The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-02-17
FISH CULTURE.

AS the times get close and finding en-
ployment difficult matter with the la
boring classes, cheap food is demanded
and consequently fish cultureis of grow
ing Importance Fish as diet is healthy,
and when found in abundance Is about
the cheapest meat that can be furnished.
While it is true that our statute books
have for long time had law protecting
fish, which is much stricter in its provis-
ions than its observance, yet the fact
that its existence has Eeen entirely
ignored, very little benefit has been de-
rived from it. Fish are caught from our
streams by parties VINO follow it rs a
sport and not for purposes of utility. In
this way they are rapidly being destroy
ed, until in many of cur creeks and
rivers, which a few years ago abounded
with the tinny tribe, il is now almost i'm
possible to catch a minnow. The Fish
Commissioners who are acting under n
law creating u department Of this kind
at Washington seem to be merely en-
perimenting with view to ascertain the
habits of certain fish. As an Illustration
of this, last summer year ago, they put
fifty thousand California salmon in the
Greenbrier river at Ronceverty, when
any school boy ought TO have known that
these fish are migratory in their nature
Spending good portion of their time
in the salt water and returning to fresh
water at certain seasons of the year for the
purpose of spawning. 1t is very clear
case that while the fish could 90 down
New river on their way to the Gulf in
search of salt water, they could never
get up that stream on their return if they
desired to travel two thousand miles for
the accommodation of people living on
the Greenbrier. II the intention mad
been to fill that stream with fish, why did
not the commissioners select some fresh
water fish that were not migra-
tory. There ought to be COM
mon sense in everything. Suli
the salmon being valuable fish, they
could be enabled to return to our fresh
water streams if ladders or fish ways
were put in the water courses; and this
is the first thing that ought to be done.
The Legislature of Virginia has estab.
lished State Fish Commission, an ex-
ample that ought to be followed by every
other State. y correspondent of the
Dispatch, discussing this subject, says;
"The salmon which were put in the
upper waters OF the James river this sea-
son. will, in due time, find their way
down the stream to the ocean, where they
will feed and grow till the period
arrives when instinct shall prompt
them to seek relief for time in fresh
water as near as possible to the spot
where they were deposited. 1t is not ex
peCLeu ludL tueN Will De aUle W push tuciT
way very many miles up the james, I'M
less suitable fish ways are provided in
time. But 1t Is believed that this can
and will be done. 1t is subject which
the commission now has under considera-
ton. There Is no difficulty in the sal
mon or any other fish getting down
stream over any of the dams on our
rivers. The trouble is for them to get
,lp This has been successfully overcome
in hundreds OF instances, and can easily
be done here at comparatively slight cost
for all first except shad.
at may be as we'll to state here that
during the last few years large num-
Der of streams in the Northern States
have been stocked with the Atlantic
salmon, which have been put in those
streams several hundred miles from the
sea, and that the fish thus put out have
gone to the sea, returned to the very
sources of the rivers, and been caught
there. Indeed, some have been caught,
marked, and turned loose, and caught again
after making another journey to and
from the SEES"