a little thinks he
knows more of these things than an old woodsman,
and flatters himself that he has the best gun ever made
and the best dog ever whelped, and that he is a Daniel
Boone, Davy Crockett and Natty Bumpo condensed
into one. This is a comfortable and satisfactory belief,
but exceedingly expensive when he goes unaided into
fishculture, and I speak from a memory of many costly
failures when there was no one to instruct. The advice
of Huxley is excellent and bears out what has been
said in previous chapters.

FISH THAT DIE AFTER SPAWNING.

The salmon fishermen of our western coast believe
that their species of salmon spawn but once and die.
Some shad fishermen on the Hudson River have the
same belief. Because a great majority die, and on the
Pacific coast line the shores with their dead, they be-
lieve that all die after spawning. I don't believe any
such thing. Spawning salmon of from seventy to one
hundred pounds have been taken in our rivers empty-
ing into the Pacific, and it is difficult to believe that
this was their first trip to the spawning grounds. A

260 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt

shad will have the nuclei of several successive spawn-
ing seasons behind the eggs to be laid when she is
caught, and it taxes our credulity to believe th. t these
are not to be used. Our domestic fowls show nuclei
for many settings of eggs ; and there the case rests, as
lawyers say.

AN EPIDEMIC.

One year I had an epidemic among the trout at Cold
Spring Harbor, N. Y. Great sores appeared on the
trout and they died by the hundred every day. The
Biological Section of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts
and Sciences had a summer laboratory there, with stu-
dents from many parts of the country, and they took
the dead fish for study. It worried me into loss of ap-
petite and sleep to see from fifty to a hundred great
brook and brown trout, from one to five pounds weight,
laid out in the "morgue" every morning for burial, with
no idea of the cause of their death. The scientists could
make nothing of it, and it was not the fungus called
Saprolegnia. There was merely a cancer-like sore
with broken-down tissue which flowed out of the sores
in a pinkish fluid, and that was all.

After a careful investigation I found that some beef
livers which came from New York were affected with
tuberculosis. I had forbidden the use of any livers
which appeared to be diseased, and a year or two be-
fore had entertained the idea of complaining to the
Board of Health about the tuberculous beef which was
being slaughtered, but at that time the problem was.
where to get good livers. I finally contracted with a
Mr. Abrams to furnish livers that were sound, and
after that the disease disappeared. It was not possible

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 261

for me to inspect every box of livers which came from
New York daily, and in my report to the New York
Fish Commission for the year I was at a loss to account
for the mortality.

The following circular was issued by me to trout
breeders:

"My Dear Sir: During the summer of 1890, a dis-
ease which was new to me appeared among the trout
in the State ponds under my charge. Both brook and
brov/n trout., large and small., died in great numbers,
especially the larger ones of from two to four pounds.
I have learned that this was epidemic on Long Island,
and in portions of New Jersey, and wish to trace its
range, hence this circular is addressed to you in the
hope of learning more of its ravages.

"There was no appearance of fungus of the cottony
sort, which follows an injury to the skin, with which
we are all familiar. The first indication of the disease
was a white spot, usually on the side, above or near the
anus, of perhaps an inch in diameter. Within ten days
a hole would appear in this and shortly afterward the
fish would die. Then it would appear that under the
skin a patch of dead and decomposed tissue was found,
three to four inches long by one to two inches wide,
and on the slightest pressure this would spurt out a
dark fluid. Under the microscope only broken-down
tissue in a state of partial fluidity, with blood corpus-
cles, could be seen. To my unprofessional eye it more
nearly resembled a severe case of Epithelioma, or skin
cancer, which I once saw on a man. The disease ap-
peared in May and continued into August, but as noth-
ing was to be gained by letting the matter get into the
newspapers it was kept quiet.

262 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

"I now wish to mention this epidemic in my next
reports to the State and to the United States Fish Com-
missions, and will feel obliged if you can give any in-
formation concerning it; its character, time of appear-
ance and departure, and extent of territory over which
it extended, with the privilege of using your reply for
publication over your name. I can say that during an
experience in fishculture covering nearly a quarter of a
century no such disease among fishes has been ob-
served by me, nor has it been recorded by others, to
my knowledge.

"Believing that our combined experience may possi-
bly be of future use, anything which you may say on
this subject, if such a thing has ever been brought to
your notice, will be of value.

"Very respectfully yours,

"FRED MATHER/'

Dr. Bashford Dean and Dr. Stratford, of Columbia
College, and several other men eminent in the study
of animals in health and disease had never seen nor
heard of anything like it. Prof. H. W. Conn, of the
Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., thought
that it was caused by bacteria. These forms were pres-
ent, as they always are in diseased tissue, but whether
they were the primary cause or not Prof. Conn did not
care to say.

Our ponds were clean, and as there is no chance for
pollution above us, the cause was to be looked for be-
yond foul water. Sometimes a trout would be sudden-
ly seized with a spasm, or giddiness, and would rush
about on its side without seeming to know where it
was going, and this, with the questions of summer vis-
itors, who asked to know what I could not tell them,

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 263

made me wish that there was a wail about the place that
even I could not get over. My orders were not to let a
visitor see a dead fish'; but the fish would die in their
sight, and one dead fish is more interesting to a visitor
than a thousand live ones, for it affords a chance for
questions that no man can answer.

Even in a hatching trough thirty thousand live and
healthy fish will not be noticed by a visitor if a dead
one is to be seen. A statement that out of the same
number of pigs, colts, chickens or children the death
rate would be as great, if not greater, brings it squarely
to them ; but during the epidemic, when a dozen or more
large fish were seen belly up, there was only one thing
to do, and that was to have a man to keep visitors in-
terested elsewhere while the dead were being taken out
and buried.

Although the loss was not, pecuniarily speaking, a
personal one to me, yet no man ever felt more disap-
pointed at seeing the results of his labor swept away
than I did. My long experience in fishculture fur-
nished no antidote to counteract the poison that was
more than decimating the stock which I had carefully
reared, and on which my professional reputation hung.
Many a time a husky voice belied an assumed indif-
ference as I told a man to "bury 'em in the geranium
bed, 'twill make 'em bloom in the fall," but at night
the question, "Is this station which I selected and have
tried to build up a failure?" was annoying beyond ex-
pression.

During the summer of 1891 only one fish manifested
any sign of this disease, and it was buried in July. The
summer was an exceedingly good one for both fry and
adult fish, and the losses in each class were small.

From many answers received in 1891, I quote the

264 Modern Fishcidture in fresh and Salt Water.

following, which show where the disease was un-
known :

"Never had in our State hatcheries any epidemic ex-
cept among fish less than six months old." — >C. S.
White, Fish Commissioner of West Virginia.

"We had no disease at the South Side Club, such as
you describe last year. Our large trout were remark-
ably healthy. The great loss in old fish is during and
after the spawning season ; not only those suffering
from fungus on wounds received in fighting, but many
seem to have died from no apparent cause. In the win-
ter of 1889-90 the loss was heavier than ever before.
This season it was light." — Roland Redmond, Presi-
dent South Side Sportsman's Club. *

Neither was the disease observed at Eastport, L. I.,
according to Dr. H. G. Preston, President of the Ox-
ford Rod and Gun Club, in the ponds of the club at that
place, some thirty miles east of the South Side Club.

The following persons have seen more or less of this
epidemic, or one similar to it :

"While I was an employee of the State Hatchery at
Caledonia, N. Y., in 1883 or 1884, the large trout died
off by hundreds in the summer, with a disease, I should
say, similar to the one that you mention. It could not
have been the common fungus, which is usually caused
by an injury to the skin. I used to pick out the trout
every morning, or assist in doing so, and I believe that
if not the same disease, it is closely allied to the one of
which you speak, and I noticed that there was consid-
erable dark fluid oozing from many of them." — John
G. Roberts, Supt. Adirondack Station N. Y. Fish Com-
mission.

* This club is at Oakdale, on the south side of Long Island,
and distant from our ponds, on the north side, about twenty-
five miles in a direct line. F. M.

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 265

Mr. E. F. Boehm, now Superintendent of the State
hatchery at Newton's Corners, N. Y., was in the Cale-
donia hatchery with Mr. Roberts, and writes prac-
tically the same thing.

"Six years ago, about the same disease appeared
among my trout from April to July. In June they died
in great numbers, from twenty-five to thirty every
night, and I was discouraged. One day I saw that a
great many more would die and thought that the cause
might be from feeding stale beef hearts. I stopped
feeding for ten days and then began giving them live
minnows, and in a week's time the mortality stopped
and I have lost very few trout since." — Albert Rackow,
Elmont, L. I.

That there are occasional epidemics among fish is a
fact familiar to all who have had much experience with
them, and the cause is not at all understood. In the
summer of 1850 or 1851 the perch and pickerel in
Kinderhook Lake, Rensselaer County, N. Y., died in
great numbers and came in shore to die; some boys
who had walked down to the lake from Albany with
me refused to fish or touch the fish that were strug-
gling near the shore, we believing that they had been
poisoned. In 1856 I saw thousands of black bass dead
upon the shores of the small lakes along the Mississippi
River, near Potosi, Wisconsin. Some lakes in Central
New York — Hemlock, Honeoye and Canadice Lakes
— had an epidemic that killed many perch in the sum-
mer of 1870. In 1883, St. John's Lake, at Cold Spring
Harbor, N. Y., had a disease which killed the sunfish
in such numbers that the air was tainted. Greenwood
Lake, lying partly in New York and in New Jersey,
has been visited by a similar epidemic, although I can-
not give the years.

266 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

To further prove that these things are beyond the
knowledge and control of man, and also to show that
they are not confined to fresh water, I will cite : With-
in ten years, more or less, the United States Fish Com-
mission discovered a new and valuable food fish by
methods not pursued by the commercial fishermen on
the New England coast. The fish had no common
name, of course, and as the scientists had christened it
by the pretty and simple name of Lopholatilus chamce-
leonticeps, and as it was evident that the marketman
and the club steward might not grasp the full mean-
ing of all the syllables, the last one in its front name
was shortened and it bloomed upon the market as the
"tile fish."

It had hardly got in favor with the New York and
Boston hotels when reports from ship captains came in
that they had sailed through miles of strange fish float-
ing dead upon the water. This was about 1884, and
not a single fish of this species was taken until 1898.
It was believed that they had been exterminated by
some submarine disturbances, but our later reports
show that enough escaped the catastrophe to perpet-
uate the species. It is a valuable food fish, but one
which, by its deep water habitat, escaped our fishermen
until the Fish Commission found it by fishing beyond
the banks, where the hardy cod fishers do not go. It
is now increasing in numbers.

Cases of mortality among fishes might be extended,
it being well known that in Lake Ontario some of the
smaller "lake herring" die off yearly in great numbers,
a fact about which we have nothing to base an opinion.

The following is from a recent New York paper:

"Port Jervis, N. Y., May 18, 1898.— The shores of
Monhagen and Highland lakes, near Middletown, are

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 26;

lined with thousands of fish, mostly dead catfish. Men
have been engaged for three days in removing them,
but are making no headway. As they clear a patch, it
is covered again with dead fish washed to shore. Hun-
dreds of wagon loads have been removed in this man-
ner. The bass with which the lakes were stocked a
few years ago do not appear to be affected. A similar
phenomenon was experienced in Green's Basin, north
of here, a few weeks ago. No explanation of the oc-
currence can be had."

Summing all this up, there seems to be no way of
preventing disease, whether sporadic or epidemic,
among fish, except to keep the ponds clean if they
are densely populated and to treat cases of fungus with
salt water, where possible, and to remove every in-
fected fish at once.

Most other diseases of trout in ponds, such as blind-
ness, the turning in of the flap of the gill cover, where it
grows fast, exposing the gill, are not common enough
to warrant seeking a remedy. In blindness there is no
hope for improvement, and as a gill cover once turned
in and grown fast refuses to be straightened out, it
mav be well to let it be as it is.*

CHAPTER XXXVI.

ENEMIES.

As it would require a volume to tell of the enemies of
salt-water fishes — which, by the way, are mostly other
species of fish, and the marine mammals — this chapter

* See chapter xliii on the working, or blooming, of ponds.

