Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-11-14
THE WEALTH OF THE SEA.


THE WEALTH OF THE SEA.
We have mentioned heretofore that
the Pacific coast is becoming famous
for the extent of Its salmon fisheries
and the artificial propagation of this
superb fish. At one breeding establish
ment on the McCloud river, at the foot
of the Sierra Mountains, a million and
a half of eggs were procured last year;
and $3.50, 500 have been obtained and
shipped in 1874, Cor further develop
ment, to nearly all parts of the United
States, while 25, 900 went to New Zea-
land. These millions of formulated
eggs are partly Matched before packing
in wet moss for transportation; and as
the operation is simple and successful,
we viii give brief description:
Salmon and shad grow in the ocean,
but spawn in the purest water they can
find which flows from mountains or
highlands into the sea. The Fish Com
missioner has constructed a dam across
McCloud river to prevent salmon pas
sing up, and to collect them IN a place
prepared for taking, for that purpose.
In the latter part of August the spawn
ing is most active; and after the fish have
tried some days to leap over or linda pas
sagethrough the dam, they are exhaust
ed and easily caught without injury.
Eggs are gently forced by hand, if ripe,
from the female salmon into tr0ughs of
pure water, and milt from the males.
The eggs and milt are stirred together,
by which operation the former are fe-
cundated and prepared TO hatch. AT a
low temperature fish eggs willno more
hatch than those of birds or frogs,
and as the temperature of water is
easily controlled, the development of
embryo life is wholly in the power Of
man.
After tie eggs have been in the
Matching troughs, supplied with filter
ed running water about sixteen days,
the eye-spots of the coming salmonets
begin to appear, and they are then
ready for shipment. They are packed
in boxes between layers of green living
moss, and these boxes are packed in
crates, with ice, to keep them cool
With careful handling, they can becar-
ried by wagon or rail great distances.
On reaching their destination, they are
placed in troughs similar to those first
used, and, with water at the proper
temperature, the Matching is COM
pleted. Five thousand salmon, taken
at one place this year, considerably
over half Of which were males, yielded
over five and half million eggs. The
emptied fish weighed an average of
about fifteen pounds each, and were
taken by the Indians and dried for
provisions IN winter.
AS the wide Pacific furnishes pref
ty extensive fsh-range for feeding pur-
poses, the Commissioner has added to
the stream a million of young fry, to
compensate for the five thousand old
salmon captured and their eggs taken
for propagation in other waters.
The interesting question viii soon
arise how many salmon, trout, shad, and
other valuable fish can the Pacific raise
to maturity, to return to spawn aud be !
captured in the rivers and creeks, of |
which the McCloud river may be named |
as a type? Once the Atlantic sent a |
great many shad up such rivers as the |
Hudson,I Susquehannah,
Potomac, James and Savannah; but it |
is now known that science and indus
try can easily increase the supply of |
young stock of this species, at least
twenty fold, beyond what nature ever
accomplished, if other species do not |
destroy them in early life.
Florida has more than twelve hun
dred miles of sea and bay coast, and
that on the gulf is almost alive with
fish. The writer remembers being on
the west coast Of Florida when over
one hundred barrels of fish were taken
at one drawing of a seine. Fish, if
not more valuable as food, are easily
dried, ground, and pressed into cakes
for transportation, and used as fertil-
izers. For producing wheat and cot
ton, and, consequently, cheap bread
and clothing, fish, estimated by the
pound, dry, have great value. 1t is
to see and understand that
the fruitfulness of the sea may be dess
tined to reduce the market price In
Nashville of the three loaves of bread
for which We now pay a quarter of
dollar, to twelve cents, and leave fair
to the farmer, miller and
baker.
BARNARD, ''soft Republican" is
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