Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1871-03-31
= COMMUNICATED
Decrease Of. Essh I'm Our Waters.

the continued change 10 organic life. The
bowels of the earth, from time immemorial,
reveal continual change. Genera, species
and varieties are ever on the change. Dy-
nasty succeeds dynasty 10 the brute creation
as among men. To-day no more startling
theory moves the minds at Swans or pe.plex-
earth than the continued "extinction and
creation 'of species" 1t was so ''from the
beginning" A few little and Insignificant
creatures begun. life almost at the ''carly
dawn"-long ere man made his appearance
upon the stage-run the gauntlet Of the many
catyclysmss Of nature land now rejnice in the
presence Of man. and will doubtless be cock
tsnsive with himE We will instance few
cases of extinction since the Historic period :"
the Mammoth and Mastadon of America the
Cave Bear. Cave Tiger and Hyena of Europe;
and of our day and 10 our own waters, the
Great AUX (Alca impennis) the last one seen
was in 1874. In Ichthyology, the names Of
the extinct species and genera are legion. In
most cases these creatures appear to have
died without any seuse-tbey had run their
'.periodic cycle"-.ilime fought against them. !"
10 the case of the Great Aux, spoken of above,
it seems truly to have run his periodic cycle. ("
So far as savans eau see, there has been no
change Of climate. sa>o 49,
But to the point: The decrease of fish in
our waters.. ist..-
Popular opinion will have it, that the de-
crease Of fishis diving to their destruction by
nets; this is one cause, it is true, but it is
only 80 drop "a bucket" The great cause
Of ther aeefeess isi T. shs continual mud
floods during tH4f advance up our streams
during spring, ana often when, the fish has
just reached theft Spawning grounds. The
consequences arelthey have to ''turn tail" and
run down before the food to escape the suffo-
eating element. All this while, the spawn is
maturing, and before the mud subsidies the
spawn is ripe aud has to be exuded; nine
times in ten in improper places and possibly
often in salt water.
These foods have been going on ever since
the settlement Of. the country by the whites,
and will increase more and more as the coun-
try becomes opened and cultivated. The
question may be very pertinently asked,
Why this has not been going on from all
time? We answer: Since the introduction
of our edible fish upon the scene, the earth
was co, cred with yerdure-trees, grass, &c.,
until the advent of the "pale faces" Before
that era the windows of heaven was opened,
then as now the floods came, but fell upon
the trees, shr0btery and grass, trickled to the
ground and passed off into the small rivulets,
thence to the main streams, without disturb
ing t'e soil. BaGthe "pale faces" came, felled
the timber, plowed the land, and when the
floods came hundreds of tons of soil went a.
long with it to I'll up our creeks and rivers.
As proof Of this, numbers of our creeks are
so filed up that they are not now navigable
for small river craft, where once the sea- going
vessel could safely load and unload. This
filing up Of the creeks and rivers has doubt
less covered up al the old spawning beds Of
the fish.
That the ishsare dying out, or that at least
two varieties have run their periodic cycle,
we have reasonsp fear. It is in the memory
of living men. that there was once variety
Of shad sud herdngs called "Poplar Backs,
and 1t was common not many years since FOL
fishermen TO expect to catch during the sea-
son more or less of them; to-day they are
looked upon as curiosities, so scarce are they
Here again 'ttifie fought against them" fol
they disappeared as gluts, according to report
long before the big seines began. As further
proof that there are. other causes at work
thar: the seines, 10 decrease the fish, we offe'
the fact that the little minnow and smell
| fish that no. ole fishes for--are rapidly
on the decrease, Again, The gar-pike (Lepi.
dosteus osseus) has nearly disappeared. This
| fish does not come up in large quantities un-
til the last of May or 6rst Of June, wher
nearly ali the -ssines are -cnt out.
Reviewing an ythe facts; the conclusion is
irresistible, that, if IL is not the floods, &c.
that is working ithe destruction of the fish
then it is, s'tims that fights against them" 1
this last is the Fue cause, then the art OF mar
to restock the rivers will avail nought. Rea'
soning from analogy, We must come to the
conclusion, hosever, that they have not yet
run their "perjodic cycle" because 10 animal
life, since the world began, every extinction
has been followed by improved creations, and
we have as yet no improvement upon these
creatures. Theimproved species have always
been introduced before the final extinction OF
its type. Thejndex hand Of the Great Givel
of all good most pnerringly POINTS out to man
his duty. Let us in time heed the warning
and commences the operation of raising fish tt
festock our waters. It is by that means anc
that only can ye hope to keep up supply
| As an evidence Of what can be done, we
give the following figures as the Increase o.
one sbad in-eiSht :years-A.assumipg that the
young sbad come to perfection and spawn 10
twelve months from birth, though this is moi
correct it takes three years for them to come