The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1872-04-13
MARYLAND FISHERIES AND FISH CUL
TURE.

The earliest account that has come down
to US of Maryland, or "the Land of Maria"
as pious enthusiasts were fond of calling
the new colony, are enthusi ia site over its
rivers swarming with fish. Father White
tells US in his story of he landing of the
Maryland Pilgrims, that the Chesapeake
Bay and its tributaries ''abounded with
sturgeoan, herring, crevises, meaning
"crabs,' " shrimp, topedoes trout, mullet,
urchins rocket fish-we call them " rock''
fish-together with salmon, oysters, peril
wrinkles, and others of that kind of innu-
merable names and unknown Species"
So, also, Captain John Smith, the first
explorer of the Chesapeake, the Potomac,
Patuxent, and the Susquehanna, gives us
as natives alike to Maryland and Virginia,
-" the sturgeon grampus-porroise, seal,
breets, mullet, with salmon, trout, soles,
plaice, herring, coney fish, rock fish, eels
lampreys, cut fish, shades, perch of three
sorts, crabs, shrimps, oysters, cookies,
mussels," and many unknown kinds.
All through the early history of the State
to within the memory Of men still young,
it is incontestable that the rivers and
streams in Maryland were the favorite
breeding places of multitudes of fish. Grad
ually, however, our tributaries to the Bay
have been depleted by net and seine, and
weir, and also through the construction of
dams, which being thrown across the riv-
ers have prevented the fish from ascending
to their spawning grounds. In many cas-
es manufacturing establishments, erected
on the borders of our streams, have so
tainted the waters for many miles that the
fish have almost ceased to frequent them,
now to be found in them at all. This de-
cline in the quantity and variety of fish
that were once common to our rivers and
smaller streams, and whose spawning
grounds seemed to replenish the fish in the
Bay, is not, however, peculiar to Maryland.
The same process has been going on in
other States-with this difference, that
whereas in some Of the other States prac-
teal steps have been taken to provide
remedy, nothing more than partial, limited
and isolated experiments, looking to the
same end, have been made in Maryland
The lecture on Fish Culture, which was
delivered by Mr.. Roosevelt before our State
Legislature, at its last session elected
good deal of attention at the time, and
promised from the success which had at
tended the artificial propagation of fish at
the north TO lead to equally good results
with us.
We regret to say, however, that the
movement SO auspiciously entered upon has
not been vigorously followed up. Wheth-
er commission was appointed at the time
by the Legislature, Or whether it finally
fell through in the hurry of the session, we
do not know. One thing, however, is GER
tain; nothing practical has been done in
the way eff replenishing our rivers, except
in one or two instances, and in these cases
they were not favored by State aid. That
fine fish, the "black bass, has been trans
ferred from its native rivers to the upper
waters of the Potomac, where in the course
Of few years it has so increased and null
tiplied that it is now making its appear
ance in the Monocacy also. What it now
needs, and, indeed, what all our rivers
need, is protection by law against destruc-
tive modes of fishing. We have made laws
for the protection Of the oyster, and it has
become source of revenue to the State
We must also makelaws for the protection
Of our fisheries. We cannot go on reck-
lessly cropping our water fields forever,
any more than we can carry off successive
crops of grain from our farm lands, with
out ultimately bringing on exhaustion.
Maryland Farmer.