The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-06-11
A FISH NERSERY.

AASh NURSEhfs
The Facts and Figures of a Seven Acre
Fish POnd-G A Family of Thirty ThOu-
sand Children ''-Three BusheIs OF ETs n
Per Day, and the Profits on the Same.
Special Correspondence Atlanta Herald.
MONTGOMERY, ALA, May, 1875.
TACKLING THE SUBJECT,
Being brought to Montgomery. on
business, a frieri, whose festive pro-
clIvlhes might appear riotous, if I were
TO put them into print. persuaded me
INTO " running over to Penn Yonge's, y
i went, and here 7 am with as wonderful
n story at the end of my pencil as the
Test of us could wish for. 7 have a
respect for a sensible fish. Your diIa-
tory " nibbler" / despise. Yonr crafty
Ecoundrel who hangs around vour
haited hook. and beguiles Won with
false promises until Your extrep1ities
are mlldewed, until the Grass has grown
rank between your patient legs, and
the gnats have frescOed every inch of
Your face, is fish that deserves the
contempt of all anglers. The sneakinp
thief that with dexferOus lips steals
yOur bait, and leaves Won in the
ridiculous position of appealing with a
hare hook 70 the intelligence of the
rlver, is " scaly" fellow, who has nv
hatred while he compeIs nv admiration.
3ut yOur true, blind hero. that darts at
the bait, the moment it touches the
water, swallows it frankly, and leaps
Fhuddery, but prompt. from his element
10 yours, is nv delight. Col. Yonpe's
fish are positively the most gentle
manly fish that I ever saw. For ten
minutes, ] stood like wild man fling
ing the splendid fellows to grass at the
rate of five minute, while a nimbie
slave impaled for me the wriggling bait.
and spat the luck giving spittle upon
my hook.
A SEVEN ACRE FISH POND.
Col. Yonge has (near OpeIika, Ala. }
the finest and most extensive fish pond
IN the south, or possibly in the United
States. He has over seven acres of
reliable water, averaging possib1v
seven feet in depth. It is fed by eight
or ten large and bold springs, that Weld
a perfectly clear water. A large creek
flows around the pond. Col. Yonge
having preferred to trust to his springs
rather thar the creek; which is hence
rather Enceremoniously sent to the left
flanF by deep ditch.
The water of the pond is perfectly
clear, and any one riding in one of the
sail boats on the lake can SEQ rnvriads
OF fish swimming lazily way down in
the limpid depths.
L got world of information from
Col 1opge on the subject of the breed
ing OF the fish. The pond is stocked with
trout, red-hOrJe, and Dream. The
Dream, when she goes to spawn, SCOOPS
out hollow place in the sand,
A MIG
In this nest she deposits her eggs. num-
berlng probably forty thousand. The
trout makes a larger nest something like
goose's. and lays thirty thousand eggs.
The mother "sets" over the eggs for
twelve days. She does not toucb Them.
as the warmth of her body is not neces-
sary to hatch them, but she hangs
stationary over them, keeping q perpet-
nal motion of the waves above the nest
by wagRiug her tail. This is done To
keep the mud or sand from settling over
the eggs and destroying them. The
red-horse do not have nests, but srswn |
IN colonies. Each female laws about |
SIXTY thousand eggs, and they spawn |
close together in quite a neighborly |
way. The male (pOor devils) of this |
iecund colony, give their time TO fan |
uIng the sand off the eggs. and wag their |
"hedlent tails with an admirable per |
sistency.
1t Is very interesting to watch the |
growth of the tiny fish atoms. The !
hrst thing that is seen is thick coat of /
white spread over the nest. This is the |
nhlng ct eggs, lust as thew come from |
the mother. They are not then impreg- /
mated, but are dead and dull. The male |
Iheh passes over the nest, aud Quickens |
the eggs. As he does this
A TRANSFORMATION TAKES PLACE.
In each one of the eggs hitherto per-
tecsly white, n tiny black spot appears
TINS If the life germ. The male then
leaves the nest, and the mother guards
the family. In about six DAYS it will he
notced that these thousands of epps
VIII begin 10 rise like a fiImy yaUor
from the sand. They keep well to-
Eeether. the mother watching them dav
AZ er day, as they float upward and by |
clrchug around them, holding them in |
q compact body. As they near the ton
OF the water the little cloud under the
water gets denser and thicker, as the
httle atoms begin to tumble. and wirpIe
and play about. At last its edges he
come ragged and irregular. as the holder
ana stronger ones takes wider sweens in
their gamEols. At this stage the mother
Guards them very closely, and is ex-
trem"ly fierce. About the fourteenth
or fifteenth day this cloud contracts
and expands irregularly: finally
breaks Is scattered rs if bv some
submarine sunbeam, and then yonr
pond has about forty thousand more
hsb in It than formerly.
The horse and the Dream do not
9tteHd their young after they have be-
come old enough to scatter, but the
trout Will swim around for weeks with
FAMILY OF THIRTY THOUSAND CHILDREN.
following her like young uartridges
The most remarkable part of tbe
days exhibition was p visit to q small
house ahout twenty feet square sitna-
ted upon the edge of the lake. In fine
centre on this house is a bold and
!. sl'IehIhd sprGg. Around the edge of
:. nc HouSe are n series of trouphs
I. .i,ir"'-gh which the water is fed from |
Tie spring with au easy flow.
THIS Is THE HATCHING HOUSE.
and these are the breeding troucbs
ne trouChs are about three feet broad
ana two feet deep, and are divided into
compartments for the accommodation ~ ,
me various species. at every five or siv
,eet. In these troughs, Col. Yonqe in
formed us, he frequently has half a
mlu'on Of eggs.
Some Of these eggs are taken from :
me ~ nests in the pond but most of
ueIl' however, are pressed directly q
rom the fish. Col. Yonge watches the {
pond closely, and when he sees .
FAIR OF FISH SWIMMING TOGETHER, !
anu preparing to make nest. he takes t
i Tor granted that they are ripe as it is
-. !t.I, ana by dextrous sweep of a
little hand seine they are lifted M, ;Dto
his boat. He then takes them 10 tbo
Matching trough, puts them in the com
IN which their species are u
'ref. BY holding the female i'm his n
land, and gently rubbing her down tbe il