The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1868-01-21
From spangasi, Repasaeaa.
The Artificial Propagation of Fish

EE StalGN "a AAAlitt AtW nam NAB1fG
Vermont. Massachusetts, and Connect
cut have appointed dsh commissioners
and hate made appropriations for im
proving the rivers running through
these states. So that salmon, brook trout
and shad may ascend them 10 their
sources aud descend again at viii 10 the
ocean, by means 81 fshways built over
or around All dams aad falls that now
impede their passage. itls also intend
Cd to re-stock the rivers with these fish
both by natural and artificial propaga.
ton. The commissioners Of Massichu
setts and New Hampshire have already
ereetdd tishways over he dams and falls
Of the Merrimack, and they planted last
year in its head waors a number Of
thousand salmon spawn, obtained by
Dr. Fletcher OF Concord, from salmon
taken III the waters II New Brunswick
and artifcially impregnated. About 30
per cent of them hatchsd, and the young
salmon are now in the head waters Of
the river, and viii descend next spring
to the ocean over the fishways and re-
turn in the fall, weighing from five 10
seven pounds each. It is well known
fact that salmon and slad always return
to the same river and deposit their oya.
DR.. Fletcher went to New Brunswick
again last fall for another crop Of spawn
for the commissioners TO plant this win
ter, and is expected 10 return in due
time with few hundIed thousand ova
enough to give this splendid fish a
good. start in the Msrrimack and its
tributaries. j. S. Robinson Of Meredith
Village, New Hampshire, writes to me
that he has 10000 salmon spawn in his
Matching boxes, taken and facundated
artifcially, that show the young fish in
embroy very plainly, and these he will
probably place in the Merrimack next
summer. He has also 100000 like trout
spawn with embryotic fish. The COM
inssioners will build fshways on the
Connecticut, Saco and other rivers Of
New England next year, preparatory to
stocking them with salmon, trout and
shad, the ne plus ultraof the sportsman
us well. This is the first attempt III this
country to hatch salmon artifcially, and
re-stock our rivers with them, but it
has been practised in Europe since 1852
and of late with great success; SO that
salmon are now taken by the thousand
tons where before they took but few
hundred fish annually The spawn of
the salmon has been shipl 9 to Austria
la journey Of G000miles, with success.
The cultivation of brook trout artifi-
cially has been practised IN this country
for several years, as well rs in Europe,
with SUCCESS. The writer ofthis article
Was among the first to experiment here
and he us hatcLed as high as SO | 2 per
cent of all the spawn taken from a
trout. Seth Green, the Mumford IN.
/ Y fish culturist matched over 100000
last spring, and VIII hatch at least l.
100000 the approaching spring Ponds
and streams have been stocked with
them al over the country, and in some
cases they have growl to weigh two
pounds and over in three years. Brook
trout that hatch in the winter lay their
first crop Of spawn a year from the next
fall, each female producing about 300
eggs and doubling in number yearly un-
til they reach about 6000 Salmon be-
gin spawning at the same age and time
and produce from 5000 to 10000 eggs,
according to the age and size of the fe-
male When these fish are spawned
and artifcially imprgnated at the prop
er time, nearly all the oya hatch, and il
kipt in the Matching boxes until they
commence to feed il the spring, and are
then turned into the stream, they will
take care of themselves. In tins way
the number Of fish can be increased a
hundred fold annually in each river, be.
yond the natural increase, till the wat
ers are literally filed with them.
Last June, Mr.. Seth Greene, one ot
the best propagators Of brook trout in
this country, proposed to the fish com.
missioners Of the previously mentioned
states to 60 to Holyoke, the highest
point on tile Connecticut river to which
shad ascend and try at his own expense
the experiment Of hathching shad arti
ficially. To this they readily gave as
sent. On the 25th Of that month Mr
Greene took his first spawn and founC
to his utter amszement, that each fe
male shad produced from $4,000 to l0I
,-1O0 oya, according to the size Of the fsl
manipulated. He found that these oy'
, were quite small, say about the size 0
a No shot, and that they increased il
thirty minutes after impregnation 4
the size OF No shot, and remained 0
. that SIZE until they Matched. In tn
practiced hands oi Hf Green the spawi
we're easily procared, but when he cam
70 place them u tAe A1.caing- boxes pre-
yiously prepared like ms own for hatch
, ing trout, he found himself at bay Ill
could do nothing with them as the
were SO light that they hoated off witt
the slightest current, and when placet
where there was no current, they al
: died He experimental about tw'
: weeks before be succeeded IN Matching
1 theui to any extent. Finally he invent
r ed the following form Of box aud man
/ ner Of placing them in the water, i
which tue spawn Latched TO perfection
= TO his great relief and unbounded de
! light This box was two feet long, i
{ itchcs wide and Is inches deep, with
b iins wire cloth nailed Oh the bottom
and a board / fest long and 4 inche
ss.r-H.s.N ssrt saagE ~s4.H.. Il Eha a..