Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1871-02-07
COMMUNICATED.
Decrease Of Fish in our Waters.

COMMUNICATED.
Decrease Of Fish in our Waters.
10 the student of Nature there is nothing
more surprising than the entire disappearance
of whole tribes (genera) OF animals from the face
of our globe The disappearance Of many races
was doubtless caused by great convulsions OF
Nature; overwhelming in its strides everything
ofanimal. even of vegetable nature From ''the
beginning it Was so. and for long periods OF
time nature knew no rest, creations and ex-
linction were the order of the day. There Is
now living but few organic remains of early
theological times Prima Singula, small shell
fish, forms the most important exception few
ar lower forms also ran the gauntlet and came
out unScathed from the many cataclysms OF
geological epoclls, to hand down in unbroken
7,lccession the types Of their ancient Dynasties.
The too had their hey-day. More fortunate
than may 4 cognate species they rejoice IN the
uresencp NJ 'u.n. and will doubtless be also CO.
extensive with Tim. The scene again changes;
the curtain is draw, aside-lnany ages pass and
are buried The Dev'uian Age the age OF
Fishes dawns, the sea .>"en,s WIN ich'nSc ny
Life The fields glow with d.. 9.erent tlora. me
scene again changes, one after al.'thet' at lo'lg
intervals, with their huge reptiles ana mama
Serpent like whales and serpent-hke birds. An
upon the land and in the water. Change tol-
lows change from one cause or another until to-
day animated nature is almost entirely renewed.
Only one species comes down to lis from the
Devonian Age-the Gar-pike-lone wanderer
of the seas from that early creation.
This last age, the tertiary, was especially
abundant in creations and extinctions OF life
Many animals evidently came to the Age OF
Man." and then died out. having, finished their
periodic circle, rs the Irish Elk, the Masto-
don, Mammouth Cave Tgars and Cave Bears,
AUX (Alca impennis) Of our day, the last OF
which was seen in 1874.
Touching hastily and somewhat disjolntedly
upon former creations and extinctlons, we must
hurry on to the legitimate object Of this paper,
The decrease of Fish in our Waters. Their
day too seems to be numbered their periodic
circle about to end If so the question very
naturally arises, what the cause and what the
remedy? Viewing this subject in all its bearings,
we must come to the conclusion that there IS
natural law at work for their destruction, and all
other causes arc but secondary, and this snatural
law itself, after all, but the work OF art-man
creation. Let us look around little When
this country was first visited by the pale
faces fish of all kinds was abundant in all our
waters. The earth wasj covered with verdure.
Floods came then as now, with this difference,
however, in favor of the fsh-the rains tell
upon hill and dale-covered with thick mat
tings of grass and wood, trickeIed gently down
upon the ground and passed off quietly into the
streams and thence to the rivers without ma
terially disturbing the soil, consequently there
was no mud carried down to mingle with the
water or fill up the rivers.
The ''pale-f faces" came upon the scene and
cut down the timber and plowed up land, and
l;ot tho AooAS hauan down
the loosened soil to color the waters and ill up
the streams, covering up in their course the
gravel beds rocks and old logs, upon which
fish delight to play and spawn. Then properly
began what we have chosen to call Natural
Law the filling up of the creeks and rivers
consequent upon the use OF the spade and ploW.
For the last hundred years this filling up OF the
streams has been going on: and OF late 1t mas
had its perfect work TO SO great extent has
this filling up of our creeks and rivers been
carried on, that ordinary river boats cannot now
20 where once ocean ships discharged their car
goes.
Let us now turn to the fish during one OF
these mud d-foods; when they meet the muddy
water, they turn before the freshet and run
down ahead of it, even to the salt waters, that
they may not suffer from its effects; all the
while their spawn is maturing and by the time
the muddy water subsidies their spawn Is ma
ture and has to be exuded whether IN srlta-
bic place or not; consequently if the place IS un
suitable the spawn must PERISH rs would the
eggs of bird laid under similar circumstances.
Popular opinion attributes the decrease OF
sh to their being caught in nets. Though this
must have its full share in their destruction,
still considering the great fccundity OF such
creatures, it is not more than "a drop in the
bucket The common shad for instance, con-
tans on an average about one hundred thous-
and eggs; consequently it would take but few
''Spawncrs' to stock the Potomac river. One
hundred Shad at the above count would give
ten millions of young shad, but instead OF one
hundred We have doubtless over one hundred
thousand left to propagate their species. Let
the curious make their calculation upon the
above tigures). -..f
The progeny OF one herring, says Gold
smith, in twenty-five years, would make thir-
teen balls, each as big a. this earth. Seeing
then the great fertility Of these creatures we
must come to the conclusion that popular
opinion is wrong and we therefore must seek
cause for their decrease elsewhere, which we
have done If indeed they have run their
periodic circle, then will mans art avail
nothing But we believe differently, and are
this be true then is the remedy at hand. Per-
vest at once in the enterprise OF raising fish
We will not occupy your space by giving de-
tails of such operations ut this time; our only
object is to call attention. to this fact, that the
States of MARYLAND and Virginia have hun
dreds of thousands of dollars in the increase OF
fish in their waters, and should make invest
Eob IS71 MARYLAND.