The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1874-02-28
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FISH CULTURE FOR FARMERS.
TROUT BREEDING.
ON ths Journal Of The Farm.

From the journal Of the Farm.
There is nothing more simple than
the culture of trout, whether it be for
farmer has the proper facilities That
is, cold spring of even temperature
discharging not less than four square
inches of water, or q brook, flowing
through his premises, the summer tenn
perature of which is not above 6S de-
grees. In the former case he may re-
sort to artificial culture, and have q
clearinghouse, or breed them natural
ly. In the latter case he will be COM
PEELED to cultivate them in natural
way. This latter mode requiring but
little detail, let us first describe it.
If one uses brook for the purpose,
it would be better that its source was
on his own premises, or flowing from a
wood or shaded swamp if not. If it
runs through pasture, the tramping
of cattle, of course, would make it tur-
bid at times, which although it might
be no detriment to the trout would tend
to hide them from view In utilizing a
brook in this way, the water should be
led to site where the pond would not
be subject to overflow as in the natural
bed, and provision should be made for
dscharging the surplus water in time
of heavy rains Oblong ponds keep
the water cooler than these which
spread out in a circular or widening
shape, and, of course, as the ponds al
ready described they should depend in
size on the volume of the stream and
should not be more than half the size.
for given volume of those for bass,
perch. etc.
Whether the supply comes from a
brook or a spring there should be a
spawning race thirty or forty feet long,
and from three to four feet wide,
through which the water flows into the
head of the pond. 1t should be of
gentle even flow and the water ten in
ches or foot deep. The sides should
be of plank, and made secure against
frost by being nailed to stays which ex-
tend backward and are made fast in
the solid ground There should be a
gate in the middle of the race where it
enters the head of the pond, about
eighteen inches wide with side elects,
so that wire screen may be adjusted
to it, slipping up and down, the use of
which / will presently describe A
similar gate should also be placed at
the upper end of the race The bot
tom, to the depth of four or five inches
should be. covered with pebbles from
the size of hickory nut up to an I'M
hulled walnut. In the fall, this race
should be covered with loose boards,
when,-say from the latter part OF
October to the middle of December
the brood fish will entcrit The female
shedding her spawn and the male eject
ing his melt over it, it is formulated.
Pebbles or stones of this size are not
easily moved by the trout in preparing
their nest, the eggs therefore will fall
down in the chinks and crevices and
will be protected from other trout that
hover around the spawners to devour
them, and in making new nest over
an old one, the first is not apt to be
disturbed as would be the case if the
bottom was covered with gravel.
When the spawning season is over,
as it will be by the first Of January,
the trout will go back to the deeper
water of the pond. If they do not,
they should be driven down, and a
wire screen with meshes large enough
to keep them there should be slipped in
at the lower gate. A similar screen
should be placed in the upper gate, the
use of which | will explain as | pro
ceed
The eggs of trout are larger than
those of almost any other fish except
salmon, about six of them laid close
together in line measuring an inch,
or thirty six to square inch; twelve
times as many ova of the shad would
go in the same space.
After driving the parent fish down
into the pond, the race should still re.
main covered, and muskrats, minks, and
other varments" which might bur
row in the pebbles and devour the eggs
should be carefully excluded. The
Matching will occupy from six to nine
weeks according to the temperature OF
the water,-the colder the longer.
When young trout comes out of the
egg it is a mere film, about three-eights
of an inch long, with the umbiical
sac,-i. e., the yolk of the egg,-reach-
ing from the throat to the middle of its
body. The most helpless creature in
the world, it lays on its side or stands
on its ad,-any way that its big pot
belly happens to place it, After while
as it gains strength which is furnished
from the pabulum contained in the sac,
it begins to move about and will find
its way in a few days more out of the
chinks among the stones, but with an
instructive disposition to hide under the
edges of them. All the time, until
they begin to feed, the race should re-
main covered, and as soon as they APP
pear, or even before, screen of fire
copper wire gauze, (say ten wires to
the inch), should be slipped in at the
lower gate, to prevent them going be-
low into the pond to be gobbled up by
their unnatural parents.
At the upper end of the race and
connecting by the opening, there should
be an eating saloon for this infantile
community. 1t should be about eight
feet long and as wide as the race and
closed at the upper end where the water
enters by a fine wire gauze screen as
already described. The bottom and
sides should be of planks paned
smoothly-no gravel-and the water
about four inches deep. There should
be a little shed over it, so arranged as
to admit light or sunshine on the water
from either side or end The troubling s
are given to exploration, particularly
up stream, and when the yolk-sac is
absorbed, and they have grown to the
length of an inch or over they will
commence earning their own living, or
at least be looking for it, and will enter
the aforesaid eating-saloon, and as they
gradually all get into the saloon fine
wire screen should be slipped in at the