Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1867-04-12

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4 largest and finest trout are taken in the eve
ming with large artificial white or gray mil
/ Ter.
The number of trout in this stream Of q
mile in length is computed at upwards Of
| 800, 900, the largest of which are each four
or five pounds in weight About four thou
sand pounds of trout are taken from the
creek yearly. Mr.. Ainsworth, of West
| Bloomfield, to whose excellent article pub
hshed in the Tribune last winter we are in
| debted for these statistics, says that on the
18th of December, 1865, he took with the
| fly hundred and ten fine trout 10 about
| three hours, and on the next day took eigh-
| ty-fYe splendid fellows from one place.
| These trout, he says, were as fat, active and
| gamey as he eFer saw them IN any other
! stream IN May or June. Seth Green, the
| celebrated marksman and fy-thrower Of this
/ city, bought this creek in 1854, for the pur-
| pose of growing trout artihcially, as well as
naturally, on an extended scale.
He has since prepared ponds, races, hatch
4 houses and Matching boxes and troughs for
| 5000, 600 of spawn. The pond containing
| the largest fish and principal spawners was
first constructed. A strong volume Of water
passes through it from the main stream, the
quantity received and discharged being so
/ regulated that there is no danger of over
| flowing. 1t enters under a wheel which is
so exactly fitted to its place that not the
smallest fish can escape, and maintains
regular motion. This pond is seventy-fve
/ feet long, twelve feet wide and four or FIVE
| feet deep. Mr. Green dwelling is over the
| lower end of this pond, which affords shade
| and hiding place for the trout when they
choose to retire from view.
There are from eight to ten thousand fish
/ oVal ryaff Norh
| times that number. A great deal of food
passes through to them from the stream, but
| they are fed every day with beef liver chop
| ped, to which they rush IN the most excited
manner, leaping out of the water, and tug
| ging Yoraciously two or three at a time at
| the same piece. They are so tame that they
| will take the liver from spoon or even from
| the hand, and will even bite tie hand itself,
as we can testify from the sharp experience
of their teeth.
To a lover of fish no finer sight can be
presented than the sight Of this pond, swar-
ming with splendid trout, as plainly visable,
so clear is the water, as if they were in the
open air. 1t isa gigantic aquarium, which
probably has no rival in the world, and the
mere sight of which will repay the trouble
and expense of a long journey But besides
this main pond Mr.. Green has another close
Wy II uAOg W AAlIOA iCGt, WHICH, COUIal0S
about 20, 600 two year old trout and still an
other, filed with countless multitudcs of
yearnlings, and lastly, long pond or brook,
in which are hundreds of thousands of this
year s Matching
The Matching house is a simple inexpen-
sive structure of wood, forty by twenty feet
high. Ii has three screened windows, ad-
mittiDg a soft light, and excluding the glare
of the SIM Rein0 rqnfad the snawp and
young trout are perfectly protected from
storms or hail, which IN shallow water might
in one minute destroy thousands of young
trout, or a heavy and sudden fall of rain
might wash them from the troughs where
they are kept for several weeks after leaving
the Matching troughs. These are three in
number.
The water is brought from the main
stream through bored logs and received into
tank six feet long, TWO feet eight inches
wide, and foot and half deep, from
whence it passes through six strainers into
a trough running entirely across the end of
| the house, and from thence by small gates
/ (which are regulated at pleasure to increase
1 or diminish the flow Of water) it passes into
the several Matching troughs, &c. These
/ troughs are subdivided, or rather two are
/ placed together, and between them are pas
| sages for conveniently distributing the
/ spawn, inspecting the operation of feeding
and Matching the young fish By wooden
/ bars the troughs are partitioned into small
! squares
/ BY this arrangement the force of the cur
rent is checked at each bar, and the front are
prevented from budding in a mass and be-
coming suffocated The space on one side
is platform, having stove and the various
/ conyeniences for feeding, Sc At one end
is pond eighteen feet square, with about
two feet depth of water. If by any means
/ trout escape from the troughs, they cannot
/ get beyond the pond, and the room is ample
/ for keeping millions until they are two or
three inches long From this pond the wa
/ ter passes into the main stream The hatch
ing house and troughs, though not exten-
sive, are fulfilling the highest anticipations
Of their persevering and enterprising pro
/ prietor. The bottom Of the trough is cover
I ed with small, thin gravel, over which the
water passes by gentle flow
/ Thus prepared, they are ready for the re-
ception of the impregnated spawn, which
are spread evenly over the gravel by dex
trous movement of the water, the spawn
not being touched or allowed to come in con
tact with anything but the water and gravel.
Impregnated spawn sink to the bottom, in
water running with considerable force, and
win remain stationary, if undisturbed, until
/ the young fish begin their efforts for a re-
lease from confinement Ia from fifteen to
twenty-six days after the spawn is deposit
/ ed, the young fish is diseerDible with the
/ naked eve Syracuse Journal.