268 Modern Fuhculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

will merely glance at such forms of life as prey on the
fish of rivers, lakes and streams.

FISH.

Large trout are usually cannibals, and in private
ponds should not be allowed to live. I have seen a
trout try to swallow one that was so near its own size
that it could not pouch it and it swam about all day
with a portion of the tail and caudal fin — they are not
the same — protruding from its jaws. Such fellows I
always netted out, or speared, for once they begin the
habit they never stop it, and they will devour many
times their own weight in a month.

A small fish known as miller's thumb, blob, muffle
jaw, and star-gazer, belonging to the genus Cottus, or
Uranidea, for they shift the names occasionally, is
called bullhead in England. It is a homely, big-headed
little thing, and Jordan records nine species, from three
to five inches long, one species reaching seven inches.
They are found in the Great Lakes, rivers and streams
from Lake Superior to Georgia. They lie on the bot-
tom or under stones and move after the manner of the
darters. This fresh-water sculpin is one of the natural
checks on the overproduction of trout and salmon. It
eats the eggs and the young fish. It is found in all
trout waters as far as examined. It is very destructive.
At an experiment once made in the aquarium of the
United States Fish Commission, in Washington, a
miller's thumb about 4^ inches long ate at a single
meal, and all within a minute or two, twenty-two little
trout, each from three-quarters of an inch to an inch in
length.

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 269

Most fish will eat smaller ones, if we except the stur-
geons, the whitefishes, suckers, carp and goldfish, and
these will eat fish eggs. The pikes eat nothing but fish,
and we have five species of them, while Europe has but
one. Eels are very destructive.

REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS.

Most of these eat fish to a greater or less extent. The
water-snakes, garter-snakes and the black-snake eat
fish, and perhaps other species may also eat them. All
the snapping turtles, pond and river turtles eat fish.
The little land tortoises called "box turtles" may take
insects, but will not eat fish. I have kept them for
years, and their food, as far as I could observe, was
vegetable. Those large salamander-like forms all eat
fish. They are the "mud eel" (Siren lacertina), thirty-
six inches, Northern Indiana to North Carolina and
south; the proteus, mud puppy, water dog (Necturus
maculates), called "lizard" in the Detroit River, twenty-
four inches, Eastern United States, chiefly north and
west of the Alleghanies; this animal has its gills outside
its head ; I have eaten this beast. The hellbender ( Cryp-
tobranchus alleghaniensis), twenty-four inches, Ohio
valley and south, lives largely on small fish. The ranges
and lengths given are from Jordan's "Manual of the
Vertebrates."

Frogs, especially the large ones, eat fish, and I once
took from one a young snapping turtle, about an inch
(2^ c.m.) in diameter. The toad frequents the water at
times but does not eat fish.

The frog is popularly supposed to spend its time in
summer in rendering Wagnerian operas and catching-

2/o Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

insects, but I have taken from its maw small frogs and
fish. Once, while fishing in the Adirondacks with
"Jack" Sheppard, the guide, a great bullfrog plunked
in the water and soon climbed the log again, swallow-
ing something.

'That fellow's got a fish," said Jack.

"Don't believe it. His splash would scare a fish, and

HELLBENDERS (CryptobrancJius allcghanicnsis}.

he can't swim fast enough to catch a fish. Let's catch
him and see."

"For the cigars at Bennett's?"

"For the cigars. He never' got a fish in that short
time, after that plunk."

Jack reeled in his line until it was about the length
of the rod, while I slowly paddled and drifted up to the
batrachian. Jack swung the fly above his nose, and he

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 271

was our frog. "Make it half a dozen cigars?" Jack
asked.

"All right; make it a round dozen."

I had on a previous day remonstrated with Jack
about not killing a frog before he cut it in two and
skinned the legs; the sight of the living portion an-
noyed me, and as he was my guide I forbade the prac-
tice. He unhooked the frog and handed it to me. A
blow on the head with a heavy knife-handle and a cut
into the brain stopped all feeling, and then he opened
his inner works, and there was a little sunfish, about
two inches long.

"Jack/' I remarked, "youVe won; but as you were
booked to win in any event, as I buy the cigars every
night, you have not won much. I am the real win-
ner, because I have learned something. Now let's not
waste this fellow, but stop trouting and get frogs
enough for breakfast. How did that frog catch that
fish? That's what I want to know."

Jack tossed the little fish overboard a^nd merely re-
marked: "It's funny how they do it, but they do."

"Jack Sheppard, I asked you a plain question that
should have a straight answer, and all I get is the re-
frain of a music hall song. How did the frog catch
that fish? Did it catch it when it made the dive from
the log, or did the frog dive to the bottom and come up
under the fish? That's the question."

Jack threw the skin of the legs overboard and fol-
lowed it with the body of the frog, laid some fresh grass
over the trout in the creel, placed the legs on the grass,
looked up and remarked: "I'll be durnea if I know." *

WATER SNAKES. — Few sportsmen know more about

* This and some other anecdotes in this chapter were orig-
inally written by me for Forest and Stream, F. M.

272 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

snakes than to have about half a dozen names to cover
them all, and few men see more snakes than the men who
fish and shoot, yet Jordan ("Manual of the Vertebrates")
gives us twenty-four genera and fifty-three species in the
northern United States. Of these there are four which
haunt marshy places and feed mainly on fish and frogs,
although none of them would neglect a bird if it
offered, whether the bird was nesting on the ground or
feeding. And the other species may also take fish, for
all I know, while it is sure that none of them would
decline a frog.

These four piscivorous serpents have come fre-
quently under my notice at times when I have been
fishing alone from a boat or a log as a "contemplative
angler.". That is the way to see not only snakes, but
other life, and I have fished with the four fish eaters
and have seen them fish. I do not kill all snakes; in
fact, I love to pet the "puff-adder," or "hog-nosed
viper," for it is kind and likes petting ; it is not poison-
ous, as the majority say it is, but it flattens its head and
threatens, then I pick it up and we are friends. But
the "four," the "big four," and we might add, "the
dirty four," I kill them on sight. Two of them are as
poisonous as the rattlesnake, and the others are vile
beasts.

The common water snake of the North (Tropidonotus
sipedon) grows to a length of four feet. It is of a dirty
brown color, with darker squares. It ranges from
Maine to Texas, and is found along the streams, a
cross, disagreeable reptile. From 1868 to 1876 I had
trout ponds at Honeoye Falls, Monroe county, N. Y.,
and this snake was a pest. The soil was a stiff clay, and
a crawfish hole would never cave in, buUmade a good
place for Tropidonotus sipedon to hide in. On approach-

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies'* 273

ing the ponds in summer there would be many of these
snakes seen to dodge into the water and hide under
the overhanging grass. It was fun to see lady visitors
screech when I threw off my coat and plunged the left
arm under the bank, bringing out the angry beast,
which, if not taken too near the neck, vented its wrath
in sinking its teeth into my hand. But it was only like
a brier scratch; not half as severe afterward as the
prick from the spine of a catfish, but when my good
right hand took the reptile by the head and twisted it
from its body, some people thought it cruel. To me it
was "cruel" to see a snake take a trout, especially one
that I had raised. Yet that snake filled its place in
nature ; the main trouble is that man writes up all these
things from his point of view, just as I am doing.

The other non-poisonous water snake which I know,
although others are recorded, is the Southern one (T.
fasciatus), which has dark vertical bands on its sides,
and has a reddish-brown belly. This snake is seldom
found north of Georgia. I knew it quite well, having
looked it over for poison fangs and found it to be harm-
less, so when a lady from Ponchitoula landed one and
was about to spring out of the boat, I called to her
to swing it over to me. She did so, and I was tempted
to bite the animal's head off, just for bravado, but
merely unhooked it and killed it with my heel.

The Northern sportsmen should remember this:
Our North American poisonous serpents have trian-
gular heads and also have a deep pit between the eye
and the nostril, like a second nostril. The snake known
as a copperhead in the North and cottonmouth in the
_South (Ancistrodon contortrix) has the top of its head a
coppery-red, and a lot of V-shaped blotches on its back.
If I am not mistaken, it is called "pilot" and "rattle-

274 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

snake's mate" in Pennsylvania. It is very poisonous,
but is not as common as it was. While fishing for black
bass in the Delaware River, one crawled out of the
water with a perch in its mouth so near me that I killed
it with a stone.

From Illinois south dwells the water moccasin (A.
piscivorus), said by Jordan to be the most dangerous of
our snakes. I have seen them hanging on bushes over
the water ready for fish or frog, and have killed several
that had fish in them. When fishing in Southern waters
I keep a good lookout for these animals/which give no
warning rattle, but carry small doses of sudden death
ready to be injected into the leg of a peaceful angler.

TORTOISES AND TURTLES. — In America we popularly
call them all "turtles," and the distinction of "tortoise"
for the land and fresh-water kind is almost unknown,
while the principal exception is that delicate box of gela-
tinous meat, the diamond-back terrapin of the salt-water
marshes. I never knew the box tortoise to eat fish, and
I have had them in captivity for years; they seemed
fond of fruits, melons and tomatoes.

All the pond and river turtles are great fish eaters.
They will float up quietly under a fish and make a grab
for it. Some years ago I was using a live minnow for
black bassy on Long Island, when I saw a great snap-
ping turtle take the minnow and go below. A few pulls
showed that a trout rod would never stir a thirty-pound
turtle from the mud and weeds, and I kept weaving
the rod from side to side in order to cut the snell on
the reptile's jaw, in order not to lose the entire leader.
The game worked, and a hook was the only loss. I
have taken these brutes on night lines set for eels, but
there were hooks selected for that work, and no gut
snells.

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 275

The large, soft-shelled turtles of the Great Lake re-
gion and the South are also savage fellows. A young
man who was fishing near me in the Pamunky River,
and using strong tackle, pulled in one of these critters
and held it up to show me. Soon he yelled for help,
and I rowed over to him and found the turtle fast to
his shoe and biting his foot. He was in too much agony
to help himself, and I did not know what to do. The
first impulse was to seize the long neck and shut off the
turtle's wind; as I did this I realized that it could do
without breathing for an hour or two, and all the while
the man was in agony with the cruel beak forcing itself
through the thin upper of his shoe and into his foot.
On the seat beyond him lay one of those strong dirk-
knives which are sold to would-be sportsmen as ''hunt-
ing knives." Fortunately it was sharp, as well as
strong, and the way I vivisected the lower jaw out of
that turtle took ?11 my strength, and would have won
applause from the cruelty society. The young man
fainted at the finish, but a little water and fanning
brought him around. When his shoe was removed
there was much blood in it, and on taking off his stock-
ing I found that the little toe was nearly severed, and
the next one was injured. I bound up his foot in his
handkerchief and towed his boat to White House land-
ing, where he had friends. He lost one toe, however.
He said that the turtle had swallowed the hook, and
he had cut the line to let him have it, when the turtle
began running around to escape, and he kicked at it.
"Well.'' said I, "you keep that hunting knife as a re-
minder, not only of the loss of your toe, but as the first
instance known where such a knife was found to be
useful*'

Passing from turtles, which are truly dangerous,

Modern Pishcutture in Fresh and Salt Wale?.

down to the little "skillypots" which sun themselves
on logs, is like descending from tiger hunting to shoot-
ing rabbits. The turtles before mentioned never sun
themselves on logs. They may float on the water a
few minutes when they come up for air, but they re-
main in the water at all times, except when eggs are
to be laid on land for the sun to hatch. Here is a grand
division not noticed in the books. From the big ''slid-
ers" of the South to the painted and spotted pond tur-
tles of the North, they are all fish eaters.

BIRDS. — All ducks eat some small fish occasionally,
and some birds live almost exclusively upon them. These
are the grebes, helldivers, loons, gannets, pelicans, cor-
morants, the mergensers or sheldrakes, herons (often
miscalled "cranes"), bald eagle, osprey or "fish-hawk,"
and kingfisher. The gulls eat fish, or any other thing
that comes handy, but as they are not divers it is only
the dead or injured fish that come to the surface which
they can get.

