American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-02-06
Is Fish Culture PrOfitable2

In answer to an inquiry as to the profits
of fish culture for their flesh only, Mr..
Fred. Mather, noted piscIculturist,
writes to the Forest and Stream as fol-
lows:
Fish culture is broad field, and after
all the successes which are on record
there are still skeptics. OF course there
are failures. So in all business. One
party had not water enough; another
could not get food, etc. But there are
others who succeeded by having every
thing favorable in connection with the
requisite amount of brains. One great
drawback on private fish culturists has
been, in my opinion, the desire to confine
themselves to what are called game
fishes. They seem like boys who mingle
work and play. The game fish are more
or less cannibals, and it is this that
raises the CRAWLING in my estimation far
above the brOOk-trout, for the trout are
piscivorous as well as insectivorous,
while the grayling cannot eat fish, but
thriveS on the refuse of the slaughter
house as well as the trout does. There
are but few places suitable for raising
trout on large scale, and it is only on q
large scale that it will pay. An ordinary
spring will suffice to furnish few, but
to turn out ton or more year requires
not only a large flow of water, but also a
=
who have made it pay, but do not feel
at liberty to publish what little know
of their business. Fish culture for profit
and fish culture for sport are distinct
things, and the following gives my id cas-
ON " game fish,:
l. have kept trout at a temperature
above 60 deg, in fact as high as rs deg.
| where there was good flow and conse-
quently a rapid change. 2. Don't dam a
| fAr III
leaves in, which, with the leaves and drift
brought down by rains, will clog the
screens and the floods will carry every
thing away. 3. If you dam the ravine
do it high up and lead the water in a
ditch along the hillside into ponds and
let all floods and surface water go oveI
the dam and down the old channel. A.
find that trout kept at the head of my
spring, where the temperature is 40 deg.
low, where it is 60 deg. and s. deg, grow
rapidly, and trout fry, if left free, will
work down where the water is even
warmer. 5. Black bass, pickerel and
perch are recommended where the water
is too warm for trout; but these fish are
all cannibals; the first named is good for
the table and the sportsman; the second
is gormandizing beast, unfit to associate
with decent fishes and only eatable when
nothing better can be had; the third is a
good little pan fish but terribly destruc
tive to other fish. g. If l were asked
for list of fishes to be kept in waters
not suitable for trout or grayling it would
comprise white fish, ciscoes, smells, the
large carp of Europe and the square
tailed variety of catfish that is known in
the Eastern States as bull-head, horn
pout, etc. The indiscriminate introduc
ton of predacious fishes to please the
sportsman has been carried too far, anG
many waters are filled with them thai
will be wanted for a more peaceable anG
prolific fish in few years. If you wish
to stock a hundred acres of land will
animals what kinds will you choose-lion.
tigers, wolves, weasels, etc, or cattle
sheep, deer and rabbitsy And from
which class would you expect the greater
number of pounds of meat?