Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-07-11
SHAD IN THE CUMBERLAND.
Over Seventy Thousand Consigned to
the River Yesterday.

Of Ih,s TOOthsOme FIsh-Fish Gull
ture Under Governments Auspices.
During the last session of Congress an
| appropriation. Of money was made 10 stock
the Pacific Coast, the Lakes, and the in
/ terror streams with food fish Extensive
arrangements have been made to carry out
this design, and large numbers Of shad,
etc, have been transported to the waters
indicated III the bill making the appropEia-
! ton.
Yesterday morning Owen Chase and Z.
T. Bahme, of the United States Fish Com
mission, reached this city with 72,0OO
| young Shad TO be turned loose in the waters
Of the Cumberland. They arrived on the
| 7:20 A. n. train from Louisville, and were
met at the depot by Hon. Jos. 5. Fowler,
| Hon Horace II. Harrison, and James NJ.
Hamilton, Esq. A UNION AND AMERI-
CAN reporter was there, TOO, having been
particularly charged the night before to be
| on hand to welcome the representatives Of
| the fnny tribe.
1t soon became known that the shad
we're on board the train, and the curiosity
of the crowd was excited at once. Some
| Of the more increduiOus eOntended that
| there were no shad on the II in at
ali, and said they would not believe it till
| they saw the fish houndeTing around in the
water. When six large tin cans had been
| taken from the baggage car aud placed upon
| the platform, a crowd soon collected,
and everybody wanted to be the first man
to get a view of the shad. Mr.. Chase
kindly put himself to the trouble 10 graft
| fy the curiosity Of the bystanGers. Their
surprise and disappointment was decidedly
obvious when he took q large ladle and
| diped couple Of thousand shad out Of one
Of the cans for their examination. One
individual, who thought himself more
knowing than the rest, called our reporter
aside and quietly whispered in his ear, ''My
| friend, I'm no sardiEe, don't let them fellers
impose on you; they can't fool me; them
things are nothing in the world but wiggle-
tails" Others crowded around and in
dulged in EaTicus remarks about the new
corners. The cans were az once placed in
a spring wagon and driven to the bank Of
the Iiver at the foot of Broad street. bIessrs.
Chase ard Babme accompanied by the gen.
tlemen above named, went down to The
river to cOnsign the little shad to their new
home.
Although our reporter had not been able
to get his mutUtina meal, be was deter
mined TO see the thing through and grace
fully climbed into the express wagon that
contained the cans of shad. When the
vehicle haltel on the levee, everybody
in the neiehborhood was not long
in finding out that the shad had
arrived, and a large crowd gathered around
the wagon in very few minutes. Of course
every body wanted to see the shad, and all
wanted T. see them first. "Whar is dem
shads," asked an old darkey, as be crawled
mp on the wheel Of the wagon and peered
into one Of the cans.
After some light delay in gratifying the
curiosity of the crowd, the cans were placed
in a boat, and on reaching tie middle Of
the river, the shad were empted out, where
the temperature of the water was s. de-
greeS. Mr.. Chase thought the river not in
as good condition as could be desired, but
was Of the opinion that all would yet be
well for the young shad.
1t would be rather difficult matter to
give q correct idea Of these little creatures.
None of them were Over half an inch long,
and about the size Of a small cambria
needle. They were brought from the
Fishery" on the Connecticut river, at
HOlyOke, Mass, under the SUPPLEMENTARY
Of James W, Miner, Deputy United States
Fish Commissioner. The transportation
was made by means Of large tin cans hold
ing from fifteen to twenty gallons of waller,
auG each can containing 900 shad. It is
No nice job to travel with them, for the
water in the cans has to be changed every
hour, and is necessary to use large quanti-
ties Of ice TO keep the water al proper
temperature.
Messrs. Chase and Bahme left HolyOke
Al fUVnufy minutes mast Civ p'pln1ly last
Thursday morning, and started on their re-
turn home at S:45 o'clock last night. These !
gentlemen have been engaged in fish Cul- |
ture for a number Of years and thoroughly !
understood their business. From them We |
get some interesting points about pisccul- |
tuTe al HOlyoke. The fish are caught by /
means Of Seins dragged usually between |
six o'clock in the evening and midnight. |
After having been caught they are ex- /
amined and the spawn taken from the /
'ripe" ones. The eggs are then placed in |
pan containing a small quantity of water.
The melt Of the male fish, kind Of milky /
substance, is next placed in the pan with
the spawn and the eggs thus become
impregated. In half an hour
or forty minutes the eggs will swell 10
three OF four times the size they were
when first taken out Of the female. They
are noE carefully placed in Matching boxes,
patented by Mr. Seth Green, SUperinteii-
dent Of the New York State Fisheries.
These boxes are twenty-One by fifteen
inches, and one foot in depth. The bottom
is made Of wire cloth. The boxes have !
floats on each side, put on slanting, so as
10 bring the bottom Of the box on an angle
in the water. The current forces the water
Though the wire cloth and the es-s are
kept rolling continually. When the hatch
ing boxes have been filled they are care
fully anchored in the river. Where the
of the water is from "a TO IS
degrees they will hatch in three or four
DAYS, and are at once ready for transporter
ton or other use.
The shad placed in the Cumberland yes
terday, will remain in the waters adjacent
TO the city till the latter part of August,
when they will go down the stream in
search of salt water. During the third !
year they will return to this ppiRt tp spawn.
In a few IneIths, those hall Sn inch long
will have attained to the length Of nearly
two inches.
Mr.. Seth Green, accompanied by eight
men, will 60 cut on lakes Huron and On
.ariO next October TO secure the spawn Of
salmon trout. 1t requires about three
months to hatch the spawn Of the salmon
rout, and this will he done at the New York
State Matching House, situated at Gale !
iunia. Monroe i. Green, a brother Of |
Seth Green, Is the superintendent Of this
Institution, and personally OVerloOks the
work. When the eggs Of the salmon trogt
nave been Matched, the young lsh will be !
lislributable at the will Of the Fish Com
nissiOueTs,
A number of States are nov engaged in !
,isiculture on a large scale, bat in this use
ul branch New York takes the lead. The ! ,
inc FISH now to be caught in the Hudson !
liver afford good evidence Of what can be I
accomplished with a little care and IL
ustTV.