THE KINGFISHER. — This jolly bird is common every-
where, whether up some little trout stream, which the
angler has just discovered, but which the kingfisher
knew years before, or along the rocks and beaches of
old ocean, where it seeks its prey among the breakers.
There is no bit of fresh or salt water on this continent
that the kingfisher does not frequent and where its
cheery whir, like the song of the reel, is not heard. Every
youthful angler saw one on his first fishing trip, and
also learned its name, which fortunately is the same
from Florida to Alaska. The Germans call it the icebird
(Eisvogel}, and the name seems inappropriate, al-
though it often remains all winter along the northern
coast, near open waters.

Once I cast a minnow for black bass, and some fish

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 277

struck at it and knocked the bait on top of a lily pad.
A passing kingfisher saw it, stopped, hovered and dove.
The bird struck the water hard just as the minnow
floundered into it, and bore the fish some feet in the
air until it learned that its prey was fast to something,
when the bird dropped the fish and alighted on a dead
limb and scolded away. In fact it always scolds when
it misses, and I have been in doubt whether it can
spring its rattle with a fish in its bill. By the marks on
this minnow the long bill of the bird did not pierce it,
but it struck the fish about the middle, leaving a mark
on each side.

The kingfisher sizes up its prey and does not take a
fish which it cannot swallow whole. It takes the fish
head first, after it has seized it crosswise and gone to a
limb to swallow it. This I have learned by dissection,
for as a fishculturist I was forced to protect my trout
fry from a bird which has always been a welcome com-
panion on angling trips.

The kingfishers nest in holes in the bank, usually
under the protecting roots of trees, and the young seem
to be able to reject fish bones, or to pass them undi-
gested, I don't know which. Nor do I know how th£
young are fed, whether as pigeons are fed, or whether
the old takes a fish to the nest and picks it to pieces for
the fledglings. In fact, there are many things which
we may never know of the life history of wild birds,
because we cannot be allowed to intrude upon their
privacy.

THE OSPREY. — This is a large bird of the great fam-
ily of falcons, which includes the eagles, hawks and
kites. Osprey is the correct name of the bird, which is
called "fish-hawk" in many parts of our country, and
not without reason. It ranges almost over the world,

278 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

and is not confined to America. This fact, in combina-
tion with the other fact that the name "osprey" is more
universal than "fish-hawk," leads me to use the name
which is wider known, even if not so descriptive.

Did you ever watch a kingfisher hover at fifty feet,
dive and strike its prey ; or an osprey do the same thing
to a larger fish at three times the distance ? If you have
done this, and have seen these birds take their fish in
from one to three feet of water, you may have wondered
at it in an indolent sort of way, and have gone on
fishing.

Stop here and think! Put your hand a foot above
the water and try to grab a fish that is just below the
surface and you will fail. Then consider what the king-
fisher and the osprey do at the heights at which they
dive, and make a good living at it, and you will marvel
how the birds do it with repeated success, while you
can never catch even a little minnow in your hand.

The osprey can sail in circles, like all of its class, but
it often flies in a direct line, with head bent down to
scan the waters below. When it sees a fish of the de-
sired size or kind, it hovers, as the kingfisher does, and
then like an arrow it dives, and rarely misses. Unlike
the kingfisher, it emerges from the water with the fish
in its powerful talons, and not in its bill, and then wings
its way into the woods to feast, or to feed its young.

A PLANT.

A water plant called "bladderwort" has a reputation
for capturing small fish and feeding on them, as the
pitcher plants feed on insects which venture into their
parlors after the sweet juices held there. I had read

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 279

something of this plant in the report of the United
States Fish Commission for 1884-5, but did not know
it. Late in July, 1889, I was ordered by Mr. E. G.
Blackford, President of the New York Fish Commis-
sion, to make an examination of the two principal lakes
of Long Island, at Ronkonkoma and Riverhead, and
Dr. Bashford, Dean of Columbia University, volun-
teered to assist, I to work up fishes and crustaceans,
and he to do the same for plants and insects. A full
report of our work may be found in the report of the
State Commission for 1889.

When Dr. Dean showed me the plant it was well
known by sight, but the idea of those little bladders,
one-sixteenth of an inch long, destroying a fish seemed
absurd. Dr. Dean did' not have to go far to study the
plant. Three varieties — the Utricularia vulgaris, Pinior
and Pur pur ea — were found in the Long Island ponds
in quantity and under natural conditions. The plant
is found in rope-like masses growing from a big round
bud. It is more or less floating, and dies at one end
as it grows at the other. In the winter the stem dies
up to the terminal bud. It blooms in June in Long
Island waters, its yellow clusters of flowers reaching
up above the surface of the water. The leaves are deli-
cate and fringe the stem. From their axils arise the
bladders. From its small size I am skeptical about its
taking any fish.

INSECTS AND THEIR LARV^).

While furnishing food for trout, as well as other
fishes, there are some species of insects which turn the
tables and kill the trout. A flat beetle (Belostoma gran-
dis) grows to a length of two inches, and will attack a

280 Modern Fishcultiire in Fresh and Salt Water.

yearling trout. It has swimming legs behind, power-
ful forelegs, a boat-shaped body and a sharp probos-
cis; the larva of this beetle is a green worm the size of
a lead pencil and nearly three inches long. Always kill
these things. The margined beetle (Dytiscus) has hard
shards covering the wings, strong swimming legs, and
a pair of pincers in front; length of body one and one-
half inches; female with fluted shards and male with
smooth shell-like back, around which runs a yellowish-
white stripe; the larva is the ''water-scorpion/' a round-
bodied larva, with light rings at each abdominal joint.

PUPA OF DRAGON FLY (natural size).

The larva and pupa of the dragon-fly are very destruct-
ive to small fish. Few insect pupa take food, but this
animal feeds all the time; it has a pair of pincers on an
extension arrangement, which is hinged to the front
part of its head; there is a middle joint to this which
lets the pincers lie in front when in repose, but allows
them to be thrust out nearly three-fourths of an inch
when it seizes a fish. I once put six young gold-fish,
three-quarters of an inch in length, in a bowl with a
dragon-fly larva, and it killed all six fish inside of an

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 281

hour. This dragon-fly (Libellulida) is also called darn-
ing needle, mosquito-hawk and demoiselle. Perhaps
the adult insect has its uses, but the fishculturist has
no use for it.

The great larva of the helgramite fly (Corydalus cor-
nutus) may kill some fish, but if it does I don't know it.
This larva is two and one-half inches long, and has a
powerful pair of pincers; it lives in brooks, under
stones, and crawls ashore to enter the pupa stage under
logs. The great insects fly by night and are seldom
seen; the larva is a famous bait for black bass, and is
called dobson, crawler, kill-devil, and about twenty

HELGRAMITE LARVA, "DOBSON."

other names. The female fly has short pincers, like
the larva, but the male has two long "horns," which
cross at the tips.

The little "water boatman," which rows himself
along, cannot harm fish to any extent. Trout will not
eat them, nor will they touch "whirligigs," which play
in schools on the surface; nor will they taste of the
water cricket, "skater," or "skeeter," as it is variously
called — the little, dried-up fellow which stands on the
water with only its feet touching it. These water
crickets eat small insects, but seem to get no good

282 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

from them, for they appear to be as dry inside as they
are outside. If the "whirligigs" eat anything it is when
I am not looking, for they are so occupied with their
game of tag through a crowd of their fellows that they

PUPA OF HELGRAMITE.

cannot spare time to feed, and it is hard to tell who
is "it."

The larva of the stone-fly is the caddis, which makes
itself a case of leaves, sticks, sand, or other material,
and is harmless in all stages; therefore it has no busi-

FEMALE HELGRAMITE FLY.

ness to be included in the chapter on enemies of fish ;
but insects will not get another inning in this book,
and the fishculturist might wonder what the larva
might be. Another good fish food that cannot harm a

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 283

fish is the soft larva of the May-fly, also called shad-fly,
eel-fly, and by other names; it is one of the ephemera
which only lives for a day or two in the perfect, or
imago, state, but passes several years in the larval state
in the water.

MAMMALS.

Years ago I met in executive session, all alone, and
passed a law that I should not be allowed to take the

MALE HELGRAMITE FLY.

life of any living thing unless it was needed by me, or
because it worked injury to my interests. Those are
the only circumstances under which a man should kill
anything. The law was flexible enough to allow of
shooting a few game birds for my own table and for
taking fish also. A pair of ospreys, sometimes called
"fish-hawks," nested above my ponds every year, and
often sailed over them with longing eyes, but my orders
were not to harm them; they went to the salt water a
few hundred yards below, and it was worth the price
of admission to see them plunge from a height of a
hundred feet and get a fish, One young one, and only

284 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

one, had to be killed because he would not be "shooed"
nor stoned away from the trout ponds.

This is related to show my forbearance toward the
muskrat In summer musky would come into the in-
closure and swim about a big pool below the ponds,

STONE FLY (Phryganea), LARVA AND CASES.

raise a brood and enjoy life. When he burrowed into
the dams he was trapped, and I often said to him before
the yelping terriers had a whack at him: "Now,
Musky, if you and your tribe will only dig where I
want digging done we will dwell in peace; but you
persist in boring into my dams, and we are no longer
friends." But the terriers had no argument to make.

MUSKRATS. — For years I had suspected the musquash
of eating fish, but had no evidence. The ground for sus-
picion was that the muskrat ate animal food in the shape
of fresh-water mussels (Unios), as was shown by the
piles of shells which he took the trouble to carry to a fav-
orite place. He is a queer fellow, and his habits are worth

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 285

studying; he leaves his "sign" on a stone or log, in a
conspicuous place, and never buries it, as dogs and
cats do. I gave musky the benefit of the doubt, know-
ing that he is the nearest relative of the beaver, and
the name of "musk beaver" would fit him better than
the one he bears. Having dissected hundreds and
found no remains of fish, I was still skeptical, because
of the eating of Unios.

With all this in mind, I decided to find out what
others might know on the subject, and to do this there
is no way in which one can reach such a body of ob-
servant field naturalists as in the columns of "Forest
and Stream." Therefore I wrote:

"In 'Forest and Stream' of July 30, 1898, I said
that I had always suspected the muskrat of eating fish
in the winter, because it is well known that it eats ani-
mal food in the shape of Unios, or fresh-water mussels,
but most of these rodents that I had examined were
killed in summer, when they were mainly feeding on
vegetation. I asked: 'Can any one prove that the
muskrat eats fish in winter when vegetation is scant?'
To this question there came but one reply, but it was
so full and complete that I publish it as a contribution
to the life history of the muskrat. No doubt thousands
of men have known for years what Mr. Held writes,
but as I did not know it, and I have known the mus-
quash as boy and man for over half a century, and as a
summer burrower in my trout ponds for at least half
that time, it is fair to assume that others may not know
about the fish-eating habits of the muskrat.

"Here is just the kind of letter that I love to receive.
It is from Mr. William C. Held, Saginaw, Mich., and
says :

" 'You ask if any one can prove that the muskrat

286 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

eats fish in winter. All our net fishermen can prove
that they eat fish, as they are the most destructive thing
they have to deal with during the fall and winter
months. They chew into the nets and then chew out
again, and in this way they let out many fish before the
holes are located and repaired. As soon as the fisher-
men have their nets set in the fall, they commence trap-
ping around them, and in this way they catch most of
the rats; but there are always a few that remain un-
caught, which cause trouble all winter.

" 'In the winter one can see places on the ice where
the muskrats have carried fish and eaten them night
after night. Last spring I saw a fish-box into which a
muskrat had gnawed a hole for the purpose of getting
at the fish.' "

THE MINK varies his diet of poultry and game with
fish. Once I dug out a mink's nest, and found a great
lot of feathers, bones of birds and of fish, all around the
helpless young. The mother escaped by another hole,
and as for the old male mink, he would only take interest
enough in the family to kill the young ; and that is one
good trait in the mink, as cruel and bloodthirsty an ani-
mal as walks this planet — one who kills for the love of
killing, and is almost as bad as the human game hog
who kills for count and brag.

