Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1868-07-01
Trout Breeding.
How II is Done at Bellows Falls.

A correspondent of the Springfield Repub-
lican says;-
As much attention has lately been called
to the matter of fish breeding, u sketch Of o
late visit TO the private trout ponds of j. c..
Bridgman, of Bellows Falls, may be Of inter-
est Mr.. Bridgman is a retired lawcr living
on farm little from the center of the viii
lagc. The numerous springs on his property
suggested to him the feasibility of hsh-raisng
as means to his own qualification; but his
experience of only one year has taught him
that profit can be combined with pleasure.
From seven to twelve beautiful springs come
yelling up at the base of the mountain where
his house stands, and he has converted his
" back yard into ponds Of living water"
the successive ponds being filled with fishes
according 10 size. As dogs eat dog" so
trout eat trout--and it is necessary for their
safety to keep those Of the same age by them.
selves. A trout will swallow his brother Of
/ two thirds his own size. The ponds are all
connected by sluices, which are covered with
wire gauzc, for the double purpose Of protect
ing the fish and catching all leaves and sticks.
| In pond No. | are 5000 large trout, from five
] 10 AMtlNt ihtut0 III itIENu Ait lbhh - nv
larger than good sized parlor and to see
these beauties swimming about would make
an old fisherman nervous They are as tame
as gold fish, and make the prcttiest of pets.
la all the ponds, some eight in number, are
10000 trout, of all ages, from three weeks
to as many years and Mr. Bridgman expects
to have 500, 600 By another year.
The m0dUS operaRdi of trout-raising may
be of interest to the uninitatcd. Trout be-
gin to lay their eggs SPAWN about the first
Of November, and for this purpose they seek
the head waters of brooks, the better TO insure
safety for the spawn, the female being always
accompanied by the male ON these tours
Only part of the spawn are ripe at q time,
and it takes about ten days for female to
be rid of all her spawn, during which time
their escort remains with them. The spawn
are pressed out by the female swimming rap.
idly along the rocky bed Of the stream. In
her wake follows the male, impregnating th,
, oya of the female A nceway has beer
built by Mr.. Bridgman to which the fish hay,
access and as they enter this in the spawn
ing season are caught, aud the spawn arc
pressed out with the finger and into the i'm
; pregnating pan filed with pure spring water
Then the milt Of the male is put in to i'm
preguate it. 1t is estimated that the spawr
: Of good sized trout contains 1000 eggs, bu
Mr.. Bridgman's experience has taught hin
that the figure is nearer 2000 The milt o
one male is sufficient to impregnate the spawl
Of five fish of the same size; 10 trains o
milt will impregnate 10000 eggs, yet il
practice much more is used. The eggs weigl
one grain each and average 10th of an incl
in diameter From the impregnating pan tn
= spawn is placed in gravel-flled trays and lai,
in the troughs Of the Matching house-a hons
double boarded and sawdust lined Owe
= these trays is conducted gentle stream o
b pure spring water filtered through seyera
! thicknesses Of flannel, and then of a filter O
gravel During the entire process the egg
3 are not allowed contact with the atmosphere
Nothing now remains to be done except to Sc
that no harm comes to the eggs and remoy
such as spoil The water has an even tenn
b perature of - degrees, and it takes from 4
to 10 days for the Matching process