The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-01-31
Heport OF the ris,, commissioners.

duty il should be TO rciicniSh the frcsh-Water
streams Of (he Commonwealth with fish. LII
accordance Herewith. his EXccllcncy Gov
crnor Walker appointed Dr.. Wall, Of VIM
chester and the late DR.. W. Is. Ball, of Chcs-
teriieId. DR.. Wall, of Winchester, resigned,
leaving the preparation Of the report TO his
associate. Or. Ha'l. Just previous to the
this interesting report Wls sent to the Coy
crnor. which is now made public:
After detailing the cliurtS made to procure
silad spawn and the difficulties in the way, by
reason Of The swollen and muddy condition
Of the James and the impGssibility Of obtain
ing them in the Pamunkcy and Mattaponi
rivers, and the fact that they were finally
gotten ut Grcenlan's wharf, on the Kappa
hannocl, the commissioner enumeratcs some
Of the causes operating 10 reduce the num-
hcc of shsG il our waters us follows;
THE sirAD
seeks fer lis spawning-grouuds running,
clear. and rocky rivers above tdc-Tat"r, the
oya rctltliring constant motion in the water
for the purpose OF accping them clear of
sediment and aiding in their development.
The spawuin.-"rnuuts il our rivers have
been almost cn;iG1ly cut Oil from them by
iulas>;tbc Gams erected at the head Of tide
| water. tllS rnn!!nnT them 10 4 very limited
and the Rappai!alnock. two Of the largest
and best si!iti streams i'll the State, originally
prnetuti.,~ dep into the mountains. and
formerly a!tortiinr other fish nearly their ell
tire length. now only know them cn tide
water. ana in con>tiMtly-dccrca>ing num-
bcrs. In the James we tjnd Immediately at
Richmond the Manchester dam, 1laXalfS
dam, and twenty other dams erected by the
james River and kanawha Company, and
on North river ten other dams belonging TO
the >,t!nc company, and all ranging from five
to thrty-tl.rtc feet in height
There arc also numerous dams on the Rap
lr,hannock river, beginning 1T Frcdericks-
burg, and 1T varying intervals aud OF vary
iu@ height almost the entire length OF that
river. III addition TO those distractions, we
End these two rivers especially flied with so
many engines OF destruction during the shad
run tllut it is only wonderful how any fish
escape in their passage up. On the james
river. according to letter Of response from
orc Of Lie Oldest i;.Ecriucn on that river,
there are not less than forty iyi.c and bag
SrinCs on The uot:il side from Mulberry
Island and Newport News point, and fully
the same number FROM Hog island to NaHsc-
mnnl river on Tie Suuth side. We could not
ascertain the n'lini,er Of haEd-seiues, except
one Il togCin'S point, one at Hog island, one
| ii IIarri>oils landing. and one al the mouth
OF the Cnicliaiio.niny. We are very Silre
thcrc were others. but the owners Of these
scines retire from their fishing shores wien
the season is ended. and are difficult To get at.
/, There are not fewer than three hundred
iioating scncs in the livcr-thcy probably
:, largely cXcee., that nulnbrr. These fykc or
bay-seincs, We understand, arc stationary.
ana are very destructive 10 the incoming
fish. They extend far oUt into the river: are
very firmly fixed. and Il lirh once striking
then is alinnst certainly taken.
: IN the Rappt.annock river the oh-trt,c-
tions to tue p,sSt"c q fish are greater. il pos
. Sl!n Than il tho jan2cs l. Is literally Tiled
| with StaAc-nctS, fastened to piles extending
/ TO mic!-cif.nuti, anI not more than hait-:nlc
: apart on either side Of the river, and leaving
in nrlny places but l;tlo mere tin necessary
space iVr tie passage o; steamers and vessels.
, DR.. Ball :tyiscS the Legislature to oDtain
the right t. Use Seth Green. patent sild
z BOXES for l;ttciiin-. The proprietor offers
this ,H,rnt ior The use 81 the St;>tc for three
wears 1T $-2.ijtiH. or ioT all times 1T $500:
anti recommends that statutes bc nIa.tc pro-
, hiLtir- liSiiing on c"rt@n days in the week
during the fishing season, 50 :S to allow Il
passage for some Of the parent li>a to escape
r III" destroyer and get to their spawning
grounds, aud thinks that the fishing season
with nets and scincs, and other engines for
their destruction. s!lOuld close by the i!Ist Of
:: ,Juilc, and every obstruction 10 the return OF
t!c small r. u the sea h', entirely removed
THE DISTRACTIONS T. JAMES RIVER.
The traps in tie tailsat Richmond have not
been mentioned They begin at the very head
Of tdc-Water, and occupy almostelery ayail%-
bic passage for fish between Mayo's and the
DAnviiie Railroad bridges. These traps arc
never removed during tho fishing season, and
are doubtless very destructive to the Young
fry returning u the sea, rs well as to the
parcn, fish attempting to ascend to their
spawning beds.
} The numerous dams Oh the James river
render an appropriation by the Legislature.
for ii~li-ways over I'll Of them very iniprobl-
die i,ut a very mltcria! and Important step
will have been accomplished II lie sllad, the
} herring, anG the ;lcwilr, could find their way
even n high Il: IrnrhbHrG--liti miles above
;i,ie-Wutcr and only :Jit3 miles below Buck
!lannon. this would afford fish for an cX-
tcut OF country far beyond and equal to that
now supplied hy the tilc-watcr region, for
1t least fifty miles around LynchblrS by
wagons. thus aiiGIliing an additional and
cheap food Tor tie farming population Of
: those regions.
The same max be said III connection with
supplied with ii>il-!ulittis IS i:ic Is Cuipepcr
county.
/ Between Richmond aud Lynchburg there
: arc bat five dams Of any serious Importance
: I}ushcrS, Mai.tcn's Adventure. Middleton
Mills. I've River and Joshua Falls dams. We
: do not think either Of these dams exceed
: thirteen feet in height, aud one of them (Ait-
dleton Mills d;nn) being only about four
: feet, We think an appropriation Of $1,000
would MAKE fiSh-w#ys over those dams.
These iis:l-ways, to he permanent, must OF
: course II. very substantial. Mr. Lorraine,
Il chief engineer Of the ,Juncs River and IA
) nuwha Company, made an estimate for the
cost Of 1iSll-way, after plan OF his own,
: over Boshcr's dam, two Years ago we think,
: amounting nearly TO 81 400. We are salts
1 fled it can lie built for less, perhaps between
500 and $500. This dam, being about eight
feet nine inches high. gives something for
= the basis of our calculation that 5000 would
( be sufficient. ior the whole five dams betwcci!
A Richmond and Lynchhurg.
: Before the erection Of the dams of the
James River and kanawha Company these
, fish were known and obtained even as high
: up tic james river as COvington, OH the
slopes of tic AlleglEl,,ies. Why should nc!
!, future legislation give TO these people what
is now very rare luxury to them-the
abundance which nature intended they should
enjoy? ..
If some effort is then made to prevent
their destruction for few years the shad and
the herring would be fully reinstated i'll all
the streams Of the Stltc and their tributaries.
BLACK BAss.
Black bass the commissioner regards next
1. t.y"