OTTERS are fish-eaters, and eat little else, but the
American fishculturist has no fear of them, for they are
entirely exterminated in parts that are only sparsely
settled; yet in Germany they are a. pest to the fishcul-
turist, and in that densely-populated land, yclept "Mer-
rie England," packs of other hounds are still kept up.

THE BEAR visits the streams where suckers run up
to spawn in spring, and he impales them on his claws,
or scoops them on land, and possibly may agree with a

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 287

noted thief and confidence-man of New York, who
said : "A sucker is born every minute/'

DOMESTIC CATS love fish, not in a platonic sense, but
as epicures; and as much as they dislike to be wet, I
have known a cat to plunge into a stream for fish. We
all know that the house cat will wet a paw in the glass
globe for a goldfish as readily as she will go for the
canary bird when no one is watching, but few know
that tabby will dive for fish. While fishing for trout
between the mill ponds at Cold T: ring Harbor, Long
Island, and leisurely casting in a pool, a splash drew
attention to a large cat just emerging from the water
with a handsome trout. She was wet all over, and must
have struck her game where the water covered her back.
I had neither gun nor pistol, and pussy lived to report.
When I have a gun I make it a point to kill every cat
that I find in the woods. My love of robins and other
birds has brought me to hate this domestic tiger, which
kills them. A maiden lady in the village usually had
from twenty to thirty cats, and although she fed them
well there was no brook trout on their menu. Near her
father's stables there was a private trout stream, and
the owner gave me the privilege of taking eggs for the
State. My men reported that every morning there were
remains of trout on the bank, where cats had eaten them.
T rigged a dozen steel traps in places where cat tracks
hinted that they would do the most good, and said
nothing to my men, for they had relatives near. Know-
ing the racket a cat in a trap would make, I was there
before daylight in order that there should be no dis-
turbance of my neighbor's sleep. Three cats were my
only reward, and as that didn't pay the scheme was
dropped.

THE RACCOON. — This very scientific fisher has been

288 Modem Fishculture In Fresh and Salt Water.

left for the last, but it is not least. The Germans call
this animal the "wash bear," from its habit of washing
things before it eats them. As the coon is omnivorous
it may be questioned if it washes birds ; and I know
that it does not wash green corn, the "roastin' ear" of
the South. The old darkey song says :

"Ole Mistah Coon's a mighty man,

He carry a bushy tail;
He steal ole massa's cawn at night,

An' he husks it awn de rail.

"De squirrel hab a bushy tail,

An' stumpy grows de hair;
De ole coon's tail am ringed all 'roun',

An' de possum's tail am bare."

Here is a condensed natural history, and such simple
songs made negro minstrelsy popular forty years ago,
but what they sing to-day is characterless.

Next to the fox, if not before it, the coon ranks in
cuteness. I saw one wade in on a riffle and go up
stream, turning a stone with one forepaw and grab-
bing any fish or crayfish which might dart out with the
other. It was in the summer, when the streams were
low in Louisiana, and I had been fishing, but at that
time was sitting on a log taking a bite at noon. A
bunch willow concealed all but my head, and when the
coon came in sight I suspended mastication and tried
to suppress breathing, for a fellow may be out for
years and not get a chance to see a wild animal search
for its food as if it was unobserved. There was no
desire to kill the coon, for it was midsummer, and
neither flesh nor skin were good ; and then I'm that sort
of fellow that, when not pressed for meat, would spend
half a day to see a chipmunk dig its hole, and think the
time well spent.

Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 289

The coon proceeded cautiously, with one paw ready
to grab before a stone was disturbed; then the stone
was quickly upset and a grab made, and a crayfish was
captured ; just how I could not see, but in a way that
avoided the two great pinching claws, which were then
broken off, and the crustacean scrubbed and eaten, as
some darkies eat peanuts, shells and all, This ac-
counted for the number of these claws seen on the
riffles. I wonder if all coons break off the claws from
crayfishei) before they wash and eat then.

Coons also kill and eat the small pond turtles, thl
painted and Spotted ones of the northeastern United
State^ and perhaps the larger "sliders" of the South,
I have never seen them eat a turtle, but have §een the
empty shells picked quite clean aldng the shore, and
usually surrounded by coon tracks, forming gdod cir-
cumstantial evidence.

While fishing in Kansas a coon came out of the
woods and washed a frog within thirty feet of me, and
scrubbed it well, and went back into the brush.

"Oh, Mistah Coon's a cunnin' t'ing,

He ramble in de dark;
An' de only t'ing dat 'sturbs his mind

Is to hear ole Ringo bark."

SECTION VII.

SALT-WATER FISH.

Many salt-water fishes have been successfully
hatched, but never for rearing in ponds. The work
has been confined to the United States Fish Commis-
sion, and the States of New York and Massachusetts.
The first work of the kind in America, as far as I know,
was done by me at Noank, Conn., in June, 1874, when
Prof. Baird wished to try and take the eggs of some
sea-bass (Centropristes striatus), which were confined
in fish cars. This was done with bleeding hands before
I learned just how sharp these fin-rays were. I used
floating boxes, and took many eggs, which were quite
small, being twenty-five to the linear inch. These eggs
were watched under the microscope several times a
day, for the scientists of the United States Fish Com-
mission were there, and the development recorded.
Things went well until the fourth day, when a storm
upset the boxes as the eggs were about to hatch. (See
Report U. S. F. C, 1874.)

Since that the experts have hatched the scup, or
porgy ; the tautog, or blackfish ; the flounder, sea her-
ring, sheepshead; weakfish, or squeteague; cod, had-
dock, Spanish mackerel, and other salt-water species.

290

292 Modem Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

CODFISH,

The cod family is the most important of all the fishes,
containing a large number of species of considerable
size, distributed throughout all the parts of the north-
ern hemisphere in great numbers, The cod is easily
captured and readily preserved. It feeds more men
than any other fish. Norway lives from it, and exports
60 per cent, of the catch.

It was the fisheries and not the sterile rocks of Mas-
sachusetts which tempted our ancestors to settle on
that rock-bound and inhospitable coast, and their de-
scendants remembered this when they put the great
gilt codfish in the State Capitol, where it hangs to-day,
to remind the law-makers that once the "Codfish Aris-
tocracy" was the real thing, for the very existence of
our "first families" in the early emigration days de-
pended upon the humble codfish.

The nutritious cod is found in the North Atlantic,
North Pacific and Polar oceans to far beyond the Arc-
tic Circle. In the West Atlantic it occurs in winter in
considerable numbers as far south as the mouth of
Chesapeake Bay, latitude 37 degrees, and stragglers
have been observed off Cape Charles; Cape Hatteras
may be considered its southern limit.

Its distribution on the Pacific coast is not so well
known, although it appears to occur on all the off-shore
banks of that coast and to the coasts north of the Straits
of Fuca.

There is a cod bank outside of the mouth of the
Columbia River, but it is not much fished, and on the

Salt-Water Fish.

Pacific coast, the cod fisheries of Alaska are of the
greatest importance; but the Pacific fisheries are in-
creasing,

The cod spawns all winter, from November to the
last of March, Its eggs are free, and will float in water
of a density of 1.026 for a week or more, when they
settle down a little. At a temperature of 45 to 38
degrees they will hatch in from two to three weeks,
and absorb the sac in a little less than half that time,
The Government hatcheries at Gloucester, since 1878,
Wood's Hole and Ten-pound Island, Mass,, turn out
great numbers, but we never made much of a success
of it on Long Island, mainly because the water was
seldom denser in the inner harbor than 1.018, and of
the difficulty of getting and transporting the eggs.

Many a cold morning before sunrise have I and my
men been on the fish cars at Fulton Market taking cod
eggs with fingers which had no feeling in them. Then
we would take the eggs in jars of water and on flannel
trays to be taken to the hatchery. I once took 3,000,000
eggs from a twenty-five-pound cod, and left some
which were not matured. A cod is sexually mature at
four years old. When spawning at sea the sexes do
not seem to come close together, as is the case with
most of the fishes with whose spawning habits I am
familiar. If the egg meets the milt of the male and
absorbs a spermatozoon, while absorbing water, the egg
is fertilized. But nature, which gives the trout a few
hundred eggs, provides the cod with millions, to cover
their loss by not being fertilized, and many are thrown
on shore.

Special apparatus was needed for floating eggs, and
the late Capt. Chester devised a "tidal hatcher" that
let the water in at the bottom and out by a siphon,

294 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

which caused the water to rise and fall in the jars.
These jars had holes in their bottoms, which were
corked, and the jars filled with eggs and water; a bit
of cheesecloth was fastened over the top, the jars re-
versed in the box, on strips, and the cork removed,
The water would then rise until the siphon began to
work, and then it would fall until the siphon stopped,

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

THE TOMCOD.

This fish (Micro gadus tomcod) is a miniature cod-
fish, to the casual observer ; rigged out with three dorsal
fins and two anal fins in true cod style. It ranges from
Labrador to Virginia, coming into harbors to spawn in
brackish water. In some parts it is called "frostfish,"
but there is another fish by that name, and "tomcod" is
more generally used. In New York harbors it spawns
along the docks and in the weeds in December; eggs
free and heavy, about fifteen to the inch. They hatch
in thirty to forty days, and the young take food at four
to six days, according to temperature. The tomcod
grows to two pounds weight, but the average is between
one-quarter and one-half pound. I began hatching this
fish in 1884, with some sneering from the inland Com-
missioners, but when those who live near the salt water
found it out the applications for them came in fast. The
fish increased in all the harbors. In my report to the
New York Commission for 1893, page 36, I say : "Be-
tween November 27 and January 15 we had a good run,

Salt-Water Fish.

29$

and turned out nearly 16,000,000 fry, which kept our
salt-water pump going day and night. This fish is very
prolific, as is shown by the fact that from thirty-two
females we got an average of 30,000 eggs each, and we

CHESTER'S TIDAL HATCHER.

have taken as high as 75,000 eggs from one female.
Larger tomcods and more of them were never seen in
this harbor before."

If the eggs are placed in fresh water from the start

296 Modern Fishcutture in Fresh and Salt Water.

they will hatch, and I'have reared them in fresh water;
but if the salt water failed and we changed to fresh
after several days, the fish often hatched, but died, This
would be a good fish for large lakes, because it has soft
fins, and is therefore better food for big trout than any
sharp-finned fishes,

CHAPTER XXXIX,
LOBSTERS (Homarus).

In the latter part of the winter of 1885-86 the late
Prof. Baird caused experiments to be made at Wood's
Hole, Mass., with lobster eggs. At that time it was the
belief that lobsters spawned all the year round, because
eggs were found on some females at all seasons. We
now know that an individual spawns but once in two
years. She can only grow when she sheds her shell,
which she does not do while eggs are attached to her
abdomen. This is the routine : Say she has shed and
spawned in the late summer of 1890; the eggs hatch in
the summer of '91, after which she makes growth and
moults, not spawning again until the next summer.

LOBSTERS ARE BIENNIAL SPAWNERS.

In the " Scientific American Supplement," No. 945,
February 10, 1894, was published an article of mine,
entitled, "What We Know of the Lobster," which that
paper had held unpublished since September, 1892, six-
teen months, as is shown by the letter of Prof. Samuel
Carman, given below. In the meantime Dr. Francis H,

Salt-Water Fish. 297

Herrick announced his discovery that the lobster was
a biennial spawner in his extensive and most complete
life-history of the lobster which has ever been pub-
lished ; thus anticipating Prof. Carman and myself, who
were studying on the same lines. In the Report of the

TOM COD.

New York Fish Commission (1892), pages 50-57, I
refer to this, and give Prof. Carman's report on the
lobster to the Massachusetts Fish Commission (Decem-
ber, 1891). The United States Fish Commission Bul-
letin for 1893, pages 281-286, printed my article from
the "Scientific American Supplement" in full. I can
only quote a few extracts :

''The female spawns but once in two years. Notes
made on the eggs of lobsters in the New York Aqua-
rium in 1876-78 show that they hatched before July, or
when the water reached a temperature of about 60 de-
grees Fahr. In 1891 I began the hatching of lobsters
for the New York State Fishery Commission, and
found that eggs taken from lobsters from the middle to
the last of July did not hatch that year. Then it seemed
as if the lobster might be a biennial spawner, but I did
not dare to say so. A report of my observations sent to
Prof, Samuel Carman, of the Museum of Comparative

298 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water,

Zoology, Cambridge, Mass., brought a letter dated
August 30, 1892, complimenting my studies on the life-
history of the lobster and inclosing a report to the Mas-
sachusetts Fish Commission, dated December 17, 1891,
in which he shows that his investigations proved that
the lobster spawned but once in two years. Therefore,
I have solid backing in making the statement that heads
this paragraph.

