The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1872-06-28

The authorities assert that where facili.
ties are available, as they are in q majority
of cases, more annual food can be taken
from an acre Of water, or its equivalent,
than from twice this area of land, no mat
ter how well it is titled.
Ifthere is trout stream running through
the farm, in which are still left even small
number of the speckled beauties, nothing
more may be needed than to stop the fishing
for two or three years, but if the waters are
entirely barren, of course fresh supplies
from outside sources must be introduced.
The development of the ova, their care
and cleansing, their Matching and feeding,
their treatment in the nursery and in ponds
until they are large enough to be let loose,
is a somewhat complicated process, reouir.
ing apparatus, and above all patience
Most people prefer to leave this art to the
professional breeders and pay them for
their pains by purchasing their stock.
1t is always best to deal generously with
brook when putting in seed. Give the
waters fair start even if it costs a good
round sum. One hundred dollars will buy.
at present prices, from $4,000 to 10000 fry
or 200 yearling trout. The multiplication
is rapid and sure, but for the first three or
four years the boys in that neighborhood
should be discouraged from pursuit of the
noble art of angling.
VIM. Cliff, some of whose statements we
borrow, says in the Chronological Journal,
that the black bass is one of the best fish
for private enterprise to handle 1t will
thrive in ponds that can be made and con-
trolled on almost any farm where there is
flowing water, and in quality it is good
enough to satisfy even an epicure, ranking
second only TO the salmon and trout and
by many considered even superior to them.
In size the black bass attains an average
weight of four or five pounds, and one was
lately taken which weighed seven and a
half pounds. DR.. w. M. Hudson, one of
the Connecticut Commissioners, saws of
him:
"He is exceedingly hardy, and adapted
to our waters, being native of the North.
ern lakes. Any pond ofclear water having
a variety of mud and gravel bottom, and
one or more deep holes, is suitable for him.
He is great breeder, and is one of the
very few fishes that protect their spawning
! beds and young fry. He is the only fish
suitable for our waters able to defend him
self against the ravenous pickerel or pike.
Nearly all our ponds are infested with this
pirate among fishes. He is able to conquer
all his enemies. Finally, he is as game as
the salmon, and in comparison with his
size furnishes as much sport to the angler.
He readily takes live minnow or t1y,
and when he feels the first prick of the
hook frequently rises three feet out of the
water in his struggles to free himself, and
it requires quick eye and steady nerve to
land him safely"
The cost of these fish for stocking pur-
poses, is from 81 to So each according to
size and number taken, the expense of
transportation being added. With an at
tendant they can be safely sent four or five
days journey by rail.
All the efforts at stocking ponds with
the black bass have been successful, so far
as our information extends Tuns are ia
ken every year from ponds of few hun
dred acres, furnishing very appreciable
amount of food to the people in the vicin-
ity. A pond of 40 acres, stocked two years
ago at an expense of $500, is now valued
at $4,000 by its proprietors, and will pro-
badly pay the interest on that sum. One
of the excellencies of the black bass is, that
he absolutely requires no care after he is
put in his new home among the coarser
kind of fish. He caters for himself living
for human food. You have nothing to do
but to catch him when he is full grown
A pond should be kept closed for four or
five years after it is stocked, and then it will
bear the strain of fishing with the hook,
probably as long as water runs.
Fish also can be raised in ponds that
have no outlet, or in those that are sup
piled by running water only part of the
year, if they do not get so low as to destroy
the fish by the excessive heat in the sum-
mer. Ees and mud pout are frequently
found in these stagnant pools, but carp
would be better fish, and furnish q large
amount Of food. In the abundant distri-
button of water in our Northern States
there are few owners of large farms that
cannot command q valuable fish pond
On many the pond is already made. On
others, nothing is wanting but dam,
which will be none the less valuable for
fish because it furnishes water power for
mill.
To those who have facilities such as the
above, we would recommend at least a
trial of fish culture on small scale.