The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1868-05-15
The Shad Question.

While our State is compelling the owners
of dams across our rivers to put fish wiers in
such dams so as to allow shad and other fish
to pass up and down at the proper season, it
may not be out of the way to consider the
propriety of keeping up with the other States
| in artificial breeding. The eggs OF hsh are
counted by the thousand perch weighing
three ounces will produce 10000; mllt ~
inches long, $4,000 a shad from 10000 to
$4,000 eggs. These eggs at the time OF
spawning are extruded in the water and fall
to the bottom the milt of the male is extru-
ded at the same time in the water, but the
current and other causes may prevent them
from being mpregnated, and then there are
constantly on hand swarms of fish that feed
on the spawn SO that it is estimated that not
one in hundred of the eggs produce full
grown fish. The process of Matching is very
simple the shad are caught at spawning
time, the eggs and the milt are placed in a
small quantity of water and stirred to bring
them in contact they are then placed in
shallow vessels ofwater and are Matched out in
from three to five days. Five thousand dol
lars per year properly expended would turn
one hundred millions of young shad per year
loose in the Delaware and Susquehanna
Rivers, and make the yield ten times greater
than at present The experiment is well
worth testing We taky the following from
the american Ag'Scustu'ast'
1.-THE experiments in fish breeding are
bringing to light some very interesting facts
| in their natural history. takes much long
er to hatch the eggs of the varieties that
breed in cold water than those that are
spawned in rivers during the summer. The
eggs of shad put in water of suitable tsmpera-
ture, produce young fish in few days The
salmon trout eggs require longer incubation
than those of most birds. Salmon require
two months or more under the most favora-
BILE circumstances. The New England Fish
Commissioners, we see by the papers, are
having great luck in the Matching line, at the
Charlestown Springs, in New Hampshire,
where they deposited 10000 salmon eggs in
October. They Matched on the 18th of De-
cember, just 60 days from the time they were
taken from the parent fish. The eggs of the
salmon trout, at these springs, were 30 days
in Matching, which is said to be the shortest
time on record in this country. The salmon
eggs were taken from the fish in the Mirami-
chi, one of the best salmon rivers in New
Brunswick. Our Eastern readers will be
very glad to see this evidence of substantial
progress in the work of restocking New
England rivers with fish. 1t will be recol-
| lected that very large stock of shad eggs
was Matched and turned into the Connecti-
cut, at Hadley Falls, last spring. These, &C
cording to the programme, ought to make
their appearance in that river the coming
season. The annual catch of shad in the
Connecticut has dwindled to about 600, 000.-
II 10000, 900 were turned into the river as re-
ported, shad ought to be very plenty and
cheap next spring. For the salmon we shall
have to wait longer. They are two years or
more in coming in maturity and 1t is propo-
sed, we believe, by the Fish Commissioners,
not to allow any to be taken from the Con-
necticut except for the purpose of propaga-
tion until 1871. :. '.I t.-a0
In England the work of restocking the riv-
ers with salmon is going on successfully and
we see frequent discussions in our exchanges
on topics connected with this subject. The
best method of constructing fish stairs is
still under discussion. Nothing better has
been elected than the plan illustrated in our
last volume 1t is well settled that the incli-
nation in these stairs should not be greater
than one foot in seven. These re-stocked
rivers are affecting the price; fish and salmon
can be had in London market for less than
half what it costs in our cities. Riparian
owners are in good spirits, and the papers
abound in advertisements of spring salmon
fishing to let. We hope to see salmon plenty
very soon in this country" Exchange.