The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-10-03
What Green Knows About Fish

In an address before the deaf-mute
convention at Rochester, Seth Green
gives a chapter of his experience in fish
culture, as follows:
When this country was new all the
lakes, rivers and streams were full of
fish and the forests with game. That
showed the great foresight of the Crea-
tor. He saw that the first settlers of
this country must have something to
live upon from day to day. He knew
that the game would be exhausted, and
there would be no way to build them up
again, for we would have other animal
food to fill their places. He saw that
man needed some light food one or two
days in each week to rest his digestive
organs and feed the brain. So Agassiz
says, and so we believe.
He knew that the fish would be ex-
hausted nearly as fast as the game. To
revent them from being extinguished
p gave them great numbers of eggs
ne he gave thousands, some he gave
millions the cod and many other kinds
have millions the salmon average about
ten thousand, the whitefish thirty thou
sand, the shad sixty thousand, the brook
trout one thousand. 1t is safe to say
that of the cod eggs cast not more than
one out of every two hundred thousand
reaches maturity. OF THE salmon, white
fish, shad and trout eggs cast, but one
per cent. of them hatch. The fish eat
their own spawn, and nearly all the
water animals eat them, and sediment
kills them. 1t is a wonder to me, after
having the experience have had, that
any of them hatch in the natural way.
I believe that the AIl-Ruling Power
knew that some one would study the
art of Matching fish eggs and would
fill all the waters again equal to the
original supply, and many of our waters
a great deal more so. For as the fish
decrease the food increases. Take the
cattle out of the pasture and the grass
will increase. It is SO with water, take
the fish out and the food will increase.
The first thought ever had of how
fish were bred was in the year 1898. 1
was trout-fshing in a stream in Canada.
I saw some salmon making a splashing
in the stream had a spear with me,
] crept up behind a large tree near
where they were with the intent to
spear the salmon. looked cautiously
and saw five salmon. The thought
struck me that they were preparing
a nest on which to cast their spawn. ]
soon became Interested, and thought /
would watch their movements, so In
order to have better view of them /
climbed tree and remained there two
days watching their operations. While
sitting there / made up my mind that
fish could be Matched artifcially. l
thought that I could hatch a much
larger percentage than is Matched in the
natural way. For as soon as the spawn
H. IL !
brOOk-trOut pitched in and ate all they
could get. When the water became
still, I could see but three or four eggs
in the nest. which the female was try
ing to cover with gravel. / saw this op-
Grafton several times.
In the year of 1864 / purchased
part of CALEDONIA creek. At that time
25 per cent. was the best artificial i'm
pregnation that had ever been done in
any country. In my first experiments
impregnated about 25 per cent, and
thirty days from the time I commenced
/ impregnated 95 per cent, and that is
a fair average at the present time. /
did business for five years in selling
eggs and young fish. It was a great
wonder that my eggs were so much
better than any of the other fish bree-
ders. 1t was because / used but very.
little water in my pans. 1t is now
called the dry or russian impregnation.
1 had practiced it four years before it
was found out 1 sold my trout ponds
four years ago; and have been stocking
the small lakes and rivers in this state.
In New York state we have CAT lakes
and ponds, all of which are suitable for
some kind of fish. They can all be
made fish barrels, for every man that
lives within ten miles of any of them
can go with hook and line and take a
mess of fish when he feels fish hungry.
That time will come, and when It does
come, I shall feel that Robert B. Roose-
welt, Horatio Seymour, Geo. G.. Cooper,
Edward NJ. Smith, and myself and
many other far-sighted men have not
lived in vain. shall feel that we have
done our share toward populating the
country with mutes. Fish are all
mutes; they can neither hear nor speak,
but what they lose in hearing they
make up in seeing, smelling, tasting
and feeling. They are very sensitive
to jar, so much so that many people
mistake it for hearing.