"Since this I have taken, for the New York Fishery
Commission, a large number of lobster eggs, and have
turned out this year from Cold Spring Harbor, Long
Island, 177,000 young lobsters into the waters of Long
Island Sound. These were from eggs which otherwise
would have been sent to market with the parent and
have been boiled and thrown away with the shells, and
were therefore just so many saved from destruction
and given a chance to struggle for life. There is no
law in the State of New York relating to "berried" lob-
sters. The eggs number fifteen to the linear inch, and
measure 6,090 to the fluid ounce, are attached not only
to the swimmerets, but also to each other by threads,
and are aerated by an almost constant motion of the
appendages, and in confinement many eggs are loos-
ened and fall off, perhaps from the habit that the parent
has of poking among them with her legs. * * *

"The young do not hatch until the water reaches a
temperature of about 60 degrees Fahr., which in Long
Island Sound might occur after the latter part of May,
and in that region the hatching season is over by the
middle of July, and as the mother has been feeding
while carrying her eggs, she can then shed her shell
and begin to develop the so-called "coral" that epicures
prize, which will form the eggs to -be laid the second
year, The fact that female lobsters bearing eggs out-

Salt-Water Fish. 299

side, while others have the coral inside, are taken in
winter, supports the theory of biennial spawning.
August 16, 1893, I took a lobster from a car, which the
owner told me had spawned two days before. The
microscope could detect nothing in the eggs, because
the yolk filled them entirely. Four days later the yolk
had shrunken and the "mulberry" stage could be seen' in
the clear space, and by the 25th the eye was visible.
The eggs are dark when first laid, and grow lighter in
color as they develop. From this until October no
change was seen."

The pump broke and they died.

There is no food for a larval lobster known to me
that is as acceptable as another larval lobster that has
just molted. I have tried to bribe them by hanging
flesh of eel, clam, beef, lobster (adult), blue crab, and
fiddler crab, but without avail ; their love for their fel-
lows which prompted them to take their brethren in out
of the wet, lest they might be devoured by small fishes,
baffled my efforts, and there was no resource but to
plant the fry as soon as hatched. If each youngster
could be placed in a tank, or even a small compartment,
by itself, no doubt it would accept any, or all, of the
foods named, but at present we are not prepared to feed
a million or more individual lobsters in separate stalls
for months before turning them out to shift for them-
selves. They cannot be reclaimed from cannibalism by
any known means. They are fighters by nature, and
when a lobsterman has a lot of adults in a floating car
and a storm comes up each lobster blames his neighbor
for any collision that may ensue, and they engage in a
general fight, which is not only disastrous to them-
selves, but to the lobsterman, for lobsters are not mar-
ketable in fragments.

300 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

Just how the eggs are impregnated is not known. It
is said that the milt is placed near the oviduct some time
before the extrusion of the eggs, and that they are fer-
tilized by passing over it. Of this I know nothing, and
merely insert this paragraph to show that this question
was not overlooked. The sexes of lobsters can easily
be distinguished without the presence of eggs. When
the pairing takes place and how it is performed no man
knows. A study of the reproductive organs has devel-
oped a theory, and there we stop.

The increase of population has naturally increased
the consumption of lobsters, and the great decrease in
the size of this crustacean is an evidence that they are
slow of growth, and the marketable lobster of to-day,
weighing from one to two pounds, may be from four
to six years old, possibly more. In all these estimates
of weights a fairly plump, well-fed lobster is meant,
and not one that would be rejected by the housewife as
not worth picking the meat from, for she has learned
to weigh them in her hand, and of several of the same
size, to choose the heaviest.

They are hatched in jars, and swim at once. They
are in a larval state at first, and moult three times be-
fore they are perfect and get the big claws. It is when
it moults, and is soft, that his fellows devour him. In
a natural state the youthful Homarus would seek shel-
ter for this operation, hence we must plant them at once,
or we might have only one fat fellow left, who, like
Gilbert's mariner, could say :

"O, I am the cook and the captain bold,
And the mate of the Nancy brig;

The bo'sun tight,

And the midshipmite,

And the crew of the captain's gig."

SECTION VIII.

MISCELLANEOUS.

CHAPTER XL.

FROG CULTURE.

About once a year the story of a mythical frog farm,
where much wealth is harvested every season, goes the
rounds of the newspapers. Seth Green started it in an
article on raising frogs, published in one of the Re-
ports of the New York State Fish Commission, stating
how easily the spawn could be gathered and hatched;
but he went no further ; he was widely quoted and that
was the end of it, if not the object of his paper. He
was right. They can be hatched in any quantity in
pools of still water at summer temperatures, and the
tadpoles can be fed and grown if protected until the
transformation into a frog comes, and then they leave
the water and catch insects ; it is impossible then to
feed them and they die. I speak from experience, hav-
ing been a student of the frog during a long career of
fishctilture, covering thirty years. In the early days I
read of a successful frog farm near Nutley, N. J., and
went there, but no one knew of it, nor could I find the
man, A similar experience in Indiana made me skep-

301

302 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

tical, but it was only personal study and experience that
made me an unbeliever.

I can feed a single frog by dangling a bit of meat
before its nose; tbe meat stirs and the frog seizes it,
but it will not pick up that meat from the ground if
thrown there. Suppose you have a million frogs.
Imagine yourself feeding them by dangling meat be-
fore each individual nose !

Tadpoles are hatched by the thousand for every frog
that becomes .adult. Fish, birds and frogs feed on
them in the larva or tadpole state, and when they
emerge from that they encounter the same enemies,
with snakes added.

The frog is a solitary animal, never in the company
of another except in the spring of the year, when mat-
ing, or in the winter, when they congregate in spring
holes, or other places. They cannot be kept in num-
bers, like fishes, because they would starve if obliged
to compete for food with their fellows. The frog farm
has not yet been established where they can be hatched
and fed artificially until ready for market, and it never
will be.

When you hear of any person rearing frogs on arti-
ficial food it is simply a lie. The frog is being killed
out where it is hunted, and the supplies come from re-
mote districts, where the rural population does not eat
theni, or where there is no population.

According to inquiries of the United States. Fish
Commission the annual catch in the United States is
but little less than 1,000,000, with a grocs value to the
hunters of about $50,000, or 5 cents each. The con-
sumer pays three times that price, which varies, accord-
ing to the market. Dressed legs yield the hunters
from 10 to 50 cents per pound. The bullfrog is the

Miscellaneous. 303

largest and best species ; the little spring and meadow
frogs only grow to 3 and 4 inches, length of body,
while the bullfrog reaches nine. The little "pickerel
frog" (Rana palustris) with bright yellow on thighs
and legs, has a disagreeable odor and is rarely eaten ;
all the others are good. We have four other species,
all small except the bullfrog, besides the arboreal frogs,
which are usually called "tree toads."

A GREAT TRANSFORMATION.

The change from a tadpole to a perfect frog is as
wonderful as the change from a hairy, crawling cater-
piller into a beautiful butterfly ; but somehow this won-
derful transformation into a frog, while well known
to a few, has not seemed to impress the general mind,
as in the case of the butterfly. What happens is this :
The frog lays its eggs, which are fertilized after being
laid, as in the case of most fishes ; the eggs are globu-
lar, jelly-like masses, which swell greatly after extru-
sion. In a few days the embryo is seen moving about,
and it emerges from the mass without absorbing it,
a most unusual waste in animal life. The young is
coiled in the egg, with a tail, much like an embryo
fish, but having its gills outside, and so hatches in an
almost shapeless form. Gradually it takes on the form
of the large proteus (Necturus), called "lizard" on the
Great Lakes, which retains its outside gills when adult.
Then these outside gills absorb or develop inwardly,
and the future frog is in all respects a fish. It has a
long embryonic fin that is eel-like, and begins back
of the head and goes around the slim tail to the vent.
Its eve is well developed, and the "herring bone" mus-

304 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

cles in its tail can be plainly seen. It has a circular
mouth, which can feed on either animal or vegetable
matter. Its abdomen is large, and fitted for digesting
vegetables. It rivals the ant in cleaning the flesh from
delicate skeletons for the zoologist.

In thio state it passes its first summer and goes into
the mud in winter, and comes out hungry in early
spring. Like all larvae, it is a greedy feeder, and soon
begins to show its growth and development by budding
a pair of hindlegs, which are completed about the time
the forelegs begin to show and the ears to develop.*
When these legs are fully developed the tail begins to
absorb, and the frog has already begun to take oxygen
from the air occasionally; it is changing from a gill-
breathing fish to a lung-breathing animal. Think what
this means : Lungs are growing and gills are being
absorbed, yet in the intermediate state the animal can
breathe with both organs. The absorption of the tail
goes to nourish some part of the body, but the adoles-
cent bullfrog is now smaller than the tadpole from
which it changed.

Not only this, but its long, convoluted intestine, fit-
ted to digest vegetation, has somehow changed to a
shorter one, for the vegetarian requires a complex
apparatus to digest its food, while the similar organs in
the carnivora are simple, flesh being easier of digestion
than vegetables.

MARKETING THE FROG.

Tons of frogs now come to New York markets each
year. They are from Canada, Michigan and from the

* The ears of a frog are those large disks back of the eye ;
they are external ear-drums without a meatus.

Miscellaneous, 305

West and South, where the people have not yet learned
to eat them ; for there are practically none to be found
near my boyhood frogging grounds, where I could
easily get a hundred or more in a day. They do not
get a chance to grow, for it is my belief that "an old
rouser" of a bullfrog, with a body say 8 inches long,
is at least a dozen years old. I can't prove this from
experiment, but believe it from the slow growth that
several frogs of my acquaintance have made. One
that had lost part of one hind foot I knew for three
years ; it was about 5 inches long when I first caught it,
and had not grown over an inch in three years, al-
though in a pool where food was plenty. As about
9 inches is the limit, this frog had not ceased to grow.

In the report of the United States Fish Commission-
er for the year ending June 30, 1896, page 497, Dr.
Hugh M. Smith gave the products of the fisheries for
1894, and we find the following credited to the frog
catch, which, as before said, is mainly sent to New
York and other large cities : Arkansas 58,900 Ibs.,
value $4,162; Indiana 24,000 Ibs., $824; Missouri 154,-
818 Ibs., $9,676; New York 61,400 Ibs., $5,126; Ohio
14,040 Ibs., $2,340; Vermont 5,500 Ibs., $825. Total,
318,658 Ibs., valued at $22,953. No other States are
quoted.

Few people outside of the cities eat them. When the
rural population take to eating frogs there will be none
for the great markets. I have seen whole frogs skinned
in Fulton Market, but usually only the hind legs are
used; for, except in the case of monster specimens,
there is little meat on other parts.

The eggs are extruded by the female, assisted by
pressure of the forelegs of the male, who fertilizes them
as they pass out.

306 Modern Fishcidture in Fresh and Salt Water.

CHAPTER XLI.

TERRAPINS.

There are many species of terrapins, speaking by the
card, but to the market-man and epicure there is but
one and this is the "diamond back," so called because
of the markings on its upper shell. The flesh of this
animal, Malaclemmys palustris, is gelatinous and is
always stewed. Its almost fabulous price has led to its
being hunted so much that it is in danger of being ex-
terminated. It ranges from New York to Texas, but
the southern specimens are not in high esteem. Ches-
apeake Bay furnishes the greatest number, and Balti-
moreans not only think them the best but also believe
that they cannot be properly served outside that city.
Epicures of Philadelphia and New York have the same
notion regarding their own cities.

