Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1852-09-23
Breeding of Fish.

We give below curious aud interesting
article upon this subject, extracted from a
French paper 1t describes a mode bv
which rivers, ponds aud lakes may be stock.
ed with hsh Of every species, aud their
breeding to ana indefinite extent The facts
here disclosed are not only interesting as a
portion of natural history, but they are of
the highest importance IN an economical
point Of view. Streams and waters, which
are now barren of fish, may be made to
swarm with the most valuable of the fnny
tribe and supply immense tracts of country
with this article Of God. five recolect a.
right, there are no trout IN the streams west
OF the Allegheny mountains. BY this dis
coyery It viii be easy TO stock all the waters
on the other side with this delicate fish, an
object alone ofprime importance
ARTIFICIAL PRoDUCrIoN OF FIsH.-It
may not be generally known that the means
of producing fish to an incalculable extent
in lakes aud rivers, have been discovered,
and have, within the last three wears, been
employed on grand scale, and with extra
ordinary success IN different parts of France
Some years ago, two fishermen named &c
hin and Remy, of La Bresse, in the depart
ment of the Nosges, found that from various
causes the stock OF trout, for which the riy-
ers and lakes OF that department are famous
greatly declined aud they a,tenllyely stud
led the habits of the male and female trout
at spawning time. with the view If possible,
Of discovering the means of checking the
evil. After long and patient observation,
they found that not one IN hundred Of the
eggs deposited by the female in the bed of
the rivers, and iecunded by the milt of the
male, came to matur+ty--the rest being de-
youred by by other FISH, washed away or de-
slroyed by mud They found, also, that OF
the fish which had become excluded or
Matched, the greater part were destroyed by
the larger fish OF their own or dltlereu, spe-
J cies. Ii then strnck them that If they were
to collecrthe eggs and apply the miI them
selves .lnstead Of leaving the fish to do it,
and afterwards to secure the young fish
from the voracity of the larger ones, they
would, IN the course OF a few years, obtain
an inexhauslbe supply.
Accordingly, they seized female trout,
Just as they perceived she was about to
spawn, aud by pressure on her belly, caused
/ her to deposit her eggs in vessel contain
ing fresh water. They afterwards took a
male and by pressing belly in the same
way, caused his milt to squirt on the eggs
1t is by pressure on the belly that the ie
male aud male always relieve themselves a
spawning time. These two men, then, IL
imitation of the fish, placed the eggs on 1
layer of gravel, which they deposited in Z
box full Of holes. This box they fixed il
the bed of a flowing stream, and co, ereC
it with pebbles The fish themselves, il
the natural way, cover the eggs with peb
bles, and then leave them. In due time tn
eggs excluded, aud almost every one wa
found to be good. Thus they obtained from
one female several hundred fish. The
took precaution for keeping the little crea
lures IN water where they were out Of dan
ger, and supplied them with fitting food. =
Applying this operation the year after to
J great number OF fish, they obtained seyera
thousand trout; and ia year or two NOR
The number had literally Increased to mil
I lions.
After they had stocked all the rivers an
streams of the Vosges, aud some IN Mosell
( and the Haul aud the Bias Rhine, Dr. Hax
secretary of the SOciet IL Emulation al
VosgeS, drew the attention of the Academ
of Sciences and of the government, to III
( discovery. The Academy declared that
E was of AN immense national Importance
$ though it had long been known to scientlli
D men as a scientific curiosity, not, howeye
b as Of practical utility. The government O
= lta pait saw that the application OF II To II