The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1875-08-12

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is used to advantage in the artificial pro.
pagation of fish, and nature is initiated
as closely as possible, in order to produce
successful result in breeding fish.
The female fish, as is we'll known, are
filled with eggs, which are called spawn,
and in the male fish is substance known
as the milt. When the fish reach the
spawning ground, the eggs become
swollen and ready to drop, and the mIlt
becomes nifty, as if about to eNudc.
The female then deposits her spawn
upon gravelly shallow, and the male
| follows and covers it with the milt. Thus
the spawn becomes fecundated, and the
ripping Of the water over the gravel
gently agitatcs it, such agitation being
requisite for the successful Matching of
the fish. The period required for hatch
ing varies with the different fish and with
different degrees of temperature. The
spawn of shad, for instance, is hatchcd in
seventv-two hours in water ut 4 tempcra-
ture of rs degrees, and in seven days
when the temperature is 60 degrees.
When the fish are first hatchcd, they
have IN umbiical sac, about three times
the size of the body, which supplies them
with sustenance for a period varying ac-
cording to the temperature of the water,
from to II days. The fry are then able
to take care of themselves, and instlnc-
lively seek the main current of the
stream, where they arc comparatively
free from the enemies that destroy them
in shallower water.
These processes of nature are closely
followed by man in the artificial fecun-
dation of fish, with the additional advan-
tage of preserving the minnows from
their natural enemies. Female and male
fish are carefully captured at spawning
time, and the milt of the male are eX-
pressed into pan of water, by holding
the fish as near the surface of the water
as possible, while the hand is passed
gently along the abdomen. The eggs
are thus impregnated, and arc removed
to Matching boxes, the most successful
apparatus being box patented by Zeth
Green. This box has bottom of wire
gauze, sustained in the water by two float
bars fastened at the sides at an angle
with the top. 1t is anchored in the
stream near the shore, in gentle cur
rent that passes freely through the gauzc
and buoys up the eggs within. The
fecundated ova, after the first formation
of the fish is seen, may be transported
without injury, if packed in moist moss
in glass jars or tin boxes admitting the
air, at temperature from 5 to l5 degrees
above the freezing point, they may be
kept packed for two weeks, and even
after the lapse Of six weeks they have
been found uuinjured. Salmon ova have
kept in ice for ninety days, half of the
frozen eggs being afterward hatchcd, and
they have been transported from Eng,
land to Australia, packed i'll moss and
surrounded with ice, occupying about
eighty days in the passage.
In the United States, fecundated ova
and young fish have been transported
from New York to California, and to
various other portions Of the country, not
only restocking rivers whose fish supply
had been destroyed, but Introducing new
varieties into numerous streams. Shad,
for instance, have been transferred from
the Hudson to the Sacramento river, and
to several rivers in the west and south.
The latest experiment was the depositing
of 100. 900 Young shad in Pearl river i'll
Mississippi. 1t cannot be supposed that
all those experiments will be successful;
but it cannot be doubted that many OF
them will prove immensely beneficial i'll
increasing the fish supply Of the country.
Shad that were placed in u tributary OF
the Alabama in 1S4S, have spread until
several streams emptying into the Gulf
of Mexico are stocked with them. They
are found in the Escambia and its tribu-
taries on the east and on the west in the
Mississippi as far up as the tributaries OF
the Red and Arkansas river. a number
of live fish were lately received in New
York from Germany, by Prof. Baird, who
has shipped to Germany u large quantity
of shad eggs, in return for shipment Of
salmon eggs received from that country.
We notice that Nashville, Tennessee,
is moving in the matter OF pisciculturc,
and efforts are being made looking to the
establishment of q permanent fish COM
mission in that city.
The subject of fish protection has late
ly received some attention in this locali-
tv: but St. Louis and Missouri are far
behind the age with regard to piscicul-
ture, and it is high time that something
should be done to stock our many streams
with fine qualities of fish, as well as to
protect the fnny tribe from waste and
wanton destruction. There is no indus
try that will yield such large returns for
such small expenditure, and we owe it to
ourselves and our posterity to take timely
and practical action upon this important
subject.