They are sold by the dozen, or computed at that
rate, and a "count" terrapin is a female that measures
6 inches in length on the under shell. No male is ever
a "count." From this the price increases greatly; a
female of 8 inches, which is about the extreme size,
being rated as two "counts," more or less according
to the market. Twenty years ago the "counts" were
worth only the trifling sum of $20 to $30 per dozen,
but in 1888 they increased to $75 to $100 per dozen.
Suppose that a dozen would weigh 40 Ibs., at $100 they
would cost $2.50 per pound live weight, the most ex-
pensive morsel known in modern days. No wonder
that the southern yellow and red-bellied "sliders" come

Miscellaneous. 30?

to northern markets and turn into "terrapin." Who
wouldn't ?

The terrapins inhabit the salt marshes, and lay their
eggs in the sand, as all turtles do, and the young crawl
out and go to the water to feed. Their food is mainly
fish and crabs.- Their threatened extinction has led
to efforts for their preservation. It is evident that they
must be allowed to lay their eggs in the sand and have
the sun hatch them in the good old way, and that all
that can be done is to protect the young and perhaps
feed them. Senator Stewart of Maryland, had a ter-
rapin enclosure. The Baltimore American said :
"Messrs. A. B. Riggin & Co. have added another dia-
mond-backed terrapin inclosure on the Annamessex
River, adjoining Crisfield, says the Baltimore Ameri-
can. The. inclosure is formed by driving sixteen-foot
boards in the mud to the depth of six feet, or to the
hard bottom, making a secure pen for the terrapin.
About two acres of muddy bottom are fenced in, with
knolls exposed here and there, interspersed with salt
water, which is constantly renewed by the ebbing and
flowing of the tide. There are also artificial banks of
sand in which the terrapin deposit their eggs, leaving
them to be hatched by the heat of the sun. Eggs are
usually deposited from June to the middle of August,
and soon hatch in the warm summer sun. A grown
terrapin will lay twelve eggs at a time, and lay twice
during the season. Terrapin require about three years
to become full "counts."

"During the winter the terrapin plow deeply into the
mud and lie dormant, requiring no food or attention,
only warm quarters. When they wake up in the
spring they develop a vigorous appetite, and are fed
principally on hard-shell crabs, which they devour with

308 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

great greed. After a few days' feeding they learn to
come to the feeding place with the eagerness of chick-
ens in a barnyard.

"At the close of last season the Messes. Riggin had
3,600 young terrapin on hand, which were carried safe-
ly through the winter. The warm days of early spring
caused their owners to remove them from the winter
quarters sooner than usual, and the cold wave proved
very disastrous, killing about six hundred of them,
which means a loss, at the present valuation, of $1,200.
In purchasing stock terrapin those of five inches cost
$13 a dozen ; six inches, $34 a dozen, and seven to nine
inches, $60 a dozen. They sell at from $60 to $80 a
dozen."

There is not room here to record all such experi-
ments as are at hand, the accumulation of years, but
the above quotation tells about how far the culture of
terrapin has gone. If, under proper conditions, the
young can be confined, fed and protected, there may be
a future for terrapin culture. The Messrs. Riggin's
board enclosure must have had spaces for the entrance
of water and food, and just how these were arranged
to prevent the exit of young terrapins is not explained.
The average newspaper reporter can tell the public all
about the culture of fish, frogs, terrapin and other
things, if he happens to think of it. He makes a note
or two and then takes the hobbles from his imagination
and lets it roam. A terrapin is a better climber than
an oyster, and "sixteen-foot boards in the mud to the
depth of six feet" would secure the diamond-backs,
if the water did not rise the other ten feet, a point on
which he is silent.

I believe it to be possible to breed this animal profi-
tably. The enormous and ever increasing prices that

Miscellaneous. 3°9

genuine diamond backs are bringing will pay for much
food and attention. Wealthy men are paying prices
for this reptile which almost equal the expenditure of
Lucullus for the tongues of nightingales when he mere-
ly wished to show his extravagance, for it may be ques-
tioned if the tongue of that bird exceeds any other in
delicacy ; or if the tongue of any bird is a real delicacy.
On these points few of us can speak authoritatively.
That terrapin culture can be made profitable I do not
doubt, as there is no prospect of the price ever drop-
ping from its present height.

CHAPTER XLII.

NUMBER OF EGGS IN DIFFERENT FISH.

SUNFISH. — Once I computed the eggs in a little sun-
fish. The extreme length of the fish, including the
caudal fin, was 6^ inches, and its weight was 5^ ounces.
The fish was captured on June 16, and was nearly
ready to spawn; the weight of the ovaries was i^
ounces. The eggs measured twenty-eight to the inch,
making 21,952 to the cubic inch. The displacement
of the ovaries in water was a trifle over two cubic
inches, and the number was estimated in round num-
bers to be 44,000 — a most enormous number for so
small a fish.

THE EEL. — Of eel eggs an editorial note in Forest
and Stream, Dec. 19, 1878, said : "Happening to be in

310 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

Mr. Blackford's office a short time ago when a six-
pound eel with spawn was brought for examination,
Mr. Mather proposed a computation of the eggs. He
took the ovary home. Under the microscope the eggs
appear to be of an octagonal form, but this is due whol-
ly to their pressing upon one another ; when separated
they assume the globular form. The use of the mi-
crometer failed to give satisfactory results because the
eggs varied greatly in size. Mr. Mather therefore
placed a number in line, measured and counted them,
and found them to average 80 to the inch. Then he
took the whole mass of eggs, halved, quartered, and
further divided, seventeen times in all, until the section
small enough to count represented 1-131,072 of the
total number. The count showed 68 eggs, or 8,912,-
896 in the whole. A second computation in the same
way showed 77 eggs in the counted mass, or 10,092,544
altogether. And to make the computation still more
certain, a third count was made, which showed 71 eggs
in the last division, or 9,306,112 in the whole ovaries.
From these results Mr. Mather fixes the number of
eggs in this particular eel at fully nine millions.''

The eel goes to salt water to breed, and while we do
not know how its eggs are deposited, we know that it
passes through a larval state, the very young having
been considered to be a distinct animal by the older
naturalists.

TABLE OF THE NUMBER OF EGGS IN VARIOUS FISHES.

The following is taken from the "Manual of Fish-
culture" of the United States Fish Commission, omit-
ting such fishes as have little importance, or whose

Miscellaneous. 311

eggs have been mentioned in other parts of the book,
and using "free" for "non-adhesive."

Naane of Fish.

Character of
Eggs.

Average
Number
per Fish.

Maximum Egg
Production.

Number
of Eggs.

Weight of
Fish.

Atlanoic Salmon

Heavy, free
Heavy, adhesive . .
Heavy, adhesive

9,363
3000 to 10000

20,992

22H Ibs.

Black Basses

Crapoies

Frost-fish, Coregunus.
Grayling. ....

Heavy, adhesive . .
Heavy, free... .

3000 to 4000
41,000

| 100,000

J- 35,000
40,000

5.200
546,000

265,000

14

1H

35

Buoyant, free
Semi- buoy ant,
slightly adhesive
Semi-buoyant,

Muskellunge

Whitefish

*White Perch.

* The table gives the egg3 of this fish as " buoyant, non-adhesive." I
hp*e written that they adhere to " floating sticks, weeds, etc.," and this is
rurnt.— F. M.

CHAPTER XLIII.

THE "WORKING/"' OR "BLOOMING" OF PONDS.

Anglers find that at certain times in summer there is
a condition of things in large natural ponds which
seems to deprive the fish of all desire to take food. In
Forest and Stream of Aug. 27, 1898, several corre-
spondents referred to this, and I will condense their re-
marks here, as they show the different phases of this
little understood but very common occurrence.

Mr. A. L. Jordan leads off with some questions, a
statement of fact, and a final question. He says :

"May I be allowed to ask through your columns a

312 Modern Pishculture in Fresh and Salt WaieY.

few questions concerning the working of ponds, and
the method of fishing the ponds when in that condi-
tion? I very much des4re to solve the problem of the
whys and wherefores of a pond's working. What is
the cause of a pond's working? What good does it
accomplish ? How does it affect the habits of trout or
any fish? What is the best method of fishing during
the pond's working?

"I have been for the last three years on Lake Twit-
chell, near Big Moose, in the Adirondacks, during the
latter part of August and the first part of September.
Last year the condition of the lake was exceedingly
bad, an old guide saying he had never seen any lake in
such a condition. What I term the workings were all
over the bars and were from 3 to 5 or 6 feet tall, grow-
ing to within a few inches of the top of the water.
They were of a substance somewhat yellowish in color,
and of a thick, slimy nature. After a heavy wind the
shores would be covered with a lot of black stuff
washed ashore.

''The trout in this water were slow and sluggish,
and not particularly anxious to please the fisherman
with a rise to his cast. \Vhen opened they had no visi-
ble traces of the food they were feeding upon, and
they were very fat and in a good condition. It was
their custom to break water at sunset, but this year
they would even forego that sport. What caused this
inactivity ?"

Mr. L. O. Crane also wants to know about the
"specks" in the lakes and ponds during July and Aug-
ust, when the fishing is poor, and adds: "Some say
the specks are caused by the lakes fermenting ; others
say they are caused by a plant blooming in the bottom
of the lakes, and others by the blow from trees coming

Miscellaneous. 313

into the lake. Please set us all right on this point that
1 have heard discussed so long."

Then the following appears: "I find in Bulletin U.
S. F. C., Vol. VI., p. 341, a paragraph upon the 'water
bloom" of ponds, from which I quote:

" 'Lower forms of algae, of the varieties Nostocha-
ceae, Oscillariae and Chroococcaceae, occasionally pro-
duce by their astonishingly rapid, growth the so-called
'water bloom' (Wasserbluete), and transform the water
into a blue-green mass resembling oil. Sometimes
this 'water bloom' causes the death of all the fish in a
pond ; in other cases only certain varieties die, and
frequently the fish are not at all affected by it. So far
no experiments have been made with the view to ascer-
tain which of the algae forming the 'water bloom' ex-
ercise an injurious' influence on fish. It is therefore
very desirable that careful observation should be made
in this respect.'

"In the United States no doubt similar effects are
produced by related forms of algae. It is usually stat-
ed that the seeds of certain water plants float at the
surface of ponds and make the water cloudy until fer-
tilization increases their specific gravity, when they
sink to the bottom and continue their development."

The German authority quoted is Dr. Berthold Ben-
ecke, formerly living at Konigsberg.

This last writer is close to the facts, and it may be
that in some cases, unknown to me, the water may have
resembled oil. But now comes Judge J. S. Van Cleef,
of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., who is closer yet, and hits the
bulls-eye in the following remarks :

"I think that I can answer quite fully your question
in regard to what you call the 'blooming' of ponds, but
which is more commonly called 'working or clouding.'

3 14 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

This condition of the water does not always result
from the same cause, but I am satisfied that it results
from one single cause in the pure water lakes of the
mountain regions of the Catskills. In the Bay of
Qninte the blooming of the water evidently comes from
the spores of an aquatic weed or plant which abounds
in all the shallow waters of that bay. So far as I have
had the opportunity for observation almost every lake,
pond or water abounds in aquatic weeds peculiar to
itself. Where the water is not over about 4 feet in
depth these plants abound in a large amount of insect
life, and where the water is deeper there is, as a rule,
an entire absence of animal life. In the waters of the
Catskills, with which I am quite familiar, I have never
known of a single case where these weeds or plants
throw out spores of any kind which cloud the water.
Mr. Cornelius Van Brunt, who is quite an eminent
misroscopist, and I, some twenty years ago or more,
took particular pains to find out what caused the cloud-
ing of the waters in two of the lakes of the Catskills,
Balsam Lake and Willewemoc Lake, and in both cases
we found that this clouding was caused by the spores
of the fresh-water sponge, which abounded in both

"The waters of these two lakes, like most of the
lakes of the Catskills, were very pure, being spring
water, and on the bottom of the lakes, at a depth of
about 2 feet or 2,\ feet, this fresh-water sponge existed
in considerable abundance, each sponge being not Over
2 or 2-J inches in length by I or 2 inches in width, and
when taken in the hand and squeezed there seemed to
be nothing of them. The clouding of the lakes was
found to extend down from 6 to 12 inches, and to be
produced by millions of spores thrown out by the fresh-

Miscellaneous. 315

water sponge ; and as I understand it, they are thrown
out with very great rapidity, and the lakes where these
sponges exist remain clouded until there comes a de-
cided storm, when the spores are precipitated to the
bottom of the lake, and the water becomes perfectly
clear again in two or three days.

