New-York daily tribune., 1858-04-21

Gent maturity 10 carry out the desgs Of the erosion
The props gatcn Of it's species an extent pseea ou,
in the sh kingdom and in some tribes Of meets and n
fusora The shad commences its northwad jcarns,
about the first of April according to the warmth Of -.
season. entering the rivers in immense shoals alpne "a
coast from the Savannah TO the kennebec, in Which,
latter it caught sometimes as ste as August Ia Ia,
state The las. "run" OF shad enters the Halson b.
ward the latter part of May two months after ts sr
appearance in the bay. When they have ascended,hs
e sh water about 50 miles they proceed TO make proy
sion for the ext years supply Of the NewYork ab.,
by depositiDg their spawn, which they do by opeane
furow in the gravel at the bottom ci the ryer mo
which the spawn of the female is carefully droppedsad
eft there for the action of the tide 10 wash 70 ths
uilt of the male, by which il impregIated Ia the
English species according TO Yaire, the operation of
spawning is attended with some degree OF ei6cty.
ard is accompanied by violent la,hipg Of the tan ..
though they required powerful muscular exertion 20
dsencumber the ns elves of the matured The noss
produced in this manner it is said, msy b. heard a
considerable distance 10 still weather.
This operation being performed the first part Of The
shads mission is fulfilled and It returns in the Sum-
pner in a weak aud emaciated condition 10 the sea,
where soon falls prey TO the appetite OF vofacous
and more powerful fishes. The number Of eggs De.
posited by single femaes estimated at 45,0co These
lie urdisturbed in the gravel where they dropped
for period OF from four to Elk weeks at tie end Of
which time the young shad make their appearance
about the size OF pins. They sport aooa IN the esh
water feeding upon animalcues and crus.aces, uotii
'oward November, by which time they have attained
a ler 9Th of several inches They then, according TO
the fishermen as the weather grows cold hasten south
ward. where they remain until the following Spring,
when they return TO the cool waters OF the n'rhsm
rivers and deposit their spa yn, after wmch tneyr>
enter the ocean TO meet IN their turn, tne se expe-
repced by their parents the preceding Summer. Others
assert that they find their way in early youth 70 tae
waters about the north pole and thence make the c-
cult of the ocean striking the coast OF Georgia cary
in the Spring. The migratory character OF ne
shad has also been denied by some writers, whe
describe them as passing the Winter buried N the
mud at the bottom OF the sea. Mr.. H. L.. feh oil
Ulster County, in psper read lateiy oeiofe .ae
American Institute ON the subject oil hsnes SAD;
"Shad are not organized for living in the mud aud the
structure Of their air badders prevents them from sax
ing in deep water. Their form indicates clearly tnas
they were designed by nature to swim near me surface
of the sea, and to be always in notion. Iheh sruc-
ture would certainly show them to be cspabe OF I'M
mense powers Of ocomoton, and It would perhaps be
difficult otherwise to account fJr the presence oil the
immense number OF bones which so TO make up tue
framework Of their bodies, unless, indeed ne decsIe
flavor oihe sh is owing to their presence, 10 Venna
ton Of The saying, that the nearer the bore, the
sweeter the meat. lillian says that shsd have acute
organs of hearing and that they are very suscepabs
to the sounds of musical instruments, by means Oh
which they may sometimes be attracted to the suIAee'
According to the writer they are also Affected oy
thunder and upon hearing it, while ascending ryen,
will turn about and hssten to the depths OF me ocean,
Aswe have said our information on the subject oil the
shads peculiares is meager, for Notwithstanding that
by its peculiar organization it s able to live in fresh S
well az in salt water, few attempts have been msde
that we know of to breed it, and the little information
we have of IFS habits mostly based on the traditions
of the fishermen.
The sbad fshery in the bay is Conducted 10 two
ways with drift nets and with gill nets, to which We
have already referred. The drift nets are made Of fue
wine knitted together in meshes of abo1t an iucn
quare and are usually go fathoms in length AID 20 or
20 feet vide. They are obong in firm, and are pro-
vided with floats and leads after the manner Of the an
,ent Egyptians. Two or three men 60 out IN boat
with drift net carefully folded in huge wooden tray.
One end of the net is placed in the water and the boas
is rowed gently the stream until the entire net
payed out. This operation must be delicstely per-
formed otherwise the net would become tangled, and
would then be impossible to get it. When the whole
net in the water, it assumes nearly perpendcuAr
position owing to the weights the bottom, and not
than one-hah as long when is on shore, the
pressure of the current stretching the meshes perpeu-
dicularly ss well as ateray. 1t may easily be imag-
ined that il lie totally unmaDageabe in i.s present stua-
toD and must be permitted to float along at the mercy
of the tides. rope attached TO end Of the net Is
retained by those in the boat and by gently snd con.
saLtly rowipg down the stream the net is made to s
sumo slight curve. The fishes now swimming up
the bay in the direction of fresh water encounter the
net and before they of ts presence their
heads through the mesbes and unsble 10 extrcatA
Themselves the size OF their bodice preventing
their going forward, and their gills presen.-
ing an insurmountable obstacle to their retres'.
After drifting this manner for come timeoften as
long as seven or eight hoursthe net Is carefully raised
from the water, which is done by first lifting tho
end to which the rope lie attached and then rowing
slowly toward the other end raising the rest OF it on
the way. AS the net is drawn from the water It is
coied, the fshes still hanging in the meshes in the
large tray in which i. brought from the shore and
by this means il is prevented from becoming tangled
and torp Upon reaching the shore the tray Is handed
over to the BOYS who Immediately set 20 work to DIS
engage the FISH, in doing which every fold Of the net s
carefully examined and every snarl carefully andone.
Several hundred fishes are sometimes taken a, single
haul. These thrown into large baskets as fast a.
they oosened while the nets carefully stretched
out frames, where they suffered TO remsin until
perfectly dry the result of which is tina: they are ser
viceabe for very much longer tine th an they other
wise would be. While they are drying they are again