The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1876-08-02
For The RECORD.
FISHES or THE ALExSAUKEN.

| For THE RRconp.
fishes or THE ALExsAUxES.
- r.
/ In order to satisfy myself more fully as to
the varions genera and species Of the fishes Of
the Alexsauken, and also as to the relatively
lsof the number Of each genus aud specie, On
the 18th Of May, armed with net 10 feet
long, and aided by two of my students, w.
d. Cornog and Cyrus Trego, my gardener,
George b. Hartpence, and J. Bloom Dalfym-
pie, l commenced fishing this riyulet at it's
confluence with the Delaware. From this
point to Solomon Hoicombe'swe fished this
rfvuiet thoroughly; ponds and ripples, banks
and shadows. To us cur work was very salts
factory, and the restiIt thereof more than we
anticipated. Not because we caught so many
large fish-although we did get more III these
than we expected-but because we were go
favored with clear water, smooth bottomed
rivulet, fair weather and a large catch Of
small fry. To us the smallest fish in the
stream, presented as great Inducements as
the largest one. In fact it was the smallest
ones chiefly that we We're after. And that
we succeeded in this part of our design, may
be learned by an inspection of the subjoined
table prepared for me by w. E. Cornog. The
smallest fish we caught was minnow that
measured II inches in length; the largest was
a sucker, 1874 inches.
Allow me just here to say, that In this fish,
ing experiment we entertained no idea Of
sport or pleasure excepting such as accrues
frhx.d vi
from our catch excepting the enriching of our
cabinet and that of the University at Lewis
burg, Pa, by the addition OF such genera aud
species as we might here find. We were
in the water n part Of the time up to our ears,
from quarter before eight O'clock in the
more tired looking set of fellows than we
were did not sit down to dine at Q p. M: in
the county Of Hunterdon that day: But;
notwithstanding all this labor to obtain about
three thousand fishes, this is only the begin
ming of the work upon the finny fauna Of
the Alexsauken. Till late at night that day.
myself and my two students, Cornog and
Trego we're busy at stringngf counting and
classifying these fishes. The following day
was spent in the same employment. And
since that time till now have put in from
FIVE to ten hours day; with scalpcl and
microscope, upon tf.is single catch Of fishes,
and my work is not yet done.
Some may ask, what is the irse OF all this
work on a few small iishes2 Well; II is not
easy to answer this question. But I will
make few remarks that perhaps may
aid somewhat to elucidate the matter. Not
many years ago our streams aboended in
valuable pan fish. But at present there are
found in our rivulets very few of the valuable
species. There must be something the matter;
or we would still have larger supply Of these
fishes. How are we to ascertain the nature
of THIS difficulty2 Simply by studying the
families, genera and species of the fishes that
inhabit our rivulets and rivers, in order that
we may learn their habits, their relative pro-
portions as to numbers ard their adaptabiiity
to the various kinds of waters, &c.
But just here some one may ask, do we not
know all about our brook and river fishes al
reaty9 To this answer; no We know al
most nothing about them. Perhaps there is
no branch of natural science, that now de-
mands so much study as that Of fishes. The
works ON this subject-as important as 1t is
are very sparse, and most of them are of lit
tie worth. And whoever wishes to gain bit
d moderate knowledge Of this branch Of 20
ology, will soon find himself driven, by neces-
sity, into original Investigations, which he
will find laborious and tedious. Even the
classification of fishes, as yet, is very unset
tied, and the nomenclature is surely very
barbarous. However, much work has been
done; and there are now engaged on this
branch Of science some of our best frtetiects.
And have no hesitation in stating that ere
iong we will be presented with Ichthyology
that is lucid, pleasing ann instructive.
But will it pay? Yes it will /! ~ Fish
wholesome food, and is most valuable as an
article of diet, when It caif be- lad in the fresh
state, that is without sailing. These rivers
and rivulets we win always have, and they
are capable of yielding to our necessities
more than thousand times the value in
fishes, that they now do. But to do this they
must be cultivated, and we must possess a
better knowledge of fisheries and of fishes.
We see that the little attention and small ex-
penditures THAT the Delaware has received by
way of protecting and cultivating the Shad,
has placed within our reach q great increase
in the number as we'll as a great increase In
the size of this kind of fish. And tire work
done Upon this river as is generally the Case,
when an are is In the formative state, is very
imperfect, and is indeed very far short of an
exponent Of what might had almost said, that
will be done within few years. The Della
ware river is capable Of producing more than
a hundred fold more shad than it now does.
But to render the stream thus fruitful 1t may
be necessary to remove from it some of the
smaii, worthless fry, that are now devouring
the eggs of the Shad by the millions The
shad-seine is not the worst enemy that the
Shad has. If the river was clear OF such
species as consume the Shad eggs, this
-. ~ g.