"In my testimony in regard to Forest Lake, near
Hudson, N. Y., I referred to the fact that this lake
was free from cloud, and that from a personal inspec-
tion of the lake I had failed to find any fresh-water
sponges. In regard to this examination I can only add
that the examination of the waters of these lakes was
made under a microscope of the highest magnifying
power suitable for such a purpose, and that no spores
were found except those produced by the fresh-water
sponge."

After this an invitation was extended to me to say
something on this subject by a friend, who wrote : "No
doubt you saw the different theories about the working
of ponds in a late Forest and Stream. What do you
think of them? Who is right?"

My answrer was : "All are right. There are differ-
ent causes for this disturbance of the water. One
year the mill-pond at Cold Spring Harbor, Long Is-
land, bloomed twice, once in the middle of July, from
Nostoc, which lasted four days, when the water cleared
and the bass and perch were just coming to their ap-
petites, when early in August it bloomed again with the
fresh-water sponge, as described by Mr. Van Cleef.
During the last bloom many sunfish and some white
perch died, and the bass and yellow perch seemed to
abstain from food, certainly from baits offered, until
September. There is a theory that the pollen from
some trees — ash, I believe, is one — cloud the water at

316 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

times and the fish then refuse all baits. I know noth-
ing of this.

"Nostoc, or Nostochacex, as the quotation from the
Bulletin of the U. S. Fish Commission has it, is a low
form of vegetation which grows in fresh water and on
damp ground. It is jelly-like, and is composed of
threads which consist of globular cells, between a dozen
or more of which are larger cells, and these are thrown
off and float by thousands in the water. On land I
have seen masses of it in the swamps from 3 to 5 inches
in diameter, covered with jelly, and so like the egg-
masses of Aniblysioma, or salamanders, wJiich are often
improperly called 'lizards' — the true lizards have scales,
and do not live in water, but love the sun — that one
had to look twice to tell the difference. Nostoc is of a
bluish or greenish color, and the egg bunches referred
to are whitish, slightly opaque. There are many spe-
cies of Nostoc, but all have the characters given above.

"The fresh-water sponges, as Mr. Van Cleef says,
throw off great quantities of spores and cloud the
water. These sponges also have many species, are
very tender and difficult to detach from wood or stone,
for preservation entire, because they are so tender.
Being animal, their decay often renders the water in
the reservoirs of cities very foul and 'fishy/ Then
people complain of the fish in the reservoirs, but live
fish do not pollute water."

In Germany this condition of ponds is called "was-
ser-bluthe" ; in France, "Fleurs d' Eau," and in Eng-
land "Blooming," or "Breaking," or "Cruddling." The
London Fishing Gazette, Mar. n, 1899, in an article on
this is quoted :

"At certain times in each year, generally in autumn,
the Shropshire mere? become turbid with these green

Miscellaneous. 317

particles, the water becomes unfit for domestic pur-
poses, and it defies the power of filtration, soon clog-
ging up the pores of filters. Fish become sickly in it,
and in some instances die, and in others are easily
caught.

"A Mr. Southwell relates that in a lake of about five
acres, in very hot weather in June, the lake broke, and
there shortly appeared on the surface large numbers of
eels, which attracted the attention of the villagers, who
took to the boats, and with spears and other implements
many were captured, quite in a sickly and stupefied
condition.

"This condition of things continues in varying peri-
ods from a few days to months. After a time the water
emits a very putrid odor from the decomposition of
the green particles. In Copmere last year the turbidity
commenced about the middle of July, and it was not
until the middle of October that it subsided, after which
the mere cleared and seemed to have undergone a veri-
table purification by the process, so much so that it
conveys the impression of being a sanitation of Nature
to purify the silted organic deposits which almost fill
these meres.

"Copmere was about fourteen days before the de-
composition of the green scum set in ; the surface of
the water then began to give off a putrid odor. The
prevelence of these green appearances is variable.
They disappear and reappear, and occur in greater
quantities in various parts of the Shropshire meres, but
in Copmere last year they were generally diffused
throughout. * * * Copmere did not break in
1895, it remained very clear all summer and autumn;
but a very singular fact is connected with this excep-
tion of breaking, in that a great quantity of fish died

318 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

that year of a fungus-growth disease", whereas in i8yo
none died, notwithstanding the mere broke badly.

"It is said of Blake Meer, one of the meres near
Ellesmere, that this phenomenon does not occur, and
the water there is selected for drinking purposes, while
the other meres are in the breakage state. * * *
You will now be prepared to know that this breaking
of the meres is due to microscopic algae, of which va-
rious species cause the phenomenal appearance. Dr.
Drummond found the green color of the water of Lake
Glaslough in Ireland owing to vast quantities of a floc-
culent oscillating algae. In Loch Hainining in Selkirk-
shire a rich purple color occurs on the surface owing to
the presence, according to Dr. Greville, of an alga of
the genus Lyngbya. In a loch near Aberdeen a species
of Rivularia caused the peculiar appearance; another
species, Anabccna flos-aquae, was also present."

See chapter on diseases.

CHAPTER XLIV.

FISHWAYS.

A small fishway, or, as some call it, a "fish ladder"
is often needed by the fishculturist to enable fish to
surmount a dam. If possible this should be above the
dam, its upper end extending into the pond, or many
fish will pass its outlet and remain at the dam vainly
trying to ascend. Space forbids going into this ques-
tion in extenso, but as a 6-foot dam, having a fishway

Miscellaneous.

319

with a rise of one in six, which is quite steep, would
have the way extend 36 feet down stream it will be
seen how easily fish might go past it, and that is a mod-
erately steep gradient, if possible make it one in ten.
With dams alternately projecting from each side, as
shown, the force of the water is broken and eddies are
formed which permit the fish to rush, rest, and so as-
cend. There are more complicated forms of fishways,
some patented, but for a little trout stream this simple
form will do.

If it is desirable to stop all kinds of fish from ascend-

"1*

I

4

FORMS OF FISHWAYS.

ing, a trap at the top can be arranged and the fish as-
sorted. Some figures of different devices are here
given. Those who wish to pursue the subject further
are referred to the Reports of the U. S. and State Fish
Commissions. The McDonald fishway — as he patent-
ed it but did not invent it the name is legitimate — I
believe to be the best form if properly built and pro-
tected. It is too complicated for small ways such as

320 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

private ponds require. The State of New York had
one on the Hudson, at Troy, but it was poorly made,
was bolted to the apron of the dam, a^d, when that

S»

FORMS OF FISH WAYS.

floated up, the foot of the fishway was in the air. The
figures show several models for retarding the water.

CHAPTER XLV:

FISHES WHICH GUARD THEIR YOUNG.

A correspondent asks: "Is there any other fish be-
sides the dogfish which guards its young?" He refers
to the fresh-water dogfish, Ainia cak'a, called in the
West and South lawyer, bowfin, John A. Grindle and

M iscella neo us. 32 1

Johnny Grindle, while in Vermont it is the "mudfish."
Of this fish Mr. Charles Hallock says in his Sports-
man's Gazetteer: ''While the parent still remains with
the young, if the family become suddenly alarmed, the
capacious mouth of the old fish will open, and in rushes
the entire host of little ones ; the ugly maw is at once
closed and off she rushes to a place of security, when
the little captives are set at liberty. If others are con-
versant with the above facts, I shall be very glad; if
not, shall feel chagrined for not making them known
long ago." Mr, Hallock's book was printed in 1877,
and I do not remember to have seen this matter re-
ferred to since, except "that his remarks are quoted in
the Fisheries Industries (1884), Section I., page 659.

There are many fresh-water fishes which guard their
young, and it is my belief, based on the capture and
dissection of many individuals, that it is the male which
does the guarding. All the catfish tribe guard their
young until they scatter, swimming below the little
black school for several days. Black bass, rock bass,
sticklebacks and all the sunfishes guard both eggs and
young until the brood separates in search of food. It
is possible that the crappies also guard their young, but
I do not know their habits in this respect.

There is a beautiful little fish in India, brought here
for ornamental purposes, called paradise fish. I have
bred them in small tanks ; the male makes a floating
nest of air bubbles among the weeds and coaxes the
female to deposit her eggs therein, but after she has
done that he will not let her go near the nest, and hunts
her to the furthest corner, sometimes killing her, He
fans the eggs, and when the young hatch and wander
from the nest he will take them in his mouth and re-
turn them. Some of the sticklebacks make elaborate

322 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

nests of twigs and the male takes entire charge of the
household.

The male sea-horse, Hippocampus, has a pouch like
a marsupial, in place of an anal fin, in which the female
lays her eggs and he cares for them and their young.
The males of some tropical fishes are said to carry and
hatch the eggs in their mouths.

CHAPTER XLVI.

HOW FISH FIND THEIR OWN RIVERS.

On this subject the late Professor James W. Milner
wrote some years ago in Harper's Magazine, and really
nothing more is known about it to-day. He said : "The
long held and only recently rejected theory that the
shoals of fishes moved in a vast mass along the coast,
sending off detachments into each river as they passed
its mouth, is to be attributed to John Gilpin and some
other authors, who have written flowingly on the sub-
ject. The recent careful investigations of naturalists
indicate that the anadromous fishes, those entering the
rivers and bodies of fresh water from the sea, do not
have an extended range in the ocean, and that each
river's colony remains, after returning, in the deep
waters opposite their river. The motive for the move-
ment of these shoals of anadromous fishes, or rather
how it is incited, has scarcely been explained. The
life of the fishes has always been a mystery. It is not a
search for food, as they do not eat while in fresh water ;

Miscellaneous. 323

the opening of hundreds of stomachs will fail to find
food present. It is an easy disposal of the question as
to how each colony recognizes its native river to say
that 'it is instinctive/ So it is, also, when the butcher's
horse recognizes the familiar gates ; but we have some
evidence as to what senses he uses. The fishes, prob-
ably prompted by functional disturbance from the
tumid ovaries and spermaries, are incited to movement.
The courses of the sea, unmarked as they are, are,
within each colony's limit, their habitual pathways. An
unerring capacity in the fish for finding its own river
may be no more than that which guides the hermit-
crab to the shell of the natica. The latter goes to hide
iis sensitive body, with an apparent nervous trepidation
at its unprotected condition. The former, with an un-
easiness of body from the functional changes it is
undergoing, is impelled to activity. The transmitted
habit of ascending the stream is, as it were, blended and
alloyed with the substance of the nerves, and, aroused
by its condition, carries it, without conscious purpose,
into the river of its progenitors and its own. The im-
pulses of the fish are only in a slightly more compli-
cated series than those of the crab. That it should be
the instinct for a specific stream, established through
inheritance of many generations, is easier to under-
stand than that it is a sort of memory of the place of
its immature life, as the theory of fishculture makes it
and as observation seems to sustain. In the waters of
the Delaware, where there were no salmon originally,
the young salmon placed in Bushkill Creek returned
after five years and were taken, not only in the Dela-
ware River, but the larger number in the neighborhood
of Bushkill Creek. It is not essential that all fishes
should have this impelling influence, whatever it may

324 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

be, as, like gregarious mammals and birds, they flock
together, following the leadership of whichever for the
time takes it. The idea is suggested that the senses
may be the guiding agent, that a fish goes nosing along
the coast, or tasting the streams, until it recognizes its
own. The convexity of the cornea must afford the
fishes a very limited range of vision. The supposed
dullness of the sense of smell and of taste in fishes
might alone dispose of the suggestion that these are em-
ployed. The following occurrence, however, would
seem to decide to the contrary : The Russian River,
emptying into the Pacific, north of San Francisco, had
its mouth entirely closed by the waves during the
storm. The colony of salmon made their yearly mi-
gration from the deep waters toward the mouth of the
river, and many of them raced through the surf and
landed high and dry on the sand that walled them out
from their native river. The migration of the salmon
into some of the Pacific rivers is a frenzied advance
over shoals, rapids and cascades, far into thin streams
and brooks, where they arrive battered and weary, to
accomplish their exhaustive reproductive labors and
drop back, the sport of the current, dead and dying,
toward the sea;"

CHAPTER XLVIL

DYNAMITING A LAKE.

Hodge Lake, on the head waters of the Willowemoc,
Sullivan Co., N. Y., was populated with eels, pickerel,

Miscellaneous. 325

catfish, perch and sunfish. The owner wished to clear
his pond of all these, render it lifeless and then restock
it with trout, for the waters were cool enough in sum-
mer! In April, 1899, 200 holes, fifty feet apart, were
cut through the ice and dynamite in half-pound sticks,
twelve to each hole, were lowered to within four feet of
the bottom. Each lot of sticks was connected by wire
to electric batteries, so arranged that there would be
three explosions about half a second apart. The but-
ton was pressed and columns of ice and water, from 10
to 1 5 feet in diameter, went up a hundred feet or more.
The concussion shook the earth about the shores and
the lake was barren of fish, insect larvae and crusta-
ceans. The larvae will all come back, but the owner
will have to see to the vegetation and the crustaceans.
If he gets his plants from neighboring lakes of the
same character he will get all these forms entangled in
it without paying further attention to them.

CHAPTER XLVIII.

TO MEASURE A FLOW OF WATER.

Often a correspondent seeks advice about trout
ponds and to a question regarding the highest tempera-
tures and the amount of water flowing in the driest
time, replies that he is ignorant on these points. The
temperatures he can get with more or less accuracy,
dependent on the unreliability of cheap and untested
thermometers ; but the amount of flow is usually a

326 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

matter of wild guessing. An expert can guess with
some nearness by a mental estimate of how long it
would take a stream to fill a certain tank, but this is
only a guess. I had seen tables given in an algebraic
form, which, as far as I am concerned, might as well
never have been written, for, while as a schoolboy I
was forced through such studies, I promptly forgot
them. Anything mathematical was too heavy for a
brain not fitted to bear such burdens. Yet I must tell
in this book how to do the trick with exactness, and the
occasion brought the man, as usual. I wrote to a
friend, Mr. W. B. Osterhout, of Freeport, N. Y., one of
the engineers of the Brooklyn Water Works. He
writes :

"CoL. FRED MATHER: It gives me great pleasure
to comply with your request of March 30. The for-
mula of which you speak is known as Francis' formula
and is for measuring the discharge of water over a
weir: Q=3.33XLXH° or Q=3-33XLX JH5: Q=

Cubic feet of water per second; L=Length of weir;
H=Head or depth of overflow.

"The conditions are: The inner face of weir, as A B
(Fig. 2), must be not less than twice the depth of over-
flow, as A M measured from A to horizontal portion of
water's surface, A to M, and not to curved surfaces, at
C, and the length of A A of weir (Fig. i) not less

Miscellaneous. 327

than three times the head, A M. The formula given is
for a weir without end contractions, as Fig. I ; that is,
the width of flume leading to weir must be the same
width as the overflow and not contracted, as in Fig. 3.
After getting Q, or cubic feet of water flowing per
second, it is easily reduced to gallons flowing per min-
ute, hour or day. As there are 1,728 cubic inches in a
cubic foot and 231 cubic inches in a gallon, a cubic foot
of water contains 1,728 inches divided by 231 inches,
or 7.4805194 gallons, or nearly 7^ gallons. The flow
is generally calculated for the number of gallons per
day of twenty-four hours."

There must be other mathematical dunces, and so I
wrote Air. Osterhout that his formula was no doubt
correct, but was not in the shape to be "understanded
by the people" ; also that fishculturists reckoned the
flow per hour, and that if he would kindly translate this
formula into a flow per hour per foot width of dam it
would just hit the mark.

Then he got down to the fishcultural level and wrote :

"CoL. FRED MATHER : Your mathematical difficulties
are appreciated and I enclose you a table, showing gal-
lons per hour discharged by a one-foot weir for depths
from o to i foot. I have also put in the decimal of a
foot corresponding to each half inch. For any weir
other than one foot in length multiply the number of
gallons opposite any head by length of weir.

"Example. — How many gallons per hour will flow-
over a 4-foot weir, with a head of 3^ inches? 14,128%
4=56,512 gallons. If the weir is 4 feet 5 inches long,
the 14,128 for a head of 3^ inches must be multiplied by

328 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water.

4.4167, the decimal .4167 being equivalent to 5 inches,
which is shown in the first column."

Now that my engineering friend had got down to
the water level of the fishculturist, there was nothing to
do but to give his latest formula, and here you have it
in his own words :

FRANCIS' FORMULA:

Discharge in cubic feet per second = 3.33 X length of overfall in feet X
I/cube of head in feet.

Discharge in gallons per hour = 3.33 Xby length of overfall in feet X
1 7cube of head in feet X 7.4805 X3,600.

7.4805 = number of gallons in one cubic foot of water or very nearly iy$.
number of seconds per hour.

Discharge in gallons per hour of a ireir one foot long without end con-
tractions for depth from 0 to one foot.

Head in
Feet,

Head in
Inches.

Gallons per
Hour.

Head in
Feet.

Head in
Inches.

Gallons per
Hour.

0.0417

H

764

0.5417

QX

35,753

0.0833

1

2,156

0.5833

7

39,950

0-1250

1H

3,963

0.6250

1%

44.310

0.1667

2

6,104

0.6667

8

48,817

0.2083

2y,

8,525

0.7083

8tf

53,457

0.2500

3

11,210

0.7500

9

58,246

0.2917

* 8H

14,128

0.7917

9K

63,171

0.3333

4

17,256

0.8333

10

68,215

0.3750

4^

20,593

0.8750

104

73,399

0.4167

5

24,122

0.9167

11

78,708

0.4583

5,li»

27,823

0.9583

11«

84,126

0.5000

6

31,705

1.0000

12

89,676

ADDENDA.

JANUARY 1, 19OO.

GROWTH OF TROUT.

We are always learning, and in 1899, after what I
have written, I went to the northwestern corner of Wis-
consin, up the Brule River, to take charge for a short
time of a large trout preserve belonging to a gentle-
man living in St. Louis. Fishcultural operations had
been going on for several years previous, and the year-
ling trout were only 2^ to 4 inches long; while the
two-year-olds would not average over 6 inches.
They had been well fed, but the water was cold and
they had not the appetites of the trout of the warmer
waters of Long Island.

The springs were 43° Fahr., and the pools in sum-
mer never rose above 50°. These pools were made at
the outlet of a small pond of some 4 acres and in swift
water. If I should remain here, as I shall not, I
would make the rearing pools where there are no
springs, and where the ice makes thickest in winter.
This would give warmer water in summer and a great-
er consumption of food ; consequently a greater growth.

33° Addenda.

The water in hatching troughs there, up to Jan. I, 1900,
has varied from 38° to 36° Fahr., more often at the
lower figure.

GRAYLING.

Since the book was in type I have had further ex-
perience with the grayling. The eggs came from Mon-
tana to northern Wisconsin in May, 1899, m verY bad
shape. Of the few hatched a very small number lived
to take food, and of these 80 per cent, died before the
close of the year. Mr. S. P. Wires, Superintendent of
the U. S. F. C. Station at Duluth, Minn., has no liking
for the fish, if he is expected to feed and raise it. Mr.
Frank N. Clark, of the Michigan stations, is of the
same opinion. They find the eggs hatch well enough,
but beef liver is not the food for them, and the best
thing to do is to turn them out when they begin to
take food, and this is my more mature view of the fish.
My first experience was somehow more fortunate than
that of later years. All agree that the adult fish does
not mature its eggs in confinement.

INDEX.

"Acre of Water"

Alewives

American Fish Culturists
Association

Basses, the Black

Bath Hatchery

Batrachians

Beef Lights and Maggots.

Bell and Mather Hatch-
ing Cone.

Birds that Destroy Fish..

Black Fish

Bladderwort

Blooming of Ponds

Blue-Back Trout

Brook Trout

Brown Trout 146,

Bullhead

Bullpouts

Bull-Trout

Carp 20,

Cat Fish

Cats

Chambers, W. Oldham..

Channel Cat

Chars

Chase Jar

Chemicals

Chester Tidal Hatcher. . .

Chinese Fishculture

Chinook

Cod 290,

Cold Spring Harbor

Crappies

Cut-Throat Trout

Cyclops

Dams .

PAGE
. 16
243

9

213

44

269

130

199

276
290
278

3"
146

140
149
239
239
146
241
239
287

76
240
146
203

24
295

U
146
292

10

221
146

133

123

PAGE

Disease 255

Dobson 281

Dog Salmon 146

Dog Fish 321

Dolly Varden Trout 146

Domestication of Fish. .19, 20

Dragon Fly 280

Drains . . 121

Dynamiting a Lake 324

Egg Impregnation 62

Egg Packing for Ship-
ment 72

Eggs, Adhesive 207

Eggs in Eels 309

Eggs in Fish, table of. ... 310

Eggs in Sunfish 309

Egg Transportation 72

Enemies 267

Epidemics 260

Feeders, Automatic 104

Filters 56

Fingerlings 138

Fish, Barren 204

Fish as Food for Fish. . . 131
Fishculture Antiquity.... 13
Fish Return to Rivers. . . 322

Fishways 318

Fish which Guard Their

Young 320

Floors 44

Flounder 290

Flow Measurement 325

Foods for Fry 92, 106

Foods for Trout Pond. . . 136

Frog Culture 301

Frogs 269

Frost Fish. . . 208

331

332

Index.

PAGE

Fry, care of 86

Fry Feeding 92

Fry Growth 103, 329

Fry vs. Fingerlings 138

Fry Planting 138

Gammarus 132

Gravel 81

Grayling 175, 330

Golden Trout 146

Green's Box 196

Hatching Drains 50

Hatching House 40

Hatching Preparations. . . 52

Haddock 290

Haslets 132

Helgramite 281

Hellbenders 270

Horned Pouts 239

Horse Meat 130

Hoxsie's Automatic

Feeder 96

Hybrid Fish 169

Inbreeding 102

Insects 279

Japanese Feeding Meth-
ods 134

Johnnie Grindle 321

Kingfisher 276

Lake Trout 146, 166

Lobster 296

Maitland Feeding Sys-
tem 98

McDonald Jar 204

Miller's Thumb 268

Mink 286

Mud Fish 321

Muscalonge 191

Muskrats 284

Mussels 129

Osprey 277

Otter 286

Ouananiche 148

Pacific Salmon 147

Parasites 250

Pickerel 191

Pike 191

Pike Perch 230

Page, W. F 218

Ponds 105, 112

PAGE

Porgy 290

Quinnet Salmon 146

Raccoon 287

Rainbow Trout 146, 156

Red Fish 146

Refrigerator Boxes for

Salmon Eggs 75

Reptiles 269

Russian Method of Tak-
ing Eggs 64

Salmon 90, 146, 147

Salmonidae 146

Salmon in the Connecti-
cut 15

"Salmon Trout" 30

Salmo Salar 146

Salt Water Fish 290

Sand Pike 232

Sawdust 24

Sawyer 232

Screens for Ponds 123

Sea Bass 290

Sea Herring 290

Sebago Salmon 146

Sewage 28

Sex of Trout

Shad

Shad and Striped Bass.. . 170
Shad Fry Across the At-
lantic 198

Shad Hatching. 10

Shad in the Hudson 14

Sheepshead 290

Silver Salmon 146

Smelt 210

Snakes 269

Sockeye 146

Soft Clams.. 129

Spanish Mackerel 290

Spawners, Annual 173

Spawn from Wild Trout. 66

Spawning Funnel

Squeteague

Steelhead 146

Streams 107

Striped Bass 204

Stripping a Trout. 62

Sturgeon 245

Sunapee Trout 146

56
192

63
290

1